Forum rankings

I am trying to come to a better understanding of how the rankings work among the more prolific posters among the forum members. By that I mean people whose posts number in the thousands. The rankings seem to make sense regarding people with under 500 posts but after that things get a bit murky. My Guru status thread was recently locked by one of the mods or I would have posted in there. Take for example 2 of the posters in that thread, both of them have the elusive and highly prized Guru status. One of them has over 2000 posts and is a super virus trouncer, the other has over 3000 posts and is only a virus trouncer. What gives?  Also there are no published guidelines for attaining Guru status, even the Gurus don't know how to get it, they only know they've got it. I read some posts by forum moderators on the subject and they don't seem to know what the criteria are for Guru status either. Obviously none of this is important for people who already have Guru status, but what about the people with thousands of posts who would like to have it? With no clear cut criteria on how to get Guru status how will they know what areas need improvement in order to increase their chances of getting it? Right now the rules and criteria for attaining Guru status are as clear as mud.

 

Message Edited by Turbo on 07-12-2009 11:02 PM

We already have this discussed in few threads, better check those first:

 

http://community.norton.com/norton/board/message?board.id=forum_feedback&message.id=1696

 

http://community.norton.com/norton/board/message?board.id=forum_feedback&message.id=1209

 

http://community.norton.com/norton/board/message?board.id=forum_feedback&message.id=1405

 

http://community.norton.com/norton/board/message?board.id=forum_feedback&message.id=835

The exact guru-becoming procedure is handled as a “secret” of sorts to prevent members from cheating their way up the ranks. A guru told me this, and he also told me NOT to reveal the exact guru-becoming ritual in the forums. So I won’t.

Message Edited by Yaso_Kuuhl on 07-13-2009 11:03 AM

Nice collection Yogesh..!

Maybe Allen needs to drop a better hint?

 

 

 

 

We are near we are near we are near Where??????

I think the forum ranking is overvalued. why you need an extra designation ? You can not get technical knowledge and experience by stars, i think this is more important. i do not need any designations to help others.

;)

True voyager10,

But I do think it adds value to what a member who has been designated a "guru" says,compared to someone of a lower rank (NOT saying they are not capable of the same).Most of the gurus have been here along time and have proven with it with their knowledge of computers and of Symantecs products that they deserve the title.

They have put in long hours on these forums.They take into account the well being of the poster and their computer.Even though technically in the rules you take advice off this forum at your own risk. And there is the factor that it is the Mods who have the last say.Time is the best judge on the choice of a Guru.

 

Plus the ranking does add a bit of fun for us non computer whizz's to see what we can learn and chase the stars!!! :smileytongue: or in my case I like the colours come on dark blue!!!

Message Edited by mo on 07-13-2009 07:03 AM
Message Edited by mo on 07-13-2009 07:07 AM

Most of the gurus have been here along time and have proven with it with their knowledge of computers and of Symantecs products that they deserve the title.

i dont know ? ;)  In Germany i have this knowledge without any designation...

 


Plus the ranking does add a bit of fun for us non computer whizz's to see what we can learn and chase the stars!!!


 

I see the risk of territory struggles if people with designation and stars feel overlooked , this leads to nothing.

but that is only my personal opinion.

LOL

I don't see it like that...but hey we are all allowed our opinions or should be otherwise a boring world :smileywink: !...I have no knowledge therefore I need my designation....:smileytongue:...learning fast off of what others have taught me on these forums and just time spent being on a computer and researching things I don't know about my computer on my friend......... Google!!


Voyager10 wrote:

Most of the gurus have been here along time and have proven with it with their knowledge of computers and of Symantecs products that they deserve the title.

i dont know ? ;)  In Germany i have this knowledge without any designation...

 


Plus the ranking does add a bit of fun for us non computer whizz's to see what we can learn and chase the stars!!!


 

I see the risk of territory struggles if people with designation and stars feel overlooked , this leads to nothing.

but that is only my personal opinion.


I do not see it your way at all, Voyager10. And it is not at all the case that the users with "designation and stars", as you call them, feel "overlooked". As mo said: the gurus work very hard and sometimes even stay up nights in order to solve, for instance, the rootkit threads. In addition, the gurus have got jobs - that they invest their free time in order to help others is therefore most praiseworthy. They have thoroughly earned the "guru"-title. Please address the gurus themselves (=via PM) if you have got problems with them.
Message Edited by Yaso_Kuuhl on 07-13-2009 02:48 PM
[edit: removed content which may be taken as offense:  Participation Guidelines and Terms of Service.]
Message Edited by MikeLee on 07-13-2009 10:21 AM

I think, we are deviating from the actual thread. A request to all - "Try to stay on the subject of post".

