I must start off by saying this. This is not a rant, this is genuinely what I think about it.
A Basic introduction to the 'issue'
PMC is an absolutely fantastic website. There are all sorts of people. People with different opinions, and therefore contrasting views on this issue. Seeing as others have quite harshly offered there opinions, I shall offer mine, but in a much calmer way.
Much like many debates out there, people just decide to jump onto the bandwagon and say "this is ALWAYS better than that which is COMPLETELY terrible!" The first example that pops into my head is Android vs iOS. No one looks at the facts but everyone likes to argue.
PMC's argument is exactly the same, and here's how.
There are always pros and cons to everything. Sometimes, I'll admit, there are far more pros and less cons on one side of the argument and the complete flip side on the other. However, this is not one of those cases. I'll tell you now, you can't win an argument that is based solely on personal preference.
The Arguments
So, some of the arguments for the PMC XP system.
1) It's a clear way of showing who is creative.
2) It's rewarding
3) It attracts more people onto the site
I completely agree with number 2, partially with number 3 and slightly with number 1. Focusing on #1, here's why:
While it may be true that some people who are creative and work for their level, there are others who spam, steal and work for about five minutes in total for their XP, just because people were feeling kind. Also, someone on the chat said to me that they were 'disappointed' with me for only being Level 10 (at time of writing) after being on the site for so long. They went on to say that your XP level marked off your creativity. They basically said that I was not creative because I have been on the site for a while now and I am still Level 10. Well, this irritated me. The funny thing was that this person was friends with BlackFTW. Now, if you don't know BlackFTW, he is one of the most creative souls in the world, and he is Level 1. He has been on PMC for longer than I have, and he has simply posted things a couple of times, didn't like what he posted and took it down. He has no submissions up (at time of writing) and has Cyprezz as a subscriber. I ask you, how does his level reflect his creativity.
However, I must agree with this point to a certain extent. It is not really true in the first 10 or so levels of PMC. Though it is once we start looking at levels 20 higher. However, I wouldn't connect the amount of time you have been on PMC with the creativity and level, seeing as some people, such as myself, only post when we see fit, and that may be a different period of time for different people.
#2 I agree with. While I don't care about level, I care about recognition. Levelling up means that you have been recognised by a certain amount of people, and that is rewarding.
#3, it can be true, but that honestly doesn't completely favour this side.
Now, let's move onto this opposing side. Three arguments I commonly see:
1) It's a popularity contest.
2) It attracts noobs and ruins the site
3) People post spam for XP
#2 & #3 are a tad bit dramatic. #1 is, however, more accurate than not. You may be someone who people all ready know about or people just tend to like more. You are likely to get more XP because more people will care about your work. This may be deemed unfair, as I have many times, because the quality of the work will be below par and some people will blindly diamond it. This is fine, as long as you diamond work that has obviously had a lot of effort put into it. However, there is nothing wrong with this if there has been some absolutely fantastic work put out there by those individuals.
#2. Of course it attracts 'noobs'! That's what anyone new to the site is! Does that mean it ruins the site? You know where I have heard that? 'I don't want you in my country!' Yep, in racism! I am NOT accusing you of being racist. Nonetheless, look at that and think about how silly that is. Not a single chance is given to the new people!
#3. People may post just for XP, but that's is why there is a very nice, nifty 'Flag' button. Once you flag something, moderators will check it. If they don't like what they see, they remove it, and all XP gained is lost. If they see it as viable for the site, they'll leave it alone, and then you should too.
Conclusions:
There is no winning here. It's preference. I don't live for XP, I don't judge people by their level, but I do like the XP, it's rewarding, and it's a nice way to see that people appreciate your work, even more so when levelling up. I hope this has given you new opinions to consider, and I hope you do. Though, if you want to drag this out, then waste your fun hours on PMC for an argument no one will ever win.
I thank anyone who has actually read through this and thought about what I have said. I must note: the person who said the things that irritated me I do not think any less of. They are entitled to their own opinions, and it may have come across harsher than he wanted it to.
Pleasure,
Xamboldore
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awj001
Level 17
Journeyman Dragon
January 24, 2013, 10:56 am
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Xamboldore
Level 17
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January 24, 2013, 10:59 am
My point is, people shouldn't judge your skill based on what level you are, but on your actual content.
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PlanetPerry
Level 9
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August 7, 2012, 10:46 am
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DeathWings
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bloom50
Level 2
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July 20, 2012, 7:17 am
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MFN
Level 22
Expert Cake
July 20, 2012, 4:14 am
Also, great review of the site's levelling system; I'd never thought about it that way before.
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Xamboldore
Level 17
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July 20, 2012, 10:58 am
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Xistence
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July 20, 2012, 2:45 am
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Xamboldore
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July 20, 2012, 10:59 am
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sumo377stucki
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July 19, 2012, 10:34 pm
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Solar101
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July 19, 2012, 4:02 pm
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July 19, 2012, 9:12 pm
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nyanekomimi
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July 19, 2012, 2:16 pm
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Stronghold257
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Xamboldore
Level 17
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July 19, 2012, 12:49 pm
Diamond: Nice work.
