Is the point system broken? [Jive is gone, there are no points]

[#1]

I have always been slightly amused by the point system and the little crosses since I came back to the forums after a few years away.

I imagine that knowing that someone has answered a lot of questions that have been marked as Correct or Helpful could be a handy indicator to someone new to the forums. Like Bill Hunt for example. It isn't the points as much as the percentage of points as a ratio to the number of posts. It indicates that people have often marked his answers as useful.

Well, the other day I noticed that I had reached 996 points and I was about to get a third marker. Try as I might to be nonchalant about it, since the points are not all that important, it still kind of threw me off when I got stalled at 996. I have had two correct answers lately and yet my points no longer increment.

So, is the system broken? Are my points being held up for review for some reason? Or, is there some other reason? I guess I am just curious about it. I keep telling myself it doesn't matter. Yet, what can I say? Pride is just one of those vices that is hard to shake. Throw a little vanity in there and ....

[#2]

I have always been slightly amused by the point system and the little crosses since I came back to the forums after a few years away.

I imagine that knowing that someone has answered a lot of questions that have been marked as Correct or Helpful could be a handy indicator to someone new to the forums. Like Bill Hunt for example. It isn't the points as much as the percentage of points as a ratio to the number of posts. It indicates that people have often marked his answers as useful.

Well, the other day I noticed that I had reached 996 points and I was about to get a third marker. Try as I might to be nonchalant about it, since the points are not all that important, it still kind of threw me off when I got stalled at 996. I have had two correct answers lately and yet my points no longer increment.

So, is the system broken? Are my points being held up for review for some reason? Or, is there some other reason? I guess I am just curious about it. I keep telling myself it doesn't matter. Yet, what can I say? Pride is just one of those vices that is hard to shake. Throw a little vanity in there and ....

[#3]

Well, you may be responding to newcomers who never find their way back... It happens to me all the time.

[#4]

Not in this case. That happens a lot, and it is fine. But in this case I noticed I got a couple marked as "Correct" and the points didn't change. If I had not accidentaly rested my mouse over my avatar while changing it., I would never have noticed that I was at 996. Ithought I would be getting a third marker in a day or so, as that is the averege for me - a few points ever couple of days. But is didn't happen. No sweat, I thought. Then I spotted the "Correct" and thought "That ought to push me over." and it didn't.

As I said. Just curious.

When I go to the trouble of a tutorial that solves someone's problem, I kind of figure that marking it correct will cause someone else to watch the tutorial to solve the same, or similar problem. So it is kind of cool. It isn't like the points can be spent for Adobe T-Shirts or anything, I just have to wonder what's up?

[#5]

Are you marking your own as correct/helpful? If so, I don't think that gives you any points. Not sure what else might be affecting it. Points awarding is built into Jive and automatic, I don't think we have any way to "hold back" points, delay them, or anything like that.

[#6]

I did once to see what would happen. Nothing did, not that I was particularly surprised. But I know for a fact that I have been stuck on 996 for longer than I should have been.

One of the recent "Correct" markings was this one: http://forums.adobe.com/thread/1268566?tstart=0

I'm not going to fret about it. It just seems odd to me.

[#7]

Steven,

The point system is definitely broken in your case:

Correct Answer = 10 points,

Helpful Answer = 5 points,

so there is no unbroken way to reach 996 points.

I have been a bit amused by the Answers + Points = Status list, which shows a rather obvious contradiction between the possible points and the + list. Seeing your plight I am less amused.

I believe it is quite possible that you are stuck at 996 because of your reaching an incompatible number caused by an impossible 1 being added.

I believe this is the only/first case throughout the forums.

The question is whether there is any way to get unstuck.

What say you, John?

[#8]

Voting on an "Idea" gives 1 point.

[#9]

Ah, thank you for that added knowledge, John.

I might be fun to vote on just one Idea just to get that off number.

Or maybe not. It might lead to endless questions and comments, when all the others (still) without a clue spot it.

[#10]

Ah, John C., I had not thought about that.

Thank you,

Hunt

[#11]

Steven,

I agree with others - there should be no way to reach 996 - 990, 995, 1000 are all possible, but not 996.

Also, there are at least two "regulars," who have answered a lot of questions correctly, and have more points, than posts (considering 5 pts. for Helpful, and 10 pts. for Correct, that is certainly possible, but really tough to do).

I will watch your Profile, but other than mere observation, do not know what can be done. It is almost like having a situation where a number is divided by 0 - on most computers, that will yield an error, hang or crash. Hope that you do not "crash."

BTW - thank you for all the help that you provide to the Forums. That needs to be said!

Good luck,

Hunt

[#12]

Steven,

I just checked, and you are now at 1001. How you got to 1001 is still a mystery, but we may never know the answer to that puzzle.

Good luck, and your Profile is starting to look like an old graveyard, with all those "tombstones... "

Hunt

[#13]

Steven,

An additional development. I just checked your profile, and it now sits at 991. Not sure what happened there? Maybe John C. will have an idea.

Good luck,

Hunt

[#14]

Maybe it will start to count backwards?

