The Stars poll

[Horton]

I can not believe the uproar about the stars.

Ranking systems are standard for most big forums and I think they would be good for BallOfSpray. Vote.

[Horton]

I am finally going to have to pay Scott to kill you. He does not want that much...

[danbirch]

I think the stars distract from the topic, Water Skiing. That said, however, I really like identifying the Open or 55k Rated skiers. It does give credence to their posts, and they deserve it! Keep up the good work.

[gregy]

Some other sites I get on outside Waterskiing use similar things as the star such as names like novice, expert, but names that are humorous.

 

 

[Horton]

If I used silly names would this all be easier. I can do that.

[gregy]

We're all competitive by nature or we wouldn't be in this sport. As to be expected the star think is just another competition. Names might be better, then everyone can have a silly name.

[Horton]

Novice

Expert

Master

EP

Open

 

Yea that will go over well with the old guys and confuse the young guys

[RichardDoane]

I thought "no whining" was a tenement of the BoS ?

[sunvalleylaw]

I voted I don't care. The stars may provide good information, but so may how many "likes" and "awsomes", "promotes" etc. someone has does too without regard for stars. I always read everything on the internet with a grain of salt. So the stars don't matter that much.

[gregy]

guru, slalom god, master swerver, things like that? I like the stars just trying to suggest alternatives. People will get used to either way?

[tfriess]

I personally think the starts serve a very good purpose. At a glance, you can see if the person is legit of not. I do think that there should be a know system as to how you earn stars. Such as average number of likes/post or something along those lines.

 

[Nick Sullivan]

Why is it that tfriess has two stars and I have none. Maybe I just don't understand how this works.

 

Edit: @tfriess, don't take any offense to this I am just not clear how the star system works.

[Brady]

@Horton, why don't you just keep doing stuff like this, because there has probably been more activity since the star system was introduced than the entire previous month's activity. My suspicions are proving true that the majority aren't really that affected by it, but it has certainly made for some fun reading! Now, one question for you....can I buy some stars on the black market from you? I am willing to pay good money for them. I am thinking I would like to be at 2 stars. Not too many that people will think I know everything about skiing, but just enough that the average visitor will think, "wow, that guy must be able to get through a damn course." And, @Brent, I thank you in advance for the love you are showing! :)

 

[DUSkier]

We all know that there are MANY ways to explain something as a coach, however we all do not learn the same way! The star system to me seems to give us "Ballers" who do not know the credible posters an easier way to sort through things. The "No Star Crew " like myself, will still get read and it would be a very silly person that did not read EVERYTHING in a thread, it may not work for you, but unless you read and try you will never know!

[Dirt]

I don't like the stars, your hair and your cat is scary. On a positive note I like your whole family.

[skibug]

Don't really care about the stars. You have to take everything with a grain of salt no matter the expert or knowledge level of the person commenting. Being that there are many schools of thought on technique, equipment, etc.; you have to put words to action and see if whatever you are experimenting with works for you.

 

This is truly evident in the opposing views of trailing arm vs leading arm pressure.

[FrankS]

I think everyone should stop worrying about the stars and start worrying about skiing better.

 

[6balls]

@franks, maybe that's the point.

If the intended purpose is a quick scan ability to judge credibility/knowledge etc, the system is not right. MC promo guy, no stars. 36 mph skier who nearly runs 38...no stars. The question is probably not stars/no stars, but whether or not the criteria that awards stars achieves what is desired. At the same time I'm sure it would be a time consuming challenge to come up with criteria that most accurately does the job. Thanks to @horton for continuous work on site improvement/development.

[SM]

I told Horton that if I got a 4th star I would off Brent for him.

[9400]

It doesn't matter to me, I'm just posting to see if I have any (by that statement I guess it does matter)

[Wish]

Ok, there's been 2 threads on these little guys and I just have to laugh reading them. This is a sight dominated by grown men. I have a teenage daughter and these threads sound just like them when a group of them get together for a discussion about much of nothing. .......Like I think the stars on this site are cool, it shows whose popular right? Ya like it totally helps. Seriously? thay're just lame, I mean who cares right? They should use words like cool, all that and hot. But the stars are so cute. Sandy has like 4 and I only got two. That's so bogus. Ya right, like she should have more. So I don't get like why we need them in the first place. Sandy said like she doesn't even really care. Ya know she like, likes Jon. Seriously? His hair is like so gross. I'd like give him zero stars. Erics hot. Ya like totally. He should get like a billion stars.

