New site ideas (Points System / Subgenre Change Proposals) - request for feedback
Hi all. As Metal Academy has always been a community site, I want to let you guys have some input on the potential new site. Below are two links that will take you to detailed explanations of aspects we don't currently have here at Metal Academy.
The first one is a Points System, where site members can earn Clan and Global points.
Click the below
The second one is a (mostly) automated replacement for the Hall of Judgement. Basically it's a subgenre (and therefore potentially genre and clan) changing system. Clan points and Global points earned give users weighted influence on proposed subgenre changes, rewarding active / knowledgeable site members.
Click the below
Anyway, the descriptions are detailed, so I hope you'll all take the time to read through them and click on the various sections. Is this all too much? Probably! But I've never done things in halves. If I'm ever going to make this new site a reality, I want it to be fucking perfect! I never want to have to redesign it again.
Let me know what you think.
Interesting stuff Ben and food for thought for sure. My initial thoughts:
I am not fundamentally opposed to a points-based system, but I do forsee issues with it. Members becoming obsessed with point acquisition rather than having genuine enthusiasm for the music being the most obvious, for example writing garbage reviews that add nothing to the conversation in order to accrue points, posting a million times in the "What are you listening to now" threads with just an album name or making a multitude of posts that have nothing to do with metal.
That said, though, if you were intent on introducing a points system then this seems like a very well-thought-out way to do it. I don't think votes on cover art should count towards clan points, though, as you can rate an awful lot of covers in a very short time without knowing anything about the clan's genres, making it the most obvious area for abuse. The Revolution, for example has nearly 6000 releases currently and I could rate every cover with very little thought and zero knowledge of the musical content, but I could accrue 6000 points within that clan - the equivalent of 500 reviews, when in reality I have only rated 32 Revolution releases.
The new "Hall of Judgement" sounds like a very good evolution of that concept and would, hopefully, lead to better and more timely outcomes. It is all looking very exciting to be sure.