Bring Back Karma – NOW!

[unfocused]

I just spotted this on another thread:

Gee I miss the karma system... some of the comments are just getting out of hand -_-

I too have noticed the amazingly rapid degeneration on this site since Karma was dropped. People suddenly feel the urge to insult one another, use negative stereotypes and call each other names. I'll bet if you did a word search on "fanboy" in the last week you'd find the frequency about 10 times what it used to be.

In less than two weeks this site has gone from one of the most civil and helpful forums on the web to sinking down there with so many other sites on the web, where drive-by comments, name-calling and denigrating other users is the order of the day.

Time to admit the experiment was a failure and bring back the Karma. Whatever its flaws. It worked.

[Mt Spokane Photography]

I think that the influx of new posters and trollers is bringing it on.  New members are good to have, but trollers make me disgudsted.  rather than Karma, just ban them.

[thepancakeman]

Actually I just started a different thread on the same topic (the rapid degeneration of this forum) but was blaming it on new traffic due to the 5D3.  However I threw a mention of the karma system in there as well.

Not sure what the cause is, but we definitely seem to be in a downward spiral around here.

[well_dunno]

I think the karma system also was affected by the trolls. smite rate had increased lately for posts that were basically stating opinions...

I hope it goes over when the hype cools down!..

Perhaps bringing back the karma but increase the number of posts after which one can smite or applaud could improve the situation?

[RC]

Only bring back the Karma if it can be reconfigured which I understand at this point it is very limited.

If you could see what posts you got dinged or applauded for plus you were prevented from dinging the same post (and maybe poster) over and over then I might be interested

What I learned in the last several weeks was, if you post your opinion (or preference) and in a non-threating way, you will get smitten by someone.

[mrmarks]

It's better to have more moderators than the so-called karma system. The karma system is open to abuse by irresponsible and immature members and can be unfair to many. Just my 2 cents

[CrimsonBlue]

Maybe it's just the threads you're reading.  I think people have been pretty civil now that the 5D is finally shipping.  Fewer people will be frothing at the mouth about the 1DX lag time so hopefully it's smooth sailing. 

Karma never seemed to be a deterrent for idiotic behavior anyway.  I for one am glad it is gone. 

[pwp]

Yes, now that the dust has settled on the 5D3 launch, you'll see a big drop in flaming posts, drive-by shootings and hype fueled antagonism. But it's as easy to ignore as inbox spam. You just don't give it an atom of your attention.

It's a simple matter just to skim straight past the negativity and focus on the quality contributions. It's interesting, if you look for sh.. chances are you'll find plenty of it. But if you put your attention on the gold, chances are that's what you'll see. So like life...

Since the welcome demise of the karma system I've seen an increased willingness from posters to express an opinion, and offer a sometimes unique & personal viewpoint.  How good is that?

Karma or no karma...you're always going to get a percentage of trolls and flamers. If you don't give them any fuel, the fire soon goes out.

Thanks here to the mods.

Paul Wright

[JR]

I think that the influx of new posters and trollers is bringing it on.  New members are good to have, but trollers make me disgudsted.  rather than Karma, just ban them.

+1.  I for one am glad Karma is gone.  I think it was used for the wrong purpose.  If people become insulting, maybe instead we could report them to the site master and have a system to ban them instead, but I would keep Karma out if it was up to me...

[shtfmeister]

I think it helped keep things civil.  i think it should be brought back.

[dstppy]

I think it helped keep things civil.  i think it should be brought back.

I disagree.  It definitely had a chilling effect on my posts. It was abused by cowards that couldn't civilly disagree with you or support why.

Honestly, look at how many smites Neuro got . . . how is that possible for a real content contributor?

[wickidwombat]

i think trolls wre responsible for most smiting, maybe the cutoff for being able to give karma should need like a minimum of 100 post count, something high, as trolls would likely get bored or banned before they get that many posts

I liked karma

[Wrathwilde]

Honestly, look at how many smites Neuro got . . . how is that possible for a real content contributor?

I believe Neuro's Karma was still to the positive, and reasonably balanced, so I look at is it as his being a respected, if sometimes contentious, member of this forum... one I'd probably enjoy having lunch and discussing photography with. I'd be much less inclined to do so with someone who had all positive Karma, or all smites. The first because they only play the safe, consensus, view... the latter, because they are likely just as unpleasant, ignorant and obstinate in real life.

I would like to see Karma/Smite reinstated, as I believe it helped identify trolls. I used it as a reference often, I figure if the community consensus had a persons Karma/Smite reasonably balanced then that person was worth having a dialog with. On the other hand if the person had 50 smites and only 4 Karma, then I know that person is likely a troll and I can save my breath trying  to engage in a reasonable dialog with them. 

As it stands now, there seems to be a number of trolls still operating, and now I have no way to identify them at a glance, so we all risk getting sucked into the pot they are stirring... out of ignorance or amusement.

Cheers,
Wrathwilde

[AprilForever]

I too would like to see Karma/Smite reinstated, as I believe it helped identify trolls. I used it as a reference often, I figure if the community consensus had a persons Karma/Smite reasonably balanced (or Karma rich) then that person was worth having a dialog with. On the other hand if the person had 50 smites and only 4 Karma, then I know that person is likely a troll and I can save my breath trying  to engage in a reasonable dialog with them. 

As it stands now, there seems to be a number of trolls still operating, and now I have no way to identify them at a glance, so we all risk getting sucked into the pot they are stirring... out of ignorance or amusement.

Cheers,
Wrathwilde

I was not a troll, but had a lot more smites than cheers. This was because of the position I chose concerning the 7D, 7D mk II, APS-C vs APS-H, MP vs ISO, MP vs DR...

The smiting being gone is perhaps a good thing. Perhaps not, but, it seemed to me that I got randomly smitten even when I had not posted...

[shtfmeister]

I too would like to see Karma/Smite reinstated, as I believe it helped identify trolls. I used it as a reference often, I figure if the community consensus had a persons Karma/Smite reasonably balanced (or Karma rich) then that person was worth having a dialog with. On the other hand if the person had 50 smites and only 4 Karma, then I know that person is likely a troll and I can save my breath trying  to engage in a reasonable dialog with them. 

As it stands now, there seems to be a number of trolls still operating, and now I have no way to identify them at a glance, so we all risk getting sucked into the pot they are stirring... out of ignorance or amusement.

Cheers,
Wrathwilde

what he said