[boarditup]

I think that the stars are a great idea and that Horton can administer them with good judgement and skill. For example, I have never run -35, but have engineered a lake system, am a test site for Acme props and am know prop applications, am a decent mechanic and know how to fix/troubleshoot/maintain a boat, and have run INT and AWSA tournaments. In those fields, I can and do contribute well and have a few stars assigned for credibility. If I try to hone Nate Smith's skills.......

 

If nothing else, it is a subject to talk about as I winterized the boat last night, the jump is out of the lake, and the course was put to bed.

 

GVSU #4, Div 2!

[ToddL]

Lurker

Newbie

Rising Star

Active Contributor

Know-it-all

Addicted to BOS

Get a Life Already

Posts more than Horton

[mwetskier]

im a newbie to this site and to coarse skiing and walking into a new club where everybody knows each other with inside jokes an back pats doesnt do much to make it feel welcome. ad stars that get given on a cool freinds basis and good old buddy system and new guys will end up feeling not very welcome if anybody cares about that at all

[ntx]

I don't care. My ski days are long over. So a system that ranks you based on your current score, may be miss leading. I spend more time in the boat coaching. I bet Jay and Cory do also. Do you gain stars based on the number of posts? That can be misleading. I have seen many post by high star members that are nonsense. Do you bring value with your post or is it nothing more than a comment about Hortons hair? Does Horton award stars for that? I guess I am a quality over volume guy. Some of the people who's views I value the most in this sport, may not be the skier with the highest score. There is tons of knowledge out there not held by EP skiers. Oops meant level 9

[Than_Bogan]

I will defer to the new guys, since us long-time-addicts already have our own rankings of everyone in our heads. I know to listen to SkiJay on fin tuning even if he never gets a star. Same for Jodi on engines. I'm sure there are many other examples that don't happen to come to mind right now. So the stars don't alter my experience at all.

 

But I do want to point out that "Ranking systems are standard for most big forums," while true, does not imply that it's even good for them, much less that "they would be good for BallOfSpray."

[Marco]

The star rankings don't bother me at all, but if they do bother other folks, why not move them from beside every post and put them in a separate link that you can click on and see a list of the members and their status. That way everyone can choose if they want to use that information or not. Just a thought.

[Skoot1123]

As someone that is most interested in seeing the skiing community grow - if this makes that happen, all the better. If it is the catalyst to help folks start posting (by seeing how many comments an unstarred person - me) then I'm all for it. If it drives the wrong behaviour - which time will tell - then I would assume @Horton will reassess and do whatever is necessary to keep the site "jumpin!"

[estrom]

@Marco has a potential good idea. Or maybe put the stars in one's profile for people to see if they're interested.

 

If they work fine, but I guess I just don't see the need. As Than intimated, if you hang here long enough, you pick up on who's who and the stars next to a name become irrelevant.

[Nick Sullivan]

I'd still like to know: Why is it that tfriess has two stars and I have none. Maybe I just don't understand how this works.

[Dirt]

@mwetskier I sent you a PM. Log in and check your inbox at the top of the screen if you want to read it.

[Horton]

@mwetskier As I balance the priorities of running this site being inclusive is very high on the list.

 

The stars are ONE indicator of who to listen to. Not the biggest or best indicator.

 

Clearly there are a some very knowledgeable skiers that have not been around the forum long enough to accumulate a star or two.

 

The way to get stars is by posting good interesting stuff and not posting a lot of fluff. The idea is that over time the users that add the best stuff will be encouraged and users that add fluff will not.

 

I do not want to run off the guys that are mostly goofing around but I do want a new guys like you to use this site as a resource. For that to happen there needs to be a balance between well thought out posts and fluff. (signal to noise ratio)

 

This web site is entertainment but it also needs to maintain a level of quality. That is what I am trying to do.

[The_MS]

How about some quality fluff?

[Wish]

So a balance between fluff-n-stuff. Ahhhhh got it!! ..... Wait was that just fluff? Crap now I'll lose a star.

