"Good Samaritan" badge.

[Night Pony]

This comparison will probably not work quite as well outside certain countries, but Snarfgsnor, think of my perspective as this:

If you were new in a town/city, and wanted directions, and there was a bunch of normal citizens, a policepony, and a citizen wearing a shirt given to her specially by the town/city that said "i help other ponies" on the front, who would you more likely go to to ask for help?

But what if the shirt just said "I spam posts" with this directly below it

I went a bit off track, but it's still there. What will the badge say and look like if it would be implemented?
--edit--
And how do you get it, that's the most important part. It's the only question I have really, and the only thing preventing me from voting.

maybe a nomination by somepony other than the individual, with ponies debating the pros and cons and reasons to give or not give the badge, culminating in a serious, non popularity based poll that hides the results?

I completely agree?

I think popularity is a factor though. The more popular somepony is, the heavier their statements will be. You can't have a nobody walking around as a nominee. Nopony will know who they are and it's hard to accept that.
((Of course, almost all ponies here are popular. Anypony who posts like, around 5 posts a day is popular))
Not a high standard, but it's still a standard.

well yes, but that's a part of being a contributor and good samaritan.  A nopony wouldn't really qualify as much of a contributor, for instance.

but if we were to actully give out this badge it would be have to be someone who actully helps out other with issues and give out directions. and then popularity should _NOT_ have any plays in that decision becuase that would completley destroy the whole thing again. and and posting everywhere would not qualify either for such a thing. becuase if i were to ask someone with this badge. i would want help/directions not some popular guy/girl giving their 2 cents. of course they would most likley help me. but still i would give this badge to who people actully giving out help.

If you give good advice, you'll be popular. Not as popular as some ponies, but you'll be noticed by the community.

true. but if this choice will be given to us. most likley the most popular ones will get it. and you know it

This is why the mods should decide on who will get the badge.

[The Wandering Magus]

This comparison will probably not work quite as well outside certain countries, but Snarfgsnor, think of my perspective as this:

If you were new in a town/city, and wanted directions, and there was a bunch of normal citizens, a policepony, and a citizen wearing a shirt given to her specially by the town/city that said "i help other ponies" on the front, who would you more likely go to to ask for help?

But what if the shirt just said "I spam posts" with this directly below it

I went a bit off track, but it's still there. What will the badge say and look like if it would be implemented?
--edit--
And how do you get it, that's the most important part. It's the only question I have really, and the only thing preventing me from voting.

maybe a nomination by somepony other than the individual, with ponies debating the pros and cons and reasons to give or not give the badge, culminating in a serious, non popularity based poll that hides the results?

I completely agree?

I think popularity is a factor though. The more popular somepony is, the heavier their statements will be. You can't have a nobody walking around as a nominee. Nopony will know who they are and it's hard to accept that.
((Of course, almost all ponies here are popular. Anypony who posts like, around 5 posts a day is popular))
Not a high standard, but it's still a standard.

well yes, but that's a part of being a contributor and good samaritan.  A nopony wouldn't really qualify as much of a contributor, for instance.

but if we were to actully give out this badge it would be have to be someone who actully helps out other with issues and give out directions. and then popularity should _NOT_ have any plays in that decision becuase that would completley destroy the whole thing again. and and posting everywhere would not qualify either for such a thing. becuase if i were to ask someone with this badge. i would want help/directions not some popular guy/girl giving their 2 cents. of course they would most likley help me. but still i would give this badge to who people actully giving out help.

If you give good advice, you'll be popular. Not as popular as some ponies, but you'll be noticed by the community.

true. but if this choice will be given to us. most likley the most popular ones will get it. and you know it

This is why the mods should decide on who will get the badge.

see my nomination suggestion, and my illustration specifically said the award was for "i help others" not "i post a lot"

[Lord of Madness]

i vote all my yes for this  i like this badge idea

[lol]

Post counts or nothing in my opinion. I know this is meant to be a friendly community and all, but I really don't like the idea of getting rewards for only being helpful. I really hope it doesn't end up working like this in game. I want rewarded for my time here, not what others think of me. But I guess that's just me, I don't enjoy going out of my way helping people to get rewarded. If I want to help someone I will do it without an incentive, other than my personal desire.

