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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
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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1 Update Logs
Update #1 : by Xamboldore 07/17/2012 3:22:48 pmJul 17th, 2012
Basic formatting of the looks to make it more readable.
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My point is, people shouldn't judge your skill based on what level you are, but on your actual content.
Also, great review of the site's levelling system; I'd never thought about it that way before.