Subscribe & Diamond: I'm interested!
Subscribe, Diamond & Favourite: I LOVE YOU!
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ndnprct3
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July 19, 2012, 12:04 pm
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Xamboldore
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July 19, 2012, 12:05 pm
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ndnprct3
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Xamboldore
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July 19, 2012, 12:06 pm
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ndnprct3
Level 15
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July 19, 2012, 12:28 pm
23 minutes ago
thank you :)
23 minutes ago
wow! that was fast!
22 minutes ago
i have nothing to do
21 minutes ago
me:
O.O
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Xamboldore
Level 17
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July 19, 2012, 12:31 pm
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ndnprct3
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July 19, 2012, 12:55 pm
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Xamboldore
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July 19, 2012, 12:57 pm
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xAudaa
Retired Moderator
Level 30
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July 19, 2012, 12:00 pm
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Xamboldore
Level 17
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July 19, 2012, 12:02 pm
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11volt11
Level 26
Expert Creeper
July 19, 2012, 7:42 am
Before he reset his level, I thought his blogs were very good and he's creative.
Now that it is reset, I still think he's creative, but now it seems like he did that as a stunt of publicity or to seem like a better person. Now, I can't read those blogs anymore...
What he did didn't really help anyone, so it was not an act of grace, although he did make a statement. I still like him, but what he did didn't change my opinion about the leveling system at all.
What I'm trying to say is that your level is something you should feel good about. Not denounce it.
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Xamboldore
Level 17
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July 19, 2012, 8:04 am
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11volt11
Level 26
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July 19, 2012, 8:39 am
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11volt11
Level 26
Expert Creeper
July 19, 2012, 7:35 am
Your # 2 on reasons against leveling, the one about noobs, I actually disagree with you about. There is a distinction to be made here, between newbs and noobs. Noobs are bad. They are either new to this site and annoying and desperate, or not new and still annoying and desperate. Newbs are simply people who are new to the site. Noobs=Bad, Newbs=Usually good.
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Xamboldore
Level 17
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July 19, 2012, 8:06 am
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MIKEYMK
Level 15
Journeyman Engineer
July 19, 2012, 7:17 am
and as for popular projects . 60 % of submissions which get into reel were spams soo
anyway i dont like the xp , its ... i dont even know how to describe it . its good as long as here are not children-spamers , but the bad message is that 90 % of PMCers are children-spamers with no skills and no brain
anyway this is great blog :D , good job buddy
take a diamond
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Xamboldore
Level 17
Journeyman Scribe
July 19, 2012, 7:25 am
The PMC community is not 90% Children spammers. There are other spammers too. I am a teen, only just. I'm 13.
99.5% of the 'Most popular' will be absolutely fantastic work. There are a very small minority of work that gets there that is ridiculously stupid, just spam or otherwise invalid.
The PMC community is fine. I think that is where the problem started. People were getting a little bit dramatic and started to suggest that the PMC community is 'terrible,' and the whole 'SAVE PMC' thing started. It's like fixing what's not broken. In fact, it's like fixing something that is actually one of the most functional things in the house.
I thank you for sharing your opinion.
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MIKEYMK
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July 19, 2012, 8:21 am
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Apimil
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July 19, 2012, 6:36 am
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Xamboldore
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rageman96
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Xamboldore
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ricklowdis
Level 32
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July 18, 2012, 10:56 pm
It's just like everything else in the world. The more effort you put into it the more you get out of it. If you put effort into everyday at prime time doing an update log or bumping. You will get tons of XP,Views, and Downloads.
I see stupid projects everyday that consist of 5 cobblestone blocks and a door and have more diamonds then someone's EPIC project.
All that really matters is why you are here.
Me for instance I'm here to share my work so others may make their servers/game experience better. I'm also here to inspire others to build amazing things that will in turn inspire me.
great post even tho I see deeper into the problem and I think you are off on a few points. The real issue with the XP is it too easily manipulated. (hence why I said if you put more effort into showcasing your projects you naturally get more XP) I would say the majority of the EPIC builders/bloggers/whatevers don't really care about their level. It is important to some and it probably keeps the majority of the people coming back.
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Xamboldore
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July 19, 2012, 5:52 am
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zachstar1998
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July 18, 2012, 10:44 pm
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Xamboldore
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July 18, 2012, 6:41 pm
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sargeant55
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Snowylips
Level 33
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July 18, 2012, 5:10 pm
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Xamboldore
Level 17
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July 19, 2012, 5:56 am
Anyway, I don't think that everyone use the popularity system as a way to get better but simply to be popular.
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Uniblue Media
Level 35
Artisan Nether Knight
July 18, 2012, 1:12 pm
Calm indeed. Also very good written.
Excellent work! ;)
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TheSebc722
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July 18, 2012, 12:43 pm
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