Basically I like being rewarded for the time spent here, not for what the community thinks of me. I couldn't care less about the forums at this point, other than for game related news and discussion, but I really hope this being helpful thing doesn't work its way into the game. Sorry, I'm here to game, not make friends. But I like ponies, and this friendship thing is just part of liking them.

One more time in case no one saw it; the only incentive for being helpful should be your own desire. Don't give people rewards for being helpful just so they'll actually be helpful, it's annoying because then everyone is trying to help people and really don't know how to do so. But whatever, as I said I couldn't care less about the forums, just don't do this in game.

[Tiger]

Sorry, I'm here to game, not make friends. But I like ponies, and this friendship thing is just part of liking them

You know this game is a social game, right? It's not gonna be like any other mmorpg. It's not gonna be based off fighting. If you're not here to make friends, you're probably not gonna like most of this game.

[Lary]

Sorry, I'm here to game, not make friends. But I like ponies, and this friendship thing is just part of liking them

You know this game is a social game, right? It's not gonna be like any other mmorpg. It's not gonna be based off fighting. If you're not here to make friends, you're probably not gonna like most of this game.

I second this. Do you even watch the show? Or understand the message it's portraying?

Friendship is the running drive of the show. The core. This game is based on it. It's a social-based MMORPG. If you're not going to socialize, chances are you're going to be missing out on plenty of content.

[Azure Dusk]

Sorry, I'm here to game, not make friends. But I like ponies, and this friendship thing is just part of liking them

You know this game is a social game, right? It's not gonna be like any other mmorpg. It's not gonna be based off fighting. If you're not here to make friends, you're probably not gonna like most of this game.

I second this. Do you even watch the show? Or understand the message it's portraying?

Friendship is the running drive of the show. The core. This game is based on it. It's a social-based MMORPG. If you're not going to socialize, chances are you're going to be missing out on plenty of content.

Third. A large part of the community on these forums, and just bronies in general, is being friendly. Especially on here, with the user-submitted-content threads and the RP's.

[Tiger]

Sorry, I'm here to game, not make friends. But I like ponies, and this friendship thing is just part of liking them

You know this game is a social game, right? It's not gonna be like any other mmorpg. It's not gonna be based off fighting. If you're not here to make friends, you're probably not gonna like most of this game.

I second this. Do you even watch the show? Or understand the message it's portraying?

Friendship is the running drive of the show. The core. This game is based on it. It's a social-based MMORPG. If you're not going to socialize, chances are you're going to be missing out on plenty of content.

Third. A large part of the community on these forums, and just bronies in general, is being friendly. Especially on here, with the user-submitted-content threads and the RP's.

And I actually thought I would get flamed by my post
But they're all right. In real life, I'm anti-social. But here, look at how friendly I am! I'm a completely different person online.
I say you should develop two personalities
In all seriousness though, if you just want to game and have no intention to socialise whatsoever, then just play TF2. 'Nuff said.

[SweBow]

Sorry, I'm here to game, not make friends. But I like ponies, and this friendship thing is just part of liking them

You know this game is a social game, right? It's not gonna be like any other mmorpg. It's not gonna be based off fighting. If you're not here to make friends, you're probably not gonna like most of this game.

Wrong. It's a MMORPG with Social Elements. We already stated before that you can play this game with or without friends. Though it's a better experience with friends. But however, you aren't even needed to play the game itself. You can just use it as a virtual chat if you like.

[Tekner]

I vote yes on some conditions. No matter what systen we use, popularity will always play a role in who is most rewarded by other users. There has to be some intervening, unbiased (as unbiased as you can get, anyway) force that oversees any system that is designed to make certain people stand out over others.

What I think should happen is that nominations should be allowed by users. A user can only nominate another user once, ever. Nomination happens based on a post and the nominating user must give a reason why this person should gain a badge. On the moderator side, they can see which users have nominations and how many. Once a user has enough nominations, they can click on that user and see what reasons the other users gave and under what context (the post they were nominated for.) It will then be up to the moderators to decide who gets a badge.

[The Wandering Magus]

I vote yes on some conditions. No matter what systen we use, popularity will always play a role in who is most rewarded by other users. There has to be some intervening, unbiased (as unbiased as you can get, anyway) force that oversees any system that is designed to make certain people stand out over others.