 

 

Turbo,

 

It's a secret formula which is set in the forum system that provides the "Rank" for users based upon their statistics. There are several factors influencing this including the Kudos received/given, total number of posts, number of solutions from your posts etc.

 

This information is taken from Allen's posts:

"To advance in rank it's best to read and post in more than one board :smileysurprised:    Another hint I can give is that it's good to 'give' as well as 'receive' Kudo's.   (please review the Kudo's annoucement and FAQ about when it's appropriate to give kudo's.) 

In fact, click your login name 2 lines above the search box above and study the stats that the forum keeps on each user, most of the stats are used in the secret ranking formula. :smileywink:

If you click your display/login name in the upper left section of any forums page (2 lines above the search box), you will be able to see all the stats that are kept.   The secret formula uses most of those at some point or another...

 

Just participate, be active and your rank will advance!!! "

 

Yogesh

 

Please keep this thread on topic. If you would like to discuss personal issues with another user or moderator, please feel free to use PM’s for your means of communication. An off topic thread will be closed if personal matters continue to be discussed.

So apparently there are rules for advancement but they are top secret. Are rank promotions solely a function of the moderators and if so is it done by group consensus or can 1 moderator arbitrarily decide to promote someone? Or is this information also secret? One last question, can someone be demoted or busted to a lesser rank?

All of those ranks are set by predetermined rule/formula for each rank on the basis of those factors such as Kudos received, given/number of posts etc. It is done by the system in which the forum runs, not by any moderators or group of people. I have not seen any one from a higher rank to be depromoted to a lower one till now, so I won’t be able to comment on that.

The rules can change at any time and can be adjusted as needed to help promote the betterment of the Forum.  What the rules are is not important; rules are there to help encourage the ones who want to to move to a higher ranking.  The system was designed to help encourage the flow of knowledge and the safety of the user's who come here for assistance and answers.

 

The general outline would be one of what the person in question (one who like to advance) is or has done here.  The user's dashboard shows some of what is tracked here but there is no hard formula to go from one rank to another.  If the user is here to help it will show in what they are doing on the Forum.  How long are they on the Forum, how many posts do they read, how many posts do they post as answers, how many Kudos have they given and why (the patterns are watched), how many Kudos have they received and from who (again this pattern is monitored).  So, the real key is helping others here, with quality answers or advice that perhaps others can use also.  Doing this, the rest of the "formula" and "rank-o-rator" mechanics will fall into place automatically.

 

In the manner of fairness, no one person, be they a user, Guru, Moderator or Administrator, has a the power to promote a user.  This was done to make this a consensus agreement, since each person has a different opinion and viewpoint.  Exactly, who is on this group is unknown and may not include everyone that one would think.

 

And to answer the last question, unfortunately, one can be demoted.  The rules and guidelines are here to help users; not for anyone's gain but for everyone's enjoyment and learning.  If a user is found to abuse the "system" (receiving Kudos via a dummy account, let's say) or it is apparent that they are not here to help the user's in a "best interest" way (maybe by giving advice that when followed left the user's system less then functional and then just not offering any more help or leaving the Forum), then they can be demoted.

 Further to Dbrisendine’s excellent post on the subject, I would like to add this:

 

This forum provides so much to the users that come here, and the hope is that more of them remain to get involved, to become part of the team.  Forum members that take an interest, enjoy what they do, and help others to either fix their problem or find somebody who can help are invaluable.  They post and rank up accordingly.

 

The gurus are expected to take an active interest in supporting these members, maintaining the over-all feel of well-being of the forum, protecting users from harm, and at the same time promoting a product that we all believe in.  Members who follow those guidelines, again post accordingly.

 

Symantec provides this fabulous forum, and we are not expected to treat it as our playground, or as a means to personal glory at the user’s cost.  The quality of the user experience comes first, always.

Marked as solved, no need to keep kicking a dead horse. Many thanks to the posters who tried to help answer my questions.


Turbo wrote:
Marked as solved, no need to keep kicking a dead horse. Many thanks to the posters who tried to help answer my questions.

The best answers to your question can be found in the threads that Yogesh linked in an earlier post in this thread.

 

Since you have indicated your question is answered, I'm going to set read-only status, no reason for the thread to continue.