Has the 'Respected Member' tag had its day?

[Dan]

Old dogs new tricks etc. You can't change attitudes with older guys or with the industry at large. That's not in your power or interests.
You can however manage the forum to the best of your abilities, and I honestly think you do a pretty good juggling act.

The opposite to your argument would be that short course trained people need to realise the differences between their training and others, realise their limitations, and accept other's views on their position.

The best short course trained people ( notice how deftly I'm avoiding the term ) are those who do this and seek to improve. There are a quite a few internet based members who take this stance and stick up for themselves. They get my personal "respected member" badge in my head.

We are all here to improve and help others, no matter what our background, and banning trade terms that may offend others may not find an end. Do we ban "wetpants" and "spreads" in case any plumbers or plasterers get offended ? Do we even ban "sparky" in case us professional electricians take exception ?

That's one of the best posts I've seen in this thread.

*tips hat to you.

 

[SCOTT SUMMERS]

I've only got one friend

 

[telectrix]

@telectrix how do you manage to get Trainee Access without being either a Trainee, or a Mentor?

was a trainee mentor for some time. tags seem to have been removed and then only today reinstated. however, i am not a solar guru. all i know about that is that it's witchcraft, converting sunlight to leccy.

 

[Silly Sausage]

was a trainee mentor for some time. tags seem to have been removed and then only today reinstated. however, i am not a solar guru. all i know about that is that it's witchcraft, converting sunlight to leccy.

I did wonder why you were a solar guru, but then I remembered, the sun always shines out of scousers ...

 

[telectrix]

I did wonder why you were a solar guru, but then I remembered, the sun always shines out of a Scousers Arse...

corrected that for you. no sweat.

 

[Joe V.]

The very experienced guys at a company I worked for were honorarily assigned to the Fast Action Response Team. Usually prefixed with Old when being referred to it marked them out while keeping them in their place.

 

[Lucien Nunes]

As a holder of the 'Respected Member' badge I have a vested interest here. But in principle, I'm not keen on automatic rating systems. They are subject to abuse on an open forum, and even without abuse can end up ranking the contributions quite arbitrarily. A serious flaw with any system that relies on the response of the OP or the thread readership generally, is that factually incorrect but friendly, helpful-seeming contributions can collect positive ratings, while unpalatable but correct answers can collect negative ones.

Because this forum deals with a subject where technical correctness is especially important, only human oversight by competent mods and admins is sufficiently discerning to ensure that ratings reflect a member's tendency to post consistently good advice.

That said, I was delighted to receive the RM badge and took it as a thankyou for the time and effort invested in researching answers and trying to make (nearly) every post a useful addition to the thread.

 

[DPG]

Personally I think your tag is well deserved Lucien.

 

[Electromob]

I quite like Elite member , myself.

 

[GMES]

Too ..erm,,,,whats the word....oh yeah elitist

 

[Dan]

As a holder of the 'Respected Member' badge I have a vested interest here. But in principle, I'm not keen on automatic rating systems. They are subject to abuse on an open forum, and even without abuse can end up ranking the contributions quite arbitrarily. A serious flaw with any system that relies on the response of the OP or the thread readership generally, is that factually incorrect but friendly, helpful-seeming contributions can collect positive ratings, while unpalatable but correct answers can collect negative ones.

Because this forum deals with a subject where technical correctness is especially important, only human oversight by competent mods and admins is sufficiently discerning to ensure that ratings reflect a member's tendency to post consistently good advice.

That said, I was delighted to receive the RM badge and took it as a thankyou for the time and effort invested in researching answers and trying to make (nearly) every post a useful addition to the thread.

I think even if the tag went we would have to keep it for your and burns. Maybe one or two others.

Another awesome contribution to the thread and forum in general.

 

[jomo64]

perhaps change it to "high-value member" ?

 

[Dan]

perhaps change it to "high-value member" ?

Most who had it I don't regard as high value. They're low value off putting members.

18999 members we have with less than 50 posts.

Imagine if they all got to even 5k each. That knocks the socks of the 4 or 5 with 50k each trying to make the forum theirs and screwing it up for new guys.

Im opting for the first option these days.

