Why do we have XP?

Hi, my name’s Bethenna, and in this blog I’m going to be talking about the use of the experience system on PMC, and also hopefully informing you on the issue of XP controversy. So let’s just jump right into the topic! :)


What is Experience?


If you don’t know what XP (or experience) is, it’s basically a levelling system. In return for creating content on the website, users earn experience points through diamonds which can be given by others if they liked the project. The experience counts up, and after a while you will reach the next XP level if enough people have given diamonds to your posts.


Why is XP there?


Experience is supposedly on PMC as a motivation and reward system, possibly to encourage more people to post and keep the site going. By that, I mean that it’s something to make people actually want to post projects. How? Experience levels provide a new goal to achieve, and a reason to post new content to help work towards it. You could compare it in a way the popular game, which doesn’t fit the usual description of a game, cookie clicker. The programme has no real purpose or goals, apart from increasing the numbers displayed on your screen. In the same way, receiving XP to work towards the next level can be a strangely addictive type of reward that can also, if you see it from this particular perspective, show a sign of ‘high status’ if you have ‘higher levels’, although I know that I and many others don’t see the levelling system that way, some do. So why does the community of PMC need motivation? It’s mainly because not everyone is willing to post projects if they’re not gaining some sort of reward, and considering PMC is a minecraft fan site, it relies on the users to make it what it is. So, PMC rests on your shoulders ;)


So what’s XP Controversy?


XP controversy is the little nickname in which I’ve come up with for what I see as a bit of an issue on PMC, and it seems unfortunately the blogging section in particular. It’s also the source to some rushed, copied and undetailed projects posted onto the website. You see, PMC’s experience system can easily be cheated. How? You’ll receive experience even if nobody else except yourself diamonds the content you’ve uploaded, so to earn easy XP, why not just post a few rushed and easily done ‘simple-craft’ texture packs, stolen or just unshaded skins and maybe even a one paragraphed blog with an overused idea? However why settle for just one diamond per project, when you can use popular ideas to engage a wider audience and gather more experience? The issue is that for some reason, one I’m not sure of, I’ve known for people to become paranoid over earning experience, so that they’ll post and advertise poor quality XP grinding content in order to earn diamonds. However, some people who XP grind don’t post bad quality projects, but instead post satisfactory work often with the hidden intent of earning experience. Why does this affect the blogs section in particular? It’s rather simple; to create posts such as skins, mods or projects requires a fair bit more work than blogs, and possibly even the use of exterior programmes. However a blog can be created by simply typing up a quick few paragraphs into the blog editing section, making sure it fits the word limit, possibly editing it briefly, adding a picture and then publishing it to the people of PMC. Even if the concept is controversial, which it always will be, every section has its XP grinders, and sadly some more than others.


Can we spot XP Grinding?


Some examples of how to spot users that are most likely posting simply for experience could be:


- Regular posting of rushed content





If you notice that a user has posted a large amount of what looks to be rushed and undetailed content within a small area of time, then this could be down to two possible reasons. The user could simply just not have the correct skills or equipment (feedback could help them out) or they’re just rushing to get to the next level.





- Stolen Content





I have no doubt that obviously stolen content clearly has no purpose beyond gaining experience or fame for the user who’s posted it. They haven’t earned a sense of achievement from completing a detailed piece of work, and neither are they gaining the satisfaction of offering other users a useful skin, texture pack, mod or information about a topic through a piece of writing in a blog. It’s already been done, and they’re just re-posting it for their own credit, which is why all stolen content should be reported if you notice it.





- Level boasters





Some people boast about how quickly they’ve gained their levels, which is certainly proof that they may just be posting for the purpose of grinding experience.





What’s my Point?





I’m sure that at least one of the people reading this blog will be sitting and wondering what exactly my point is in writing this by now. The thing is, sometimes I feel like people are just posting for the purpose of gaining levels and XP or even feeling as though they have some sort of ‘status’ when they gain higher levels. I understand that the XP system is rather important to make sure that more people will possibly feel motivated to upload content; however, this is my personal view and opinion on the situation:





If you’re going to post on PMC, think carefully about your reasons for doing so. You could create a mod or blog to help or inform, an intricately designed skin that users will love or even a creative adventure map, but whatever you post, let it come from the heart. Don’t be driven mad by level status. Don’t get paranoid over counting up your XP. Don’t get down if you don’t get onto the ‘pop-reel’, no matter how great you have the potential to be, sometimes it just doesn’t happen every time. Don’t worry about fame, enjoy your time on PMC and post because you have a motive outside of the motivation that comes from experience.





Post because you want to, and because you enjoy it and feel like you’ve achieved something after your long work has finally been completed.





Post to help out others or give people amazing content to browse through. Find your own motivation.





You don’t need experience to be experienced.








Thank-you for reading my blog, and feel free to leave me your opinions in the comments, and I’ll try get back to anyone who does :)





~ Bethenna