What I think should happen is that nominations should be allowed by users. A user can only nominate another user once, ever. Nomination happens based on a post and the nominating user must give a reason why this person should gain a badge. On the moderator side, they can see which users have nominations and how many. Once a user has enough nominations, they can click on that user and see what reasons the other users gave and under what context (the post they were nominated for.) It will then be up to the moderators to decide who gets a badge.

seems like a decent system.  And it helps separate the "popular by spam" posters versus the "popular by quality" posters.

[daswed]

The badge is like karma, do something good and you´ll be rewarded.

[Zygrograxgra]

The badge is like karma, do something good and you´ll be rewarded.

Karma didn't really do that at all, it turned into a "who's the most popular" thing.

[The Wandering Magus]

The badge is like karma, do something good and you´ll be rewarded.

Karma didn't really do that at all, it turned into a "who's the most popular" thing.

like what it was MEANT to do, then.

[CyanideInsanity]

Eh, why not? Though if it does get to the point were people are just trying to gain the status for the sake of having it and not for being truly helpful, I'd say toss it.

[Rainy-Chan]

i dunno, i think it sounds like a bad idea. First of all, how are you going to see if someone has been helpful or not? Maybe they have been twice or something and the mods saw that, but someone whos been working their butt off for whatever reason and trying to be helpful was never noticed by any mods and then the first one gets it.

Once someone gets the badge, are they still going to make an effort or will they start ignoring others because they already have it?

There are several other reasons i say nay as well, but since we now have a forum that is free from elitism i sort of wish we could keep it that way. Do you have to add something just for the sake of having something that makes others seem a little better than the rest?

[Equestrian]

i dunno, i think it sounds like a bad idea. First of all, how are you going to see if someone has been helpful or not? Maybe they have been twice or something and the mods saw that, but someone whos been working their butt off for whatever reason and trying to be helpful was never noticed by any mods and then the first one gets it.

Once someone gets the badge, are they still going to make an effort or will they start ignoring others because they already have it?

There are several other reasons i say nay as well, but since we now have a forum that is free from elitism i sort of wish we could keep it that way. Do you have to add something just for the sake of having something that makes others seem a little better than the rest?

That shouldn't happen if what Tekner describes is the system

Spoiler: Tekner's description • show

[quote author=Tekner link=topic=2563.msg179336#msg179336 date=1338918929]
I vote yes on some conditions. No matter what systen we use, popularity will always play a role in who is most rewarded by other users. There has to be some intervening, unbiased (as unbiased as you can get, anyway) force that oversees any system that is designed to make certain people stand out over others.

What I think should happen is that nominations should be allowed by users. A user can only nominate another user once, ever. Nomination happens based on a post and the nominating user must give a reason why this person should gain a badge. On the moderator side, they can see which users have nominations and how many. Once a user has enough nominations, they can click on that user and see what reasons the other users gave and under what context (the post they were nominated for.) It will then be up to the moderators to decide who gets a badge.
[/quote]

The reason why this is being suggested is for the community, as you've seen, most of the problems and questions answered are by the community. You rarely see any of the mods, so it's difficult to talk to them. As for the community, they can help more easily and can be seen as closer and nicer because we're all peers here. Especially new members, if they want to ask something in private, but the mods haven't been answering, they can look for people with the badge.

[Rainy-Chan]

That shouldn't happen if what Tekner describes is the system

Spoiler: Tekner's description • show

[quote author=Tekner link=topic=2563.msg179336#msg179336 date=1338918929]
I vote yes on some conditions. No matter what systen we use, popularity will always play a role in who is most rewarded by other users. There has to be some intervening, unbiased (as unbiased as you can get, anyway) force that oversees any system that is designed to make certain people stand out over others.

What I think should happen is that nominations should be allowed by users. A user can only nominate another user once, ever. Nomination happens based on a post and the nominating user must give a reason why this person should gain a badge. On the moderator side, they can see which users have nominations and how many. Once a user has enough nominations, they can click on that user and see what reasons the other users gave and under what context (the post they were nominated for.) It will then be up to the moderators to decide who gets a badge.