 

[HandsOffEngineer]

I've received an e-mail requesting that I vote on this topic. Unfortunately, it's not explained in this thread what 'Respected Member' actually means, the criteria for the badge and what (if anything) is expected of badge-holders. Nor can I see any explanation elsewhere on the Forum. My guess is that it just signifies experience on the Forum and dedication to its standards and is awarded in the hope that this is maintained and that it sets a behavioural benchmark for others.

With that noted, I decided to vote 'No' - which is to say, I think you should keep the Respected Member badge. It's nice to have a bit of competition and something to signify dedication to the Forum's standards. I also like a bit of elitism. Everybody should strive for excellence and leadership in something, even if it might seem trivial in the matter of recognition on a Forum. I also see nothing wrong with 'cliques' and exclusiveness where it's based on merit and serves a functional purpose for everybody else. Cliques aren't necessarily cliquey. They only become so when they end up being self-serving, which I don't see here.

I will say that what matters to me when reading anyone's comments on here - regardless of experience or credentials - is the content of the post, rather than what forum badges they have or even any apparent credentials. To that end, it may help to have (assuming it's not posted up already) an explanation and disclaimer concerning these badges and technical advice generally. In truth, nobody here can give advice, we can only impart information. Advice must come from an electrician who has seen the problem.

 

[Joe V.]

perhaps change it to "high-value member" ?

Or maybe less of the implied value judgements and just call them something like "old hands".

 

[GMES]

@HandsOffEngineer , respected member is a title that staff introduced a year ago ish.
We were all discussing the members as in who were super helpful, never came on our radar, were respected by other members and who would always give helpful advice to new comers even if that new comer was out of their depth.
There are only currently about 8 Respected members and trust me when I say the staff took weeks to choose them.
It was just our way of saying thank you to a select few that had proved over the years that they were worthy of it, as an example there are other members that have 5 and 10 times the post count of these guys but also have had staff warning, short bans, etc.
So to sum it up in the eyes of the staff, those that received the title had proven to be what we considered perfect members since joining.

Now really quickly on to the new titles being suggested, I think the main issue is whatever names or titles are given to one member it's going to upset or alienate another. And as Dan as said throughout this thread some members have currently got certain badges that they might not actually be living upto, so someone with Forum Mentor status, for me shouldn't have that status if they are not willing to get in the trainee forum on a regular basis , helping out the trainees.
Hope that all made sense.

 

[Donald]

After 22 years in the Forces repairing/installing all things electrical/electronic you come to the realisation that badges and titles don't always amount to much; now, after over 22 years in Civvy Street repairing/installing a lot more things things electrical/electronic I'm of the opinion that to judge a person's ability, an indication of time/experience might be a good start point, and/or qualifications with time held. 'Respect' has to be earned.

 

[sandham5]

Surely every member is respected.

It sounds ever so cliquey.

I think in the current times when everybody should be totally equal, denoting who's 'respected' it a bit cheeky.

It used to be called "Elite Member" - Christ, imagine if we had that these days?!?!?!
On TilersForums.com it's now 'Trusted Advisor' but even then the advice changes and it's marking old now inaccurate posts as if the post should be trusted. And it can cause a bit of a shitstorm every now and again because some poor sod has tiled their bathroom the old way and their tiles are falling off.

I've put a poll up to get a feel for it. But it's not to say if either outcome is clear - that we will go for it.

It's up for discussion.

Please be professional with your replies. That said we wont be warning anybody for speaking out. This is my own thread and my chin can take it.

Who decides when someone is “respected “
You kinda have to earn respect.so we need some sort of election process. When you prove you know your subject your up for election. When you get elected but prove you
Hav’nt an effing clue you get voted out.
This system works in our government so there
Is no reason that it would not........ hang about
forget it.........

 

[Spoon]

And as Dan as said throughout this thread some members have currently got certain badges that they might not actually be living upto, so someone with Forum Mentor status, for me shouldn't have that status if they are not willing to get in the trainee forum on a regular basis , helping out the trainees.

I have a Forum Mentor badge, but I don't go into the training section on a regular basis. I just help out everyone when I can.

 

[Joe V.]

If advice is free it's as & when you can. Sticking labels on you then expecting you to live up to them is an interesting idea. When I visited CSSR in Soviet times they were pinning badges on me like there was no tomorrow. The attention was nice but it was still a relief when the BA flight cleared their airspace.