It seems unfair to get a negative when someone was going to do that anyway, no matter what you wrote.

I think we could maybe have a new system of scoring.

We can retain a Very Good/Good/Poor/Very Poor system, although each would be pointed, such as:

Very Good - 10 Points
Good - 7 Points
Poor - 4 points
Very Poor - 1 Point

This means that, even if in someone's opinion, the answer was not brilliant, they are rewarded for their effort in some way.

Then, the points can be added up as they are now.

I think this would be much fairer, and would avoid the straight +1 for good and -1 for bad - as all answers are subjective.

What does everyone think?

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I will pick myself up, Dust myself off
And leave all this sadness behind
I'll be fine, I won't be blue...

Post edited at 3:18 am on Aug. 20, 2006 by carbonara

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Week in and week out,
Your lucky charms will always let you down,
Maybe next week we'll see,
Maybe

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The ranking of my reply means nothing to me. I like doing it for the self-satisfaction whether the person gives me a high score or not. It doesnt matter to me. Sure this idea would be good, but then arent we just throwing the whole point of the eHelp centre out of the window. It is there for us to support those who need help. For us to give our honest opinion, our best advice to those who need it. Regardless of how they rate us. Thats not important. Just aslong as we know that we have tried our best to help. I personally really dont like the whole whatever/4 thing. Makes me feel likes it i'm competing with other Support Leaders when thats not what its about.

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I do agree here. I dont post a reply just to get those 2 reward points and wait for someone to hopefully give me a rating. I do it because it makes me feel good that i can help someone who really needs help fast. It gives me satisfaction to know that. However i do think this is a good idea. I must admit sometimes when i send in a reply and i think i have wrotten one that i have really thought about and really got myself into, to look have it ranked quite low. I dont know its stupid but i feel kind of sad. Sad that i didnt help them the way they were looking for you know? But i think its still good to get points because you took the time to write out a reply. There are a lot of support leaders now and to take the time to rely should be worth some credit. I like the idea.

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"I wish I never yelled at him yesterday cause everything's changed"

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The ranking of my reply means nothing to me nor do the points. I like doing it for the self-satisfaction whether the person gives me a high score or not. It doesn't matter to me. Sure this idea would be good, but then aren't we just throwing the whole point of the eHelp centre out of the window. It is there for us to support those who need help. For us to give our honest opinion, our best advice to those who need it. Regardless of how they rate us. Thats not important. Just as long as we know that we have tried our best to help. I personally really don't like the whole whatever/4 thing. Makes me feel like I'm competing with other Support Leaders when thats not what its about.

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To some extent I agree with this, however, it has been designed as a competitive scoring system. To quote the email you get when coming 1st, 2nd or 3rd from the moderators:

"Congratulations, this week you came in 1st in the competitive contest for the most supportive members!
This is based off feedback from your eHelp Replies."

Obviously, as stated, it has been designed this way and there has to be an element of competition to encourage people to join in.

Perhaps 10 points is too high, however, this can be looked at.

If I was a Support Leader and I answered say only 4 e-helps and ended up with 2 positive and 2 negative, even though the negatives were not my fault, I think it would put some people off.

The fact that we have a lot of Support Leaders yet generally the same 9 or 10 answer them each day tells me that something needs to be done to encourage a few more to get involved.

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I will pick myself up, Dust myself off
And leave all this sadness behind
I'll be fine, I won't be blue...

This idea puts too much emphasis on the rating and not enough on the support.

We became support leaders to support people who came to LW for advice.  The ratings are an extra bonus of being a support leader and they're here to help improve our techniques.

But when it comes down to it, we have to accept our ratings. Out of over 100 ratings, I've received probably 8 negative ones.   And I don't deserve praise for them.

I miss when the ratings were seen as a way to improve rather than a ridiculous competition.

I don't want support leaders to reply for the rating or points or competition.  Fuck that.  I want them to reply because they want to help.  Those are the passionate replies that are truly helpful.

I wish they'd do away with the weekly competition and only have a listing of all time.

Post edited at 11:39 am on Aug. 20, 2006 by audrey820

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kid, I wrote back,
all lovers betray.

