There appears to be some ambiguity about the Recognition Program as we know it.
The point system, as it stands in its current form, does not appear to be much appreciated. Some would like to see it replaced or even abolished. On the other hand though there are countless others who complain vociferously when that self same “atrocious” system is down or things are Re: Stabilize points reward system. I started wondering what could account for there being two opposing points of view and I summarized the arguments that one could put forward against the system.
- First of all, there are the forums and the so called Re: Cheating in BI Forums for Points : FLAG them by point hunters. Indeed, we see that in certain forums people get a response within the same split second (as a matter of speech) as the question is posted. As such, there’s nothing against that. I even remember that the SDN admins used this fact at last years “SDN meets Labs”, as a proof of concept for the SDN community.
The problem lies in what happens after that first post. People keep posting the same answers. Sometimes they shuffle the wording, but some people have no scruples about taking over answers completely in the hope of gaining some points, like vultures on prey.
Then we have the opposite situation where the question posted doesn’t give feedback on how things have turned out and so the answers aren’t rewarded, as I’ve already pointed out in an From the Grumpy Old Man: I'm not an addict grumpy.
I will probably elaborate on this issue in a later grumpy, but what are we talking about? 10 points for a solved problem. Is that a reason to dispense with the system? In this huge barrel, called the SDN community, rotten apples are unavoidable. People like Rich, Bhanu, Roberto, Detlev and Raja are the opposite. Do you think that these people amuse themselves by playing these kinds of games? I don’t think so. They work hard to answer questions and deserve to be rewarded. - The points for recommendation are Points for Recommendation and indicated as not healthy. It might be susceptible to abuse. The reward system for new ‘customers’ is widely used in the commercial world and there is, as such, nothing against it if both parties benefit from it and if it doesn’t lead to excesses. So why shouldn’t one allow it on SDN? Again, it’s only 20 points and the person who has more time to fraud the system than actively contribute belongs to places other than SDN
- There was some Concern regarding new weblog point system.... about the new approach of rewarding web logs. There has been some discussion about rewarding web logs in the past too. One suggested - as suspected in the concerns about the new approach – that points should be given in proportion to the number of readers of that web log. But then there was a fuss when Craig tried to Top Weblogs of All Time [8 to 4] the top 25 and there was a discussion as to whether the word “Top” refers to quality or quantity.
I believe that the process of evaluation of contributions that is currently used by the SDN admins is - after polishing off the flaws in the beginning – good and fair. Remember, it’s an appraisal, not a conviction. - The system should be replaced by a SDN Forum points vs Sun Forum Duke Dollars like the one used by Sun. Apart from the fact, as Mark mentions, that Sun has abandoned that system, I wonder if it’ll really solve enough issues to vindicate a change. Would the proposed system be the ultimate solution? Aren’t there any other solutions such as virtual money that is used in certain online MP games? What amount of work would it imply, not only for converting stuff, but also maintaining it and then “paying out’ afterwards?
To sum up, I think that the fear of abuse of the system is, to a certain extent, a bit overdriven. People get what they deserve and could get even more (see 1). The top contributors are the best proof of this. Those (decent) people don’t have the time nor need to commit fraud.
And as in real life, there are people who think that rules don’t apply to them, no matter how many laws and regulations exist to prevent abuse.
There is no perfect solution for them. Even pillory and kicking them out, won't prevent recidivism.