[/spoiler]

The reason why this is being suggested is for the community, as you've seen, most of the problems and questions answered are by the community. You rarely see any of the mods, so it's difficult to talk to them. As for the community, they can help more easily and can be seen as closer and nicer because we're all peers here. Especially new members, if they want to ask something in private, but the mods haven't been answering, they can look for people with the badge.
[/quote]

this sounds better but im not convinced yet. letting the users decide only means that people can go around asking for nominations, or someone might refuse to nominate someone they know deserve it because they dont like them. its probably going to be more of a popularity contest than anything else

[Equestrian]

That shouldn't happen if what Tekner describes is the system

Spoiler: Tekner's description • show

[quote author=Tekner link=topic=2563.msg179336#msg179336 date=1338918929]
I vote yes on some conditions. No matter what systen we use, popularity will always play a role in who is most rewarded by other users. There has to be some intervening, unbiased (as unbiased as you can get, anyway) force that oversees any system that is designed to make certain people stand out over others.

What I think should happen is that nominations should be allowed by users. A user can only nominate another user once, ever. Nomination happens based on a post and the nominating user must give a reason why this person should gain a badge. On the moderator side, they can see which users have nominations and how many. Once a user has enough nominations, they can click on that user and see what reasons the other users gave and under what context (the post they were nominated for.) It will then be up to the moderators to decide who gets a badge.

[/spoiler]

The reason why this is being suggested is for the community, as you've seen, most of the problems and questions answered are by the community. You rarely see any of the mods, so it's difficult to talk to them. As for the community, they can help more easily and can be seen as closer and nicer because we're all peers here. Especially new members, if they want to ask something in private, but the mods haven't been answering, they can look for people with the badge.

this sounds better but im not convinced yet. letting the users decide only means that people can go around asking for nominations, or someone might refuse to nominate someone they know deserve it because they dont like them. its probably going to be more of a popularity contest than anything else
[/quote]

That shouldn't happen

"On the moderator side, they can see which users have nominations and how many. Once a user has enough nominations, they can click on that user and see what reasons the other users gave and under what context (the post they were nominated for.) It will then be up to the moderators to decide who gets a badge."

Unless the mods screw up, they should be able to give an unbiased judgement, because there's a reason on the post and the post itself.

[Zygrograxgra]

That shouldn't happen if what Tekner describes is the system

Spoiler: Tekner's description • show

[quote author=Tekner link=topic=2563.msg179336#msg179336 date=1338918929]
I vote yes on some conditions. No matter what systen we use, popularity will always play a role in who is most rewarded by other users. There has to be some intervening, unbiased (as unbiased as you can get, anyway) force that oversees any system that is designed to make certain people stand out over others.

What I think should happen is that nominations should be allowed by users. A user can only nominate another user once, ever. Nomination happens based on a post and the nominating user must give a reason why this person should gain a badge. On the moderator side, they can see which users have nominations and how many. Once a user has enough nominations, they can click on that user and see what reasons the other users gave and under what context (the post they were nominated for.) It will then be up to the moderators to decide who gets a badge.

[/spoiler]

The reason why this is being suggested is for the community, as you've seen, most of the problems and questions answered are by the community. You rarely see any of the mods, so it's difficult to talk to them. As for the community, they can help more easily and can be seen as closer and nicer because we're all peers here. Especially new members, if they want to ask something in private, but the mods haven't been answering, they can look for people with the badge.

this sounds better but im not convinced yet. letting the users decide only means that people can go around asking for nominations, or someone might refuse to nominate someone they know deserve it because they dont like them. its probably going to be more of a popularity contest than anything else

That shouldn't happen

"On the moderator side, they can see which users have nominations and how many. Once a user has enough nominations, they can click on that user and see what reasons the other users gave and under what context (the post they were nominated for.) It will then be up to the moderators to decide who gets a badge."

Unless the mods screw up, they should be able to give an unbiased judgement, because there's a reason on the post and the post itself.
[/quote]
If there is one thing I've learned in my almost 15 years on the Earth, it's that no one, and I mean NO ONE, can give a truly unbiased judgement unless they have literally no knowledge of anything. But then it becomes a random vote.
I've seen it happen far too much everywhere, happens to me almost all the time when something bad happens.