Edit: Oh and if you say that taking away everything will make eHelp less active, so be it. It'll show who really wants to help and who is just in it for the points. Then we can all point and laugh at the idiots who just wanted points. :)

Post edited at 11:58 am on Aug. 20, 2006 by shh

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I say completely take away all points and ratings so people won't be so damn point-whoreish.

Edit: Oh and if you say that taking away everything will make eHelp less active, so be it. It'll show who really wants to help and who is just in it for the points. Then we can all point and laugh at the idiots who just wanted points. :)

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Jon's right.

<3  

We had plenty of active SLs before the ratings came in.

But I like things old school and wish we still had the serious forum.

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kid, I wrote back,
all lovers betray.

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Quote: from shh at 2:49 pm on Aug. 20, 2006

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I say completely take away all points and ratings so people won't be so damn point-whoreish.  

 Edit: Oh and if you say that taking away everything will make eHelp less active, so be it. It'll show who really wants to help and who is just in it for the points. Then we can all point and laugh at the idiots who just wanted points. :)

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Jon's right.

<3  

We had plenty of active SLs before the ratings came in.

But I like things old school and wish we still had the serious forum.

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I really, REALLY wish we did too.

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I shop for purses while love walks out the door,
Don't cry, buy a bag and get over it.

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I disagree.

This idea puts too much emphasis on the rating and not enough on the support.

We became support leaders to support people who came to LW for advice.  The ratings are an extra bonus of being a support leader and they're here to help improve our techniques.

But when it comes down to it, we have to accept our ratings. Out of over 100 ratings, I've received probably 8 negative ones.   And I don't deserve praise for them.

I miss when the ratings were seen as a way to improve rather than a ridiculous competition.

I don't want support leaders to reply for the rating or points or competition.  Fuck that.  I want them to reply because they want to help.  Those are the passionate replies that are truly helpful.

I wish they'd do away with the weekly competition and only have a listing of all time.

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Audrey and Jon basically said everything I agree with.

eHelp is not a contest. The ratings are there to help you improve. I personally don't think that the points should even be included in the system; they are only to get people to be more active in it. Lately I've been noticing a few support leaders who are giving advice a ton in eHelp, but seem to be doing it for the wrong reasons. If you're replying to eHelps as a competition between other Support Leaders, then you shouldn't be a Support Leader. It's about wanting to help people with their issues, not getting your name on an all time list.

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when i play doctor, i play to win

My view on this situation: if a SL is rated badly, then they really shouldn't be rated in the first place. I see no reason for any SL to ever get a negative reply (I have gotten a few, and I sort of take it as a personal insult). I see no reason for any of our SL's to ever get rated negatively, and I think that it's very unfair that some people do rate them negatively and there is no way for a SL to get feedback (because many times they are anonymous or guests) from the poster.

Sometimes, if I see that someone has been rating all the replies with a 2/4, I won't reply. Even if I know I have something to offer. My idea being: Why do I want to use my time an advice giving it to someone whom doesn't appreciate it? Advice is a two-way street. The OP needs to be open to getting the advice, and part of that is showing your gratitude by giving decent ratings (I mean, I can understand a 2/4 or 1/4 reply sometimes, but when EVERY reply is rated badly, that just says something more about the poster than the SL's).

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So when you're happy (Hurray!), or sad (Aw!),
Or frightened (Eeek!), or mad (Rats!)
An interjection starts a sentence right.

I think it would be stupid to get rid of negative ratings. If your reply sucks, it sucks and doesn't deserve points. You may have spent time trying to help someone, but if they don't find your advice helpful, then so be it. Move on.

Oh, and this wasn't directed at anyone in particular, it was just a general you.

I've written out super long eHelps to have people reply with 5 sentences. Ok, they're taking the time to respond, but if it's just plain not good advice, I'm not going to rate their advice as good if I don't think it is. I really believe that negative eHelps really should be interpreted as a way to improve, not be taken personally. If you get a bad rating, look at the eHelp and look at your reply and see what can be improved.

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when i play doctor, i play to win