Top participants

I don't know what are the basis for ranking the posters who make it to the list. In any case, I have just taken a look at it and notice the following:

1. It is called Top participants, but also includes some who haven't been promoted from users to participants.

2. It includes Ramón, who resigned and was then banned.

3. I made it to the list for the first time since the new forums were implemented!

Is it just based on post count or is there some secret Adobe judge, reading everyone's posts?

There is actually a super-computer in Langley, VA, USA, that crunches the numbers on each poster. Their rating is based on many factors: posts, points and how many Adobe products they have registered. Oh, and then there are the PM's to Adobe managment on how helpful these people have really been.

A few have been cited for bartering these elements, but that is frowned upon.

In all seriousness, it's based on a couple of aspects:

1.) posts to a particular forum

2.) posts to all fora

3.) points

As an example, I have more posts and more points than a respected contributor to a particular forum. However, he is rated above me for that forum. My posts are spread out over many fora, and his are mostly into that one forum. In that forum, I would not have it any other way, and would not expect it to be otherwise.

It is an amalgam of several factors. It is probably weighted, but I do not know what the factors are. Maybe one of the MOD's can address that.

Hunt

all i know is that i was top participant in this forum, now i'm a nobody. my ego is bruised.

The only good thing about keeping Top Participants is that it generates communication amoungst posters pointing out the inconsistancy of application on different forum pages.

Another positive is that it helps fill in the wasted space on the right side.

But, incidentally, I still do not see the "Top Participants" on this page, even though I am now at home and using Firefox instead of IE.

And I still DO see the top participants in the Lounge!

I believe the Top participants are simply those with greatest recent posting activity in the forum in question, probably calculated in a rather simple way.

I post more or less regularly in the following forums:

Illustrator, http://forums.adobe.com/community/illustrator/illustrator_general?view=discussions&start=0

Typography, http://forums.adobe.com/community/design_development/typography?view=discussions&start=0

Print Design, http://forums.adobe.com/community/design_development/printdesign

GoLive, http://forums.adobe.com/community/golive/golive_general_discussion

Web design, http://forums.adobe.com/community/design_development/webdesign

I have seen the list rankings change rapidly, especially in the forums with fewer posts, and there seems to be no connexion between list ranking and points; and the lists correspond well to my impression of recent posting activity.

What's it based on?  As of this morning, I am above someone who has 100 more points than I do.

For me, as of this morning, there are no top participants showing any more in the FCA forum. I think it is based on # of posts & they are automatically counted by the software. I ***used*** to be one of the top participants in the Lounge, but no longer, since I don't post nearly as often.

Cat herder is a much better description then lion tamer, 'lion' gives the felines in case way too much credit.

If you want to try subtle digs, please make sure you are actually subtle. And just to be safe, don't try it in somebody elses thread forcing me to take action there and polute it.

Who knows? I'm allegedly top dog in the testing forum, of all places. Murray's second top in DW and he hasn't been seen for weeks. Pointless nonsense.

From my observations it is based on the points you get in the specific forum you are looking at.  You are ranked with others users' points they have earned in that forum.