Karma is back

SurferTim:
If you want to get rid of something that is worthless, drop the "posts" number from all users. There are some here that post a lot, but have nothing to say. At least karma is awarded from others, not yourself.

Perhaps worthless to you, but at best that is a subjective opinion. If we dropped the post count how would we ever know which members are the most prolific in the site statistic page linked below? I once 'won' a $200 credit from the Arduino store for being in the top five posters at the time, so I could personally never call post counts worthless, now could I?

Lefty

Maybe I was not clear. Quantity does not guarantee quality. Paying someone to post is not a good way to get forum participation. Not worthless to you, but totally worthless to me. Just my opinion.

edit:
@retrolefty: I was not referring to your participation in the forum. I think you and many others do a fine job. I did not need to see your post count to tell that. Same with fat16lib. Unlike you, and even me, he has a very low post count, because his posts are quality.

SurferTim:
Maybe I was not clear. Quantity does not guarantee quality.
Nor does it preclude it. I would suggest that there is no direct correlation between post counts and post quality. Karma attempts to measure one thing and post count measures something else. One is free to use such metrics, or not, as you wish.

Paying someone to post is not a good way to get forum participation. Not worthless to you, but totally worthless to me. Just my opinion.
Well it was a one time thank you from the Arduino folks and I'm pretty sure it won't be repeated ever again, at least not based on post counts. The forum was already very large with growing membership so I don't think trying to 'buy forum participation' was a reason for them doing it.

edit:
@retrolefty: I was not referring to your participation in the forum.
I assumed you weren't. But as you did not name names there is no why that I can see if your negative attitude towards displaying total post counts is reasonable or not. :wink:

I think you and many others do a fine job. I did not need to see your post count to tell that. Same with fat16lib. Unlike you, and even me, he has a very low post count, because his posts are quality.

Well I always read the post contents before deciding if I think a posting is worthwhile or not. I just think you feel that total post counts implies something other then what it actually measures. To me the only possible implication I might take away from my post count is that I don't have a real life. :wink:

To me the only possible implication I might take away from my post count is that I don't have a real life.

And I'm worse it appears! Living the hobby to the max I guess 8)

CrossRoads:

To me the only possible implication I might take away from my post count is that I don't have a real life.

And I'm worse it appears! Living the hobby to the max I guess 8)

What is this 'real-life' people talk about? 8)

I've heard tell of a big blue room that some people refer to as outside. XD

Real-life - I think that's the job that pays for the hobby ]:smiley:

CrossRoads:
Real-life - I think that's the job that pays for the hobby ]:smiley:

Not if one is retired, then a well funded IRA does the heavy lifting. :smiley:

Lefty

Got a ways to go for that still - maybe when the kid is out of college, in 5 years.

CrossRoads:
Real-life - I think that's the job that pays for the hobby ]:smiley:

It depends, those of us that work for big organizations (corporations, governments, etc.) can often times feel that work is just another virtual universe which has its own rules and regulations, that might be only lightly coupled with reality. $)

I recall when I first entered cube-ville many years ago, I thought there should be a big pile of cheese at the end of one of the cubes, because I felt like a rat in a pysch. experiment. 8)

Not to be off topic but is there any advice from the ones that have been in the industry for a while that you could share with a student who is studying to go into the industry soon?

Work hard & don't disappoint the boss. Don't lie. Learn from your mistakes. Don't abuse phone & internet access if you have it. And yet, enjoy what you're doing.

funkyguy4000:
Not to be off topic but is there any advice from the ones that have been in the industry for a while that you could share with a student who is studying to go into the industry soon?

If you really enjoy the work that is the single best thing that will get through a whole lot of random stuff you will come across in industry, like abusive bosses (they come and go, don't freak out if you randomly draw one for awhile, that too will pass) and flakey peers. If it's a technical field, never stop learning even if you have to do it on your time, the tech changes to fast to sit back with only past knowledge and skills. Treat all people as you would have them treat you. Try and enjoy the journey, many of us feels it's only a one time trip.

Lefty

Not to be off topic but is there any advice from the ones that have been in the industry for a while that you could share with a student who is studying to go into the industry soon?

Stay on topic.

I usually stay on topic, although we've been having a conversation about karma for 6 pages. Honestly what could you possibly have to talk about in the topic of karma for 6 pages? It honestly just feels either like a post dump or little discussions that don't matter. The entire point is in the title, karma is back. I can't be the only one who feels like this.

I agree, this veered off into Bar Sport territory pages back.

I usually stay on topic

I jerked your chain a little, and it came right off. Sorry about that.

Perhaps worthless to you, but at best that is a subjective opinion. If we dropped the post count how would we ever know which members are the most prolific in the site statistic page linked below? I once 'won' a $200 credit from the Arduino store for being in the top five posters at the time, so I could personally never call post counts worthless, now could I?

Arduino Forum

The "Top Topic Starters" statistic is somewhat skewed - moderators get a new topic every time they move a misplaced thread. Mostly I forget to delete the redirection topic, so posts build up, which is why I'd like to see the redirection threads auto-destruct.

(I got a freebie too for being a "top 5" poster, but because the award was completely out of the blue and not advertised, it can't be deemed an "incentive")

I honestly completely forgot that there was an arduino store. I've always bought my arduino stuff from distributors in the US

Back on the subject of Kama.
How come that one of the most "challenging" posters has got a Kama of +1?
Makes no sense.

He is challenging in that his language ability or his intellect make it imposable to help him.
Surely that tells you the value of Kama.

Can you guess who he is Nick :wink: