Should karma remain on the forum?

[well_dunno]

I think that some people have a problem with how it's used though. It seems that some people use it as a "agreement/disagreement button" more than anything else.

True what you say... People having different opinions is all good so smites should be kept for cases of disrespectful and uncivilized manners and not for disagreements... IMHO anyway...

 

[V8Beast]

Along the lines of what we're talking about, I noticed macfly has a very high proportion of negative karma. Despite the fact that he's one of the most talented and experienced photogs on the board, I presume the fanboys don't like when he merely states his opinion that Nikon now offers a better tool for his shooting needs. Let's see, someone who makes a living with his images, relies heavily on his equipment on a daily basis, and is more well-versed on the practical applications and limitations of DSLR technology in real-world shooting situations is suddenly a villain, just because he acknowledges that the best tool for his livelihood now comes from a manufacturer other than Canon? There's a big difference between posting your watermarked images on your flickr page for fun, and relying on your images to compete with other very talented pros on the cut-throat world of photography. Some people don't have the luxury of being fanboys.

IMHO, that pretty much sums up the usefulness of the karma function, but if nothing, it is good comedy to see the fanboys smiting anyone that doesn't lick Canon's balls.

 

[mStevens]

Apologies if this has already been questioned and answered. But what are those little yellow boxes for? I can't find anywhere on this site that gives me a clue.

 

[DBCdp]

Good point m, looks to be a time served indicator, and might as well ask about the s100 g12 1dx listings, again just an indicator as to how new or old a forum member one is? As I certainly don't have an S100, not that I didn't look real hard at one...

 

[well_dunno]

Apologies if this has already been questioned and answered. But what are those little yellow boxes for? I can't find anywhere on this site that gives me a clue.

It's kind of a classification that also shows with the camera model that shows under your nick. The more the posts, the more the boxes, the better the model at least to my knowledge...

 

[distant.star]

Again, how is it that you know that percentage, and I don't?

And how is it that you know this percentage?

There is a information leak, so its CR3

 

[bigblue1ca]

Again, how is it that you know that percentage, and I don't?

And how is it that you know this percentage?

There is a information leak, so its CR3

Since this is of such concern to you distant.star, a quick check of the member list found at the top of the page shows there are 5,637 members who have at least one post or more and there are 23,674 members in total. Only 80 members have chosen to respond to this poll.

Using the first group, 98.58% don't care, and using the latter as Mt. Spokane has highlighted, 99.66% don't care.

 

[Axilrod]

Since you can't tell where it comes from, who gave it to you, or what it clearly means, I really don't care. And plus, people will give you positive karma for a response here and there, but if you say something that someone doesn't agree with or something that pisses them off you can be sure they'll click the minus sign every time.

 

[CrimsonBlue]

One of the goals of karma is probably to identify those who consistently give good advice etc. If the forum software allows for it, we could potentially still accomplish that by removing the negative option. People could give kudos to those who are helpful, and those who are not as helpful will just be noise.

I agree with many of the posters in this thread that people often give a negative when they don't like the content of the response itself "ex: I think Nikon's D3 was better than the 1D IV." Opinions are being confused with personal behavior and eliminating the negative tally would probably serve both purposes. It isn't perfect, but it might help us find the best balance.

 

[Maui5150]

It is what it is.

If you have polarized opinions, expressing it will generally get you some applause but more smites.

If you are just the occasional cheerleader, your ratio will likely be higher.

If you like to pick fight, flame, or make things personal, or seem to post just to bash, you will wind up on the down site.

Lots of innocent victims and the like, but like combat missions, if you are not taking flak, you are not close enough to the target.

Is it worth it? Is it childish?

I think it does cut back on some of the flame wars. It is pretty easy to just click, feel like you expressed and opinion and move on. Have not seen any requests for physical confrontations here like I have seen on other boards, and while the ratio is fairly meaningless, it does occasionally work as designed...

Sort of like the AF on the 5D MK II

 

[distant.star]

Thanks, but I don't see it.

I can see a number for total members, currently 23,690. Nowhere do I see a breakout of number of members who have posted, once or otherwise.

Again, how is it that you know that percentage, and I don't?

And how is it that you know this percentage?

There is a information leak, so its CR3

Since this is of such concern to you distant.star, a quick check of the member list found at the top of the page shows there are 5,637 members who have at least one post or more and there are 23,674 members in total. Only 80 members have chosen to respond to this poll.

Using the first group, 98.58% don't care, and using the latter as Mt. Spokane has highlighted, 99.66% don't care.

 

[Curmudgeon]

I'm a noobie who has been "lurking" on this forum for some time. I hang around because a majority of the members strike me as both reasonable and knowledgeable people, and I frequently discover issues and photographic possibilities I wouldn't have known about otherwise. I haven't joined previously, however, precisely because of the whole karma and virulent "fanboy" behavior that sometimes marrs the discussion.

The recent introduction of Nikon's D800 seems to have whipped a certain subset of CR members into a particularly high dither. Anyone who even suggests that they might be considering this camera is tarred and feathered Internet style. "Stop whining. Leave! Who cares what you think, traitor?" Most people on this forum probably have a significant financial commitment to a particular camera maker's line of products, but how can anyone be so personally threatened by someone else's musings about a choice of consumer product?