Edit: Yes, that's it. I got one "Correct" today. Ten points subtracted. Makes sense. I wonder if I can get it to go below zero? It could take a while to find out though.

[#15]

You currently have 991 points (it was 996 yesterday).  I will mark your last post as "correct" and see what happens...

[#16]

Didn't appear to change anything.

[#17]

Steven, Pat,

It was 996, then 1001 yesterday, so it has gone down by 10 as a consequence the Correct Answer post elsewhere.

And as far as I know, the OP gets nothing for a Correct Answer, whoever marks the post.

Steven, to follow up on posts # 8 - 10, have you ever voted on 1, 6, 11, etc Idea(s)?

[#18]

...have you ever voted on 1, 6, 11, etc Idea(s)?

I am not shy. If someone asks for my opinion, I am going to offer one if I have one.

So, while I don't remember voting on anything lately, I am certain I must have at some point in time.

[#19]

Steven,

Appears to still be 991 and holding - down 5 from when you originally posted, and down 10, from the high of 1001, that I observed.

A real puzzle, at least for me. Maybe why I cannot hit the 40K pts. point? I know of at least three others, who are well over that mark.

Good luck,

Hunt

[#20]

Steven,

I am not shy.

I never even see any Ideas, because I have bookmarked the Discussion pages (with 100 threads on every page) and never go anywhere else. I only have a vague memory about the concept being mentioned some years back.

It is only in this thread that I have seen anyone with such point numbers; I will start looking elsewhere, too.

About the ratio of points to posts, I believe it is very much a matter of just posting hard answers or including soft talk and other more general contributions.

A few of us have had a long standing joke about points as punishment (and that has led to the unabbreviation MVP = Most Vehemently Punished), and I have made jokes about getting negative points for silly posts, but this is getting serious.

What say you, John, can something be done about it?

[#21]

Jacob,

I have made jokes about getting negative points for silly posts...

If that WERE the case, I would be at about - 50,000 points by now.

Hunt

[#22]

Steven,

Just now, you have 1056 pts., but who knows how long that will stay? Maybe there was some sort of a "threshold," that had to be overcome?

Hope that I have not jinxed you in any way.

Hunt

[#23]

Bill Hunt wrote:

Just now, you have 1056 pts

I see only 991 points, and two plusses ++

[#24]

Pat Willener wrote:

Bill Hunt wrote:

Just now, you have 1056 pts

I see only 991 points, and two plusses ++

Right now, I see 1011 points, in Firefox/Mac and Explorer/Win.

[#25]

Looks like the dam broke and the points started to flow again. Cool.

No big deal though. I was almost looking forward to seeing them continue to go backwards!

[#26]

Pat,

As of 7:23PM, PDT, it has fallen to 1036 pts. ?

Hunt

[#27]

Steven,

It still appears that the total is going up, but then down?

Have no clue, or possible explanation for such behavior.

Hunt

[#28]

It is back down to 991.

This is pretty odd if you ask me.

[#29]

It is like riding a roller coaster. Wheeeeee!  Back up to 1101 points!!!!

I can only imagine how this would feel if I was one of those people who are really mad at Adobe right now over the subscription issue instead of being pleased as punch about being let back into the game so inexpensively. Yikes! This would be like rubbing salt in the wound instead of being funny.

[#30]

Steven,

At 7:12AM PDT, I am getting 1081... enjoy the ride!

Hunt

[#31]

Bill Hunt wrote:

Steven,

It still appears that the total is going up, but then down?

Have no clue, or possible explanation for such behavior.

It is obvious when he give a response that is not helpful points are subtracted. 

[#32]

Curt,

That explanation makes more sense, than anything that I can come up with.

Hunt

[#33]

Steven,

Well, at 3:20PM PDT, you are back to 996...

What is the half-life of an Adobe Forum Point? Your decay rate is pretty high!

Hunt

[#34]

Up to 1006 right now ...

[#35]

My guess is that 1006 is probably the most accurate number of points that I have had lately. We'll have to see what happens in the never ending saga of "Points", the Roller Coaster!

[#36]

I could try to remove the "Correct" in your post #13; that will either down you back to 996, or up you to 1,016...

[#37]

Well. Perhaps. But it didn't add any points when it was marked correct, so taking them away would be.... I guess it really doesn't matter if you want to give it a try. I can always earn more.

[#38]

"Uncorrected" it; so far you are still at 1,006.

[#39]

Some clarification from Jive...

A user's Reputation Points value in Jive is a profile variable but it's recalculated whenever something happens to the user's contributions. It can reduce if:

• A post or a thread in which you have gained points is deleted by a moderator
• A 'helpful' or 'correct' response that originally awarded you points is unset

In your case, both have happened. Your account is in sync with the internal audit tables so you have the correct number of points as far as the database is concerned. As to why you're not on a multiple of 5, as JC says there are routes to  gain or lose individual points but without digging through the entire  database it's not possible to say what you did that got you the extra point. Jive has no problem with values that don't divide by 5 so it's not breaking your tally.

Moderated changes do take a little while to update though, which is why playing about with a 'correct' answer may not immediately show a change in your profile summary. There are some other ways that points can be removed from a user, but they're not used on this site.