[ToddF]

I think stars bring out a visceral feeling of superiority.

 

Other adjectives instead of stars can adequately describe ones presence and contribution to the well being of the collective group.

 

[Horton]

@Brent That is exactly the kind of thing that will lose you points.

[Horton]

I know

[Brady]

@mwetskier. I would like to respond to your post. I too am very new to this site, and I can totally understand your comment. I have a different take on it though. You and I both walked into this crazy bar called BoS and we didn't know anyone and we both saw all the butt slapping and inside jokes going on, and for a moment I felt apprehensive and nervous about being accepted and how I was going to fit in. Once I made the decision to give the site a try and to become in essence vulnerable to putting myself out there, I realized there was a HUGE difference here that is very unique to the members here. And that is that most EVERYONE is inclusive and will let you in on the inside jokes and let you feel a part of the community.

 

Every interaction I have had here at BoS has been amazing, and when you realize that you are on a site with most of the best skiers in the world, and that they are cool and inclusive, that makes me smile.

 

So, YOU make the first step, and reach out to these dorks and I am sure you will feel the exact same as I do. I have been here a month and I feel like family!!!!! (Well, kind of like a bastard step child, because I have no stars yet)

[Horton]

Anyone notice anything odd about this http://forum.joomla.org/viewtopic.php?f=615&t=766418

 

[Horton]

@douglaslbrady well said but you have to stop telling everyone you ski with Chippy.

[ToddL]

@Horton... "odd?" What... that you only have 1 star on that forum??? ;-)

[Horton]

I know you would think I would get 5 stars where ever I go. (Sarcasm)

[sunvalleylaw]

http://i174.photobucket.com/albums/w92/sunvalleylaw/forumjpg.jpg

 

Here is another place where something similar is working. No one worries about it. There, the little bars (instead of stars, you see them under the member titles) show up if someone recognizes your input. It is a direct system that recognizes a bar for each "rep" referral made by members.

 

Oh, and I really lust for that bike.

[Than_Bogan]

@Horton Anyone who uses "signal to noise ratio" correctly in a sentence gets an Awesome. Your claims of not being a smart guy are starting to look pretty dubious.

 

Someone should give me an "off topic" for this to prove that the system works...

[Wish]

@sunvalleylaw. You mentioned that that's another site where something similar is working To what bennifit do you feel it's working? Working as in the bars are there and they are different for different posters? Or something else? Can you expand on how you think or perhaps know what the bennifits are? That may help. ....Nice bike!

[sunvalleylaw]

@Wish,

 

I have been a member there a while, but don't go there that regularly. When I do and ask a question, the green bars, that for some reason I like better than stars, give me some info about who has been a good contributor. And nobody seems to care or mention it, in terms of bragging or other complaining. Also, since the bars are earned when essentially someone clicks your "rep" button, a person who is newer or not a pro or anything can earn some cred when they post a good comment that someone likes well enough to click the "rep" button. So it seems simple too, with no unknown criteria.

 

That place is a big forum. This place is different. Much smaller and more personal. This is Horton's place and he may want to run it his own way. But it was something to look at.

 

Oh, and off-topic, yeah that carbon bike is sweet! I have much lust for it. But I can't spend that much on a bike. I hope to find a good used aluminum frame version which has the identical geometry, and spec it with parts I want to build it up to a similar bike at much less cost. That way there is more money to spend on waterskiing. :-)

[Horton]

I would be happy to get change the stars for bars or skis or beers

[sunvalleylaw]

Oh, also, at MTBR forum, (the one I posted a pic of), they encourage people to earn "rep" by posting things like good, honest reviews of gear, etc. in order to earn "rep". Seems to work to do that, and if it is good, people respond by clicking the submitting member's "rep" button.

 

My understanding is Horton is trying to keep the content and quality up as this place grows, so I am sure a similar system and similar encouragement/motivation could happen here. I think my main concern would be an unknown system for earning stars, bars, whatever. Also, I think the reactions should maybe stay, if they do not end up being too redundant.

[Nick Sullivan]

The problem I see here is that there is no clear definition on the earned stars/bars or whatever. Its all based on one guys opinion.

[Horton]

@sully

See the "no more stars" post