Shipbucket

Some of you remember that during the time we abolished the moderator group there was lot of talks about abolishing other membership ranks. This view point was supported specially by me and Colloseum, since we felt that equality among the members is lot more important for community like this than some hierarchical ranking that creates artificial pecking-order for the small minded to abuse. There have been (time to time) scent of this type of behavior existing, and was one of the reasons why the moderators were abolished.

Other members raised counterpoint of the membership ranks truely working as rewards of long term contribution for the forum and they appears to be quite important for some members. Many opinions against and for were heard, but not from everyone. As well as other life reasons, things have processed in rather slow motion this spring, but now we decided to get things into motion.

So this is the "offical" referendum that will guide me and Colo in the ultimate decission.

You have three votes:
1. Yes = You support abolishing the ranks (elite, premium, FD master)
2. No = You want to retain them as they are now
3. Something else = You want to keep the ranks but modify them someways. If this option starts leading, then there should be pretty good suggestions around as well. (this thread will remain open for discussion)

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Shipbucket mainsite, aka "The Archive"
New AU project "Aravala"

Maybe we can just apply ranks about the amount of drawing do in a category (real designs, planebucket, FD scale, ...) as a reward for the contribution...

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My motto:Per ardua ad astra (RCAF)
Current Drawings:
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HMCS Bonaventure CVL-22 and later alterations
Paul 2024

I could vote yes, but I voted something else, since I feel we need some sort of award system that tell us that "you are good in drawing", "you have knowledge" etc. but out over that it's not important.

I agree the ranks aren't perfect (Heuhen's got a great idea) but it is a way to distinguish those with more experience/ service than users with 1 or two 2 posts and haven't submitted a drawing or any sort. Yes it can be a reward, a sort of recognition of hard work and a milestone. Its not a hierarchy as long as it isn't perceived and used as such. Admittedly there are always those who use a system for the worse but all it would take is an understanding that you abuse the system, you get knocked down a peg etc.

Just my 2 cents

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"Loitering on the High Seas" (Named after the good ship Rodondo)
There's no such thing as "nothing left to draw" If you can down 10 pints and draw, you're doing alright by my standards

The current ranks and the merits why people have them seem to range from both "you are good artist" to "you have served us well for so many years", and basicly each member have been selected for their rank from unique reasons. The current system really doesen't make that much differences between these two categories, and thus is one fault of it, if we consider it as fault.

The idea of ranking people of the quality of their drawings is also bit difficould, since those issues are always subjective, and since me and colo are only ones that can promote people, it would be rather narrow point of view, despite me and Colo's opinion of "pure" Shipbucket style differs quite lot. Back when we abolished the moderators and had some trouple brewing and dissident, some discussions that I overheard were related to top ten shipbucket artists, I also begun to think whom would be on my such list and realised that almost half of the names were still premium members and some even normal members! So I guess any purely drawing quality based ranking would require futher methods to actually judge the quality in most objective manner we could muster.

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Shipbucket mainsite, aka "The Archive"
New AU project "Aravala"

I think it would be nice to see an rank that shows knowledge and contributors.
contributors would simply be the ones who submit drawings to the main site. while this is most of the active part of the forum, it rules out the need for 'beginner' statuses, and IIRC the mods always say that is the main purpose of shipbucket, so doing so should be rewarded, right? even better would be to work with an amount of drawings (for example 10) , but that would be harder to check.
the people with knowledge would be the ones who know how ships work, and/or the ones so long on shipbucket that they know how shipbucket (style) works.

these suggestion would remove the idea of 'superiority' of higher ranks but more an purpose rank that people can see who to ask questions, whose advice to heed, etc.

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Drawings are credited with J.Scholtens
I ask of you to prove me wrong. Not say I am wrong, but prove it, because then I will have learned something new.
Shipbucket Wiki admin

I voted "NO", since I think that current system works sufficiently well.

That said, since there is a large group of Members voting for "Something else", I could add my 3 cents to that part of discussion.
I don't know wether this would be supported by the Forum script, but perhaps something similar to (as I understand it) Acelanceloet's suggestion could be useful by giving members standardized "titles" related to areas of their particular expertise (SB drawings, FD drawings, contributions to parts sheets, help for newcomers, maysome forms of technical-related support etc. and perhaps with possibility to add "custom titles" for some more unique services of particular Member), that could be displayed below avatar/when joined/number of posts/location area (with possibility that one person could have more than one such title).

@Paul_541
Assigning "ranks" based on sheer amount of drawings would lead to situation where person who draws 10 kayaks would have higher rank than someone who draw 5 aircraft carriers.

The biggest, and only issue with the curent ranks has been the missuse of the rank as some sort of tool of power. And this power been missused as well. In my point of view Both Acelancelots, and Eswube's suggestion would create more proplems in that regard, rather than solve. Now we would have actuall purpose for the rank to be used to boost someone's word in discussions.
If someone is given rank of beeing expert of something, then how will he manage when someone questions his opinion on some matter? Could or more like, dare we assume that no one wouldnt use his given title as sledgehammer to silence other members out in discussions and conducts of the given expertise? I see this type of ranks just cementing all the bad features and qualities of the old system into unmanagable disaster.

Many poster and holder of such hypotethical ranks would naturally go by with good intentions in heart without missusing, and I assume most cases when it would become missused, atleast the orginal intention would have been honest. But I've run this site and other sites in internet long enough to loose all blue-eyed conceptions of people's utilitarian and altruistic intents in small circle communities.

What I want from the ranks is them to be marks of gratitude from this community towards its valuable members, more like badges of honour than ranks to mark their status in hierarchy that should not exist.

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Shipbucket mainsite, aka "The Archive"
New AU project "Aravala"

dissolve ranks, give use some sort of medal. a type of achievement to work for/to. Ranks is for Noobs! but have the ability to get an achivment, like for example:

- "got out of new beginner topic"
- "The person of hundreds of drawings"
- "the old skipper!"
- etc.

not needed to be like that, but something around that. something that doesn't automatically turns an person to an big master: "and if he says so...". but more like an medal.

but the color can also be used, but mostly by admin is my 2 cent. something that stand out, and if they see someone comments and have there name in a different color, then they should perhaps listen at what he have to say.

but what if we say this, gollevainen. if people misuse the fact that they have knowledge to press their knowledge, this is not the fault of the system.
the only thing that would be an fault of is of people pressing their opinions, or of people who know little to spam bullshit.

a system in which you can show whose advice is good advice is not an bad thing, however a system where this knowledge is always correct and infinite is. the difference in this is not in user colours, but in the people who use it.

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Drawings are credited with J.Scholtens
I ask of you to prove me wrong. Not say I am wrong, but prove it, because then I will have learned something new.
Shipbucket Wiki admin