Different badge for each forum?

[SteveChandler]

As I understand the badge, the first bar is kudos and tags, second is number of posts and the third is messages read. If I go post on the Test Stand board where I have only posted one or two messages my badge is the same as it is on the LabVIEW forums. But I am not really an active participant in the Test Stand forum. My kudos count is relatively high but most of them are from the idea exchange and some messing around on Breakpoint.

Would it be possible that the badge change to match activity in the forum where the message was posted? Of course the overall badge would remain. Maybe a two bar badge? Something like the top bar is overall activity and the second for the forum in which the message was posted. Maybe a page that lists a users badge for each forum. The page would be filtered so that forums where the user has never posted or read a message do not show up.

We could have Knights Of LabVIEW, Members Of The Feedback Forum, Proven Zealots of Breakpoint... Of course there would probably never be a Knight Of the Idea Exchange. Maybe the thresholds could be tweaked per forum.

Just a thought and I am not sure how I feel about it. I was just thinking about how to show a users participation in a particular forum.

What do people think?

[smercurio_fc]

What are you intending this to show? That if someone has those deep colors on, say, the LabVIEW forum, that if they go and post in, say, the Digital I/O board, then their comment should be taken with a grain of salt? Aside from the practical aspect of managing this, I don't see what you would gain from this. I can't speak for others with high post counts, but I know that I try not to get involved in threads where my knowledge is lacking. I'm sure others have the same kind of self-policing, so to speak.

[SteveChandler]

---

@smercurio_fc wrote:

What are you intending this to show? That if someone has those deep colors on, say, the LabVIEW forum, that if they go and post in, say, the Digital I/O board, then their comment should be taken with a grain of salt?

---

No, absolutely not. That is why the overall badge should still be shown. I am not sure I like this and hope that discussion will either make me like it, not like it, or realize that it is too difficult or impractical.

It is only intended to show participation in the forum where the post is made. I know that Ray would for example stand out in the Test Stand forum. It would let people know at a glance what a users expertise is. If it in any way diminishes the reputations that people have worked so hard to obtain then I am totally and completely against it.

To be honest I have been babysitting a very long series of tests that take thirty minutes each for the last couple weeks. This gives me a lot of time to read the forums and think about silly things like this. Maybe I should think about how to make these tests go faster and not need my intervention every thirty minutes.

[Laura F.]

One thing we are considering for the future is the ideas of badges that complement your overall rank. Badges could be given for online or offline activities.  For example, maybe Certified Developers would get a badge for that, or people that have posted many ideas... the list can go on.  That type of functionality would be more in line with showing a particular product expertise.

I'm definitely not implying that this is something that we have planned, just that we are starting to think about. I'm glad to hear that you are having some of these thoughts as well.

Thanks!

Laura

[SteveChandler]

I really like the idea of the badge reflecting certification! As you can see below the icon is way too big - and I shrunk it down. If I make it too small it is hard to tell if it is CLD, CLAD or CLA.

[RayFarmer]

I agree with smercurio_fc, users tend to know who are the major contributors on the different forums or can be easily identified. But it doesn't matter whether you have years of experience or just starting out, if you have some valid comment to make you should be able to do this with confidence and not be shot down because your badge was the wrong shade or colour.

Anyway, dont take your eye of the baby to long  while your reading the forums post

[SteveChandler]

That is absolutely true regardless of a per forum badge or the existing badge. If this idea makes even one person uncomfortable then it is not a good idea.

Status: Revoked By Author

This is probably completely unnecessary. The forums each show Top Kudoed Authors if anyone is really interested. The intent was to enhance or complement users reputations but it could have unintended consequences.

[JÞB]

I like PARTS of the idea.  The current "bars and levels" demonstrate an overall commitment to the forums without any "judgment" on quality.  Make NO MISTAKE, I believe this commitment is the TOP metric to be shown and would not wish to see a "ratings" system again.

On the other hand-  the profile pages let you see a given posters activity (and the new user search interface helps break out the "by board" info Steve refers to)  and the Kudos and Taggers learderboards can help refine the QOP on a reasonable basis.  But- Moving some of those metrics to a posters profile might be pretty informative and increase community unity by encouraging more "Get to know the members" investagations.