Fanboys may say they don't care, but I'll bet Canon does. The features of the recently announced IDX strongly imply that Canon at least sometimes listen to its customers, and it's my guess the company is concerned when a competitor's camera provokes significant talk about defection among those customers serious enough to participate in forums like this one.

I'm one of the people with a financial commitment to Canon far beyond my capacity to change horses, but all the major players are making good equipment these days and I'm not too worried about Canon's ability to answer Nikon (and Sony) with a competitive product. That, however, doesn't alter the fact that the D800 is a very attractive offering from Nikon. Fake Chuck Westfall nothwithstanding, we don't really know much yet about the important criterion of image quality, but in terms of build (weathersealing, shutter life, etc.) and feature set (autofocus, storage, format flexibility, resolution, etc.) it is a startling advance and--for the moment at least--the new standard at the "high prosumer" price point. That's a fact, and saying so--or even ruminating on the possibility of buying a D800--ought not to get one pilloried on this forum.

Previous posters have raised several additional objections to the whole karma thing. First, as it applies to an Internet forum, "karma" is an extremely nebulous concept. What exactly is being applauded or censured? Grasp of facts? The opinions derived fromj those facts? One's attitude toward the subject? The cut of one's jib? Secondly, the karma button turns what should be discussion or a debate into an election--which is something fundamentally different. A discussion or debate strives to inform, resolve and include. The purpose of an election is to include certain parties and exclude others.

Unfortunately, I decided to formally join this discussion too late to vote in the poll. And I see the karma crowd has won the election. It's not surprsing, voting is their thing. However, Craig, if you read you're own polls, you might notice this: the great majority of people who have taken the time to post a comment favor either significantly modifying the karma feature or doing away with it altogether. My now non-binding vote would be to can it completely. Voting is a lazy man's way of framing an argument; it does nothing to advance the discussion, and as I and several other people can personally testify, it does discourage participation.

 

[bigblue1ca]

Nowhere do I see a breakout of number of members who have posted, once or otherwise.

If you look at the member list on the right hand side you will note there is a column titled "Posts". If you click on that column header it can sort either by descending or ascending post count; you can sort by any of the column headers on the member list actually. I may need a life to have figured this out, but all I did was sort by descending and then determined that there are 30 users a page (on my screen at least) and jumped forward to page 188 of the member list. On page 188 I found that I had reached the end of members who had posted at least once. That's where I got the number 5,637 from (there were three users on page 188 who had a 0 post count, in the event you check my math).

 

[Mt Spokane Photography]

Again, how is it that you know that percentage, and I don't?

And how is it that you know this percentage?

There is a information leak, so its CR3

Simple, I know a moderator and got the total number of members. The number is probably out of date, and only a small percentage of members have actually posted. You have to be a moderator or administrator to see the information though.

 

[CrimsonBlue]

Well spoken Curmudgeon! I didn't see the poll when it was up and didn't vote either. Maybe we can resurrect it -- or get some more attention drawn to a new poll so that the sample size is far larger.

And true to form, I got dinged -2 for my last posting (previous page) which was about as general and non-inflammatory as it gets. Can't wait to see what happens with this post...

But again, thanks for your thoughtful words.

 

[Loswr]

Thanks, but I don't see it.

I can see a number for total members, currently 23,690. Nowhere do I see a breakout of number of members who have posted, once or otherwise.

Why do you care? But since you're so concerned, do you see the post count for the members? Perhaps you could go through all 790 pages and count up the number of members with posts?

Or maybe if you're clever...really clever...or just lucky...you'll click on the Posts column header and figure out that sorts by post, then you'll count the number of rows per page, and skip through until you get to the zero-post members, then bust out the calculator and multiply number of rows per page times number of pages with members having posts. Naaah - just count 'em one by one. We'll be waiting...

 

[Mt Spokane Photography]

Well spoken Curmudgeon! I didn't see the poll when it was up and didn't vote either. Maybe we can resurrect it -- or get some more attention drawn to a new poll so that the sample size is far larger.

And true to form, I got dinged -2 for my last posting (previous page) which was about as general and non-inflammatory as it gets. Can't wait to see what happens with this post...

But again, thanks for your thoughtful words.

I can't comprehend why someone would smite you for that post, but I gave a plue to help even it up again.

 

[bigblue1ca]

Perhaps you could go through all 790 pages and count up the number of members with posts?

Naaah - just count 'em one by one. We'll be waiting...

I like your answer better than mine.

 

[D_Rochat]

I can't comprehend why someone would smite you for that post, but I gave a plue to help even it up again.

The quote below is from a recent Aperture/Lr3 discussion. This is his first and only post and he got a smite for it.

LR is a great product, so is A3. For some reason though, with my mild but bizarre dyslexia, is was just easier for me to deal with A3. Really a matter of taste, and what works for you. You really can't go wrong either way.

The system is a joke and people turn into children when using it. Pay no attention to it as I've seen people with hundreds of negative karma who are very insightful.

 

[CrimsonBlue]

I wonder if the moderator would open up the poll again (or start a new one) leaving it open for at least a week's time. A far more accurate reading of the user base would be nice.