In games:
Wasn't that why we all played Diablo back in the days? Not to mention WoW? Or leveling your DotA hero? That's the best part of it all - new items, better respect, looks cooler - yehaw!In real life:
Many struggle to be, or to appear to be, at different levels in life. We may seek a level related to status and, at many times, unfortunately I would say, we build it on things such as fame or fortune rather than character, behavior, compassion and goodwill. Yet for whatever reason we try to level up, many of us seek status and confirmation by others.On the internet:
At the internet it has always been different - your economical status is rarely important and you may get a role or status based on other things. In StarCraft, for example, your status is normally built on how well you play the game (i.e ladder score).
At GosuGamers?
Here, for a long time we've attempted to emphasize other attributes than the skill - fair-play, sportsmanship and good manners. Yet for a long time we've lacked a good system to support and encourage those particular attributes and reward certain members. Since we didn't want to create an elitist community, we made a huge effort not to treat people differently based on their skill. This meant that at times I believe we have lost persons to look up to in the community and created a way too anonymous place to be at. This, partly, because we failed to encourage the good posters and did not allow the building of role models for the rest of us.The ones who believed they deserved respect for their contribution, who didn't end up being Crew members, may have been lost and are now found at other sites simply because they found themselves dwelling among a faceless crowd where there was no room to be promoted.
Everyone should have a chance, yes, treated the same, surely. Equally much worth, that's for sure! We believe a basic level of respect is given to you, regardless of who you are. But some respect must also be earned! Countless of communities without respect, role models and recognized members have ended up as a community for the dead, the newbs and whiners.
Introducing the level system
The level system is here to aid. It's a simple system where you gain points for certain actions. These actions are not based purely on activity, instead they rely heavily on contribution. There is the standard element where one comment equals one point, one forum post is one point, but on top of that, you gain a lot more points for providing good replays, posting a great/informative forum post, suggesting GosuBet matches, giving news tips, submitting good blogs and other things that contribute to the site and the community.
But who decides what is a good forum post? You do! If the basics of this system works (the part that we're now introducing with the levels), we'll add on a feature for clicking 'Good post' on a forum post or blog. If you liked the post, you tell the author so and he gains points. The more points you have the more impact of your vote.
However, even without that function, as of now, the system rewards certain kind of contribution and standard activity. It also penalizes by removing points from users who get their comments censored, receives warnings or have their account locked for a period of time. The system is operational and the levels are currently counted based on the statistics from over the years.
What it will look like
We're currently experimenting a bit with the look of it but as it is now, you'll have a big size star in your profile - check it out right away. It will increase its size as you increase your level. At the profile you'll also see your points. In comments and forum posts, only a small star (
) and your level will be showed. We may introduce certain addons for high-leveled users in the future but once again this is the first phase of it. As we balance how much points everything should give, your level may change! Please remember that this is the 'beta' phase of the level system and that the system is not completed yet!
We hope you will enjoy the new system and feedback is greatly appreciated at the comment section below!
Technical note: The points are updated once each night 04.00 CET. Again, this is a beta phase and things will change during development. Thanks.
