Community Ranking system

[a45heaven]

Community Ranking system

Mentors, Champion , Guide, Engager, Conversationalist, Contributor, Member, Helper , Advisor, etc - 

I must assume the title must reflect some form of experience or knowledge, or access to higher authorities.

where can i see what the various title ranks members are allocated as it appears to have changed since the concept of 'Mentors'

and are they all unpaid as was originally stated?

[vikkipollardanddafyddthomas]

Once league tables were introduced it had to mean quantity not quality.

This was definitely the case Until February where the person who at the top of the league table for "helpfuls" was a user who seemed to spend 24/7 on here, often commenting nonsense for the sake of it with very unhelpful comments. Anyone looking at the "Most helpful authors" table would think "Wow they are so helpful" but if you looked at how many replies they had made in the previous 28 days it would be 20x as many as anyone else, so it was inevitable that they would top the league table if only 10% of their comments received kudos. 

[toolboss15]

Wrong, some experts are usless and very negative so they are poor quality advisers.

[purveyor_of_tat]

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@vikkipollardanddafyddthomas wrote:

Once league tables were introduced it had to mean quantity not quality.

This was definitely the case Until February where the person who at the top of the league table for "helpfuls" was a user who seemed to spend 24/7 on here, often commenting nonsense for the sake of it with very unhelpful comments....

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That made me want to stick my fingers into my eyes, through to my brain and twirl them around. 😵

[bennotbill]

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@1956glyn wrote:

Having a thumbs down may only add to  abuse of the system.

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Maybe only a select few should be on the receiving end of a possible thumbs down. Like eBay reps.

After all wouldn't it give eBay crucial feedback on how eBay's paying customers feel about answers given? And the direction eBay is moving in.

The weekly chat could do with a good kicking. Maybe something like that would encourage answers that are actually helpful.

Then I woke up.😀

[catshome1]

I seldom disagree with your posts, but I do feel strongly about your suggestion that only the OP can mark a post as helpful.

Firstly, there is a strong likelihood that some OPs would only mark posts as helpful if they agreed with the OP's own beliefs about the situation they are posting about.  This could be misleading to other members who visit the thread in the future.

Secondly, if someone has already replied to a thread and said pretty much what I was going to say, I just mark as helpful.  I don't like reading threads that have a lot of posts saying the same thing, as they tend to get very long without making much progress.

The thumbs up/down idea that has been suggested sounds interesting.

[cobwebcottage]

The Specialist makes me think of a hitman.

[the_book_seekers]

I would prefer the community team to contribute with some meaningful (non-scripted) answers to the many issues facing members rather than devising things like community ranking. Badges and rankings haven't gained much if any traction amongst board users.  

The last thread on rankings/badges ended up being shunted off the main boards to a dusty corner where nobody really goes. I wonder if this one will go the same way. 

[hettsville]

Probably.

[wearenowclosedthankyou]

I've always just assumed it was to show how active on here members are.... and just reading up on the link it sounds like it is so..  points system to gain badges and complete the game.... 

[plpmr]

many many moons ago there was a thumbs down but it was removed.  

[bits_n_bobs_heaven]

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@1956glyn wrote:

Ok i just have the one mitten on.

I stepped down as a Mentor partly to prove my point that i genuinely am not bothered by silly titles.  There were of course other reasons too.

Not sure if i like being Champion the Wonder Horse now 🙂

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Seconded on that one! I gave up titles when I was 5, at nursery 😂🤣

[theelench]

That person seemed so determined to keep their No.1 position that I'm sure they even had a Kudo-ing account for themselves.  I hope we never see their like again on here.

As all the badges, titles and the "Most Helpful Authors" table are intended to increase board usage and depth of discussion, I wonder why the league table wasn't dropped soon after it appeared?  I think it soon brought this board into disrepute and actually reduced its use.

At a time when there were long threads filled with (mostly) complaining private sellers (possibly about ebay wanting photo ID?), it became so obvious that the "most helpful" posters were disagreeing with most posters and telling them that their worries were unfounded, their problems easily resolved.  So who was giving them Kudos?

It clearly showed that they were not only keeping each other on the leader board, but also that they hadn't got a much of a clue about the difficulties being experienced, had even less sympathy and no real solutions. 

To me the league table helps no-one and in no way indicates how "helpful" their posts are.

Last week I actually somehow managed to (briefly) become the Most Helpful" contributor on the Business Seller Board.   Over there I read far more often than I post, it's a joke and totally inappropriate that I should even be on their league table.   Let alone be the "most helpful" author, when quite a lot of what they discuss goes right over my head. 

[plpmr]

One of the hidden dangers of the 'league table' regarding quantity rather than quality was that members questions and, or plea for help that were somewhat complex and therefore took time to answer would be of little or no interest.

[theelench]

Very true, luckily there are some regular posters who will take the time and have the knowledge to be genuinely "helpful".  So in most cases they do get some helpful advice.   But because they only get Kudos from the OP, plus a few from other readers who were interested enough to read the thread and advice,  they often don't get anywhere near the top of a League Table so open to manipulation and go unrecognised for their patience and work.  

[theelench]

There, I suppose, is one explanation why the Community Team has to come up with badges and league tables to try to drum-up participation (or even some interest) in community discussion and problem solving.

As with ebay in general, fewer people can be bothered these days.  Not many years ago participation levels were much higher and dare I say (reaching for tin hat), that the quality of discussion and advice, generally wider with more depth and higher standards.  Sellers who had been here for years were willing to give their time and vast knowledge of ebays' workings helping others and contributing to wide reaching discussions.  As they stop posting the audience shrinks.

The reliability of advice isn't what it was (IMO) from members who can't keep up with constant changes.  The Community Team has questions that it won't answer, presumably under orders from higher up the management chain and they have to tell sellers that "Everything is working as it should", when they are shown examples that ebay is producing nonsense answers.

This thread (and others before it) shows how few of the regular posters count their Kudos or even know where to find their total.  They haven't a clue how many posts they've made and couldn't care less how many "Solutions" they've authored.  Don't know how many badges they've acquired or what their title means.

It's not badges and Leader Boards that attract an audience or keep it coming back and joining in.  It's the regular posters that make a board whatever it is.  To increase participation ebay should give them the respect they deserve, not drive them away.

[the_book_seekers]

Participation dropped after ebay 'improved' the community boards. The loss of the private seller boards which was merged into selling and the moving of the powerseller board to a dead backwater where nobody goes and renaming it Experienced Sellers has killed a lot of participation. A page was started for the ebay Academy under groups sometime ago. It has two threads both started by the community team which have mustered 60 views 2 likes and no posts between them. 

[hettsville]

It didn't take long for this thread to be kicked into the twilight zone.

Criticise the subject matter and you could end up in the same place.🤐

[theelench]

I thought it started out on Seller Central, only found it again because I had Notifications turned on.

I didn't even know this board existed until I clicked on the Notification and landed here.

"If you can't convince them 'em.  Confuse 'em."  ??

[hettsville]

It's a touchy subject as I found out to my cost.🤐

Though while I was away on the naughty step I was awarded another silly badge.🤣

[theelench]

You're not alone.🤞