RANK & FILE

[Lucasind]

...... by clicking on the "MEMBERS" tab at the top of this page ,you will see 25 pages of member/potential members user names. the overwhelming majority of which are in RED . After searching this forum, (unsucsessfully ) to find the " ranking" structure , It might be beneficial to new members to know how you might get from "no rank" zero posts ,...to four "gold stars".... how many posts does it take to get from one rank to the next, ....or do I dare say to reach the " status of "top gun" ....... We seem to have alot of interest in our club,..... but too few folks willing to write the check and become full fledged dues paying members. hoping that someone with this knowledge, will respond/post the ascending rank structure so that everyone knows .... heck ...I've been a dues paying member ,....and I don't even know !! If rank in an association isn't of any importance,, why is it even there ?

[jre258 in SoDak]

Top Gun is a special designation for our guru, Carl Leo. There used to be a list showing how many posts it took to reach a certain level.
Jim

[Bruce in OK]

The members list is a little deceiving, Tony. It comprises anyone who has registered on the forum. Many of those in red registered because they were considering purchasing a Voyager. Many were paying members but for one reason or another stopped paying dues. There are probably even a few that are deceased now. The rest? Well, let's just say they like drinking the milk without feeding the cow.

The rankings exist to allow users to see how active others on the forum are. Hence, the titles and stars. I believe it is all based on the number of postings a user makes. The program changes one's ranking apart from any interaction with a human. Ron or another Board Member can correct me if this isn't accurate.

To my knowledge, Carl Leo is the only "Top Gun". It is an honorary title because Carl has been the preeminent authority on all things Voyager. He is THE service guy on the VXII and 1300. Before moving to Florida, he was also our best parts resource as well.

So, in short, the rankings don't really mean much. However, they do give one a sense of the credibility of another person's postings.

[Scott-(Altoona, PA)]

Bruce, that pretty much sums it up. Color indicates paid/non-paying membership and star ranking indicates quantity of postings.
Yep your spot on!

[debron]

Tony,

Here's the ranking structure I inherited. By the way, I've "joined" probably a dozen forums, maybe more, on various subject matters over the last 6-8 years and everyone of them has a "ranking" system, all of which are strictly based on the number of posts you make, and is a form of recognition for contributing, but otherwise means nothing, except for a few special designations (see below.) It's just (an automated) part of the forum software, though it doesn't have to be used as the ranks are custom defined.

1 Post = Newbie
15 = Streetster
30 = Cruiser
100 = Traveler
225 = Tourer
350 = Grand Tourer
600 = Elite Tourer
1000 = King of the Road

I don't know how these rankings came about but I haven't felt the need to change anything. Any suggestions?

The only place these are identified is in the bowels of the system administration. I've never seen a forum where they post the ranks. Just an observation. We also have four "ranks" that are not post based:
Top Gun, a special designation for Carl Leo
AVA Board Member
AVA Board Chairman
Forum Administrator


As to Registered Users (Red) vs. Members (blue) there are many, many registered users. A great many of them are "old" users who haven't logged into the forum for years. Also many of them have never posted any comments or questions. Quite a few were converted over from the old forum to this forum in 2008 but have never visited this forum. I did a summary for the board a couple of weeks ago. For the three months August 1 - October 31, 2013 we had 92 new people register for the forum. Of those, only 29 actually posted at least one comment or question. Two joined the AVA as dues paying members. Yes, that's fertile ground for recruitment.

[Bruce in OK]

I don't see a need to change them, Ron. Thanks for the explanation. One other thought that came to mind were the myriad of spammers that register. Does their registered name stay in the database, or does it vaporize as well?

[Lucasind]

...Thanks RON, Well done ! ! , I also see no need to change what I just read., You are right , there is some fertile recruitment ground there !

[debron]

Bruce, we actually do not have many spammers as registered users. Charlotte used to have problems with spambots trying to register and she would have to manually delete these, 10 - 50 per day. I had the same problem until I learned that the spambots (automated registration "robots") had broken the code we were using (something called "CAPTCHA" - "type the characters in the box.") I switched to the question/answer anti-spam measures (answer this question to register - how many wheels does the standard motorcycle have?) and have had zero problems with spammers for the last three months. Occasionally a "real person" spammer will register but I think we've had only two of those in the last four months and they are easily deleted.

[Lucasind]

...Holy cow , up to 50 "spammers"per day. that alone, protecting the website,is nearly a full time job. makes us appreciate the position of "forum administrator" even more ! Taking the necessary steps to take that number down to nearly none, is a adjustment that was needed for some time !

[Bill O]

The rank and file status can be a bit misleading. Mine shows me as becoming a member in 2008 and I now warrent one star. Fact is I have been a AVA member since about 1997/8 and a past Board Member. Message Post over the years...????

Bill O

[Lucasind]

...Hi Bill O... don't know what to say about that.... maybe your "one star" is gold rather then red ........(you didn't say) you can check that by clicking on ur user name .... to see how many posts u have... and check it against the chart that RON just provided us with.... .....tony

[Bruce in OK]

Not to worry, Bill. Your postings have more quality than some (me included) with more quantity.

[Scott-(Altoona, PA)]

Bill O, Tony is right. Red stars for the first 4 rankings, then Gold stars for the next. Tony has 4 red but less postings than yourself, 225 starts the Gold stars and 350 is the next rank I believe. Also the date signifies when you registered for this forum (I don't think it includes time from the old forum either).
Oh, and please don't shoot the messengers!

[Scott-(Altoona, PA)]

Not to worry, Bill. Your postings have more quality than some (me included) with more quantity.

Bruce is 100% right, