All About XP

You can't browse PMC without seeing someone begging for XP and it's becoming a huge problem (as well as a huge annoyance). In this blog I will be dissecting this issue in hopes of understanding why we have it in the first place and how it can be remedied.

Firstly, What is XP? Let's break it up:

Experience: The accumulation of knowledge or skill that results from direct participation in events or activities

Points: A unit used in measuring value, achievement, or extent

If you put these together we get:

Experience Points: A measurement of value that one is rewarded with after expending time and effort whilst actively working towards improving ones knowledge on a specific subject and/or skill set.

A lot of people misinterpret the definition of XP and cause all the aforementioned problems as a result. There are those who think they deserve XP for anything that they upload regardless of how much work they put into it and those who are so egotistical that they will do just about anything to be on the leaderboards. When it comes to XP there is no contest. No "Whoever has the most XP wins and gets all the fame and glory." It's all about motivation and bettering your skills as well as the overall quality your creations.

Let's start by how not to get XP;

Begging for XP is the single worst thing you could do. Not only will you lose respect from it but you won't gain the satisfaction of knowing that all the XP you have received (if any) you got because people noticed your work and wanted to reward you for posting it. In the end XP is just a number and the only thing that makes it worthwhile is knowing that you only have it because others like what you make and not because you begged for it.

So how should I go about gaining it?

The most sure way of getting XP is by showing people that you truly deserve it. That means expending a lot of time and effort on the project in question in order to make it to the best of your ability. In a build that would most likely mean aesthetics and detail while in a blog it would mean interesting content as well as correct spelling and grammar (which is something I need to work on). When you can see that someone has worked hard on a project, it makes you more willing to diamond and/or favorite it as you want to help give them the motivation to continue their work.

You can also gain XP by advertising although that shouldn't be your main reason for doing so. While it will get you XP you shouldn't do it just because you want more points. That's not what it's for. The only good reason to advertise is to get more people to see your work and possibly give you feedback which will then help you in the future. I, along with many others, won't click on an advertisement if it's only there because someone wants XP. For example, an advertisement like: "Guize give me diamondz" I wouldn't open and chances are I would put the person who posted it on my ignore list. Same goes for people who advertise on other peoples submissions. Using other peoples posts for such things is wrong in many ways and should never be done by anyone.

In conclusion, gaining XP should not be your main goal and if it is then you are here for all the wrong reasons. Don't beg for it and don't expect it. Just put your heart and soul into your projects and it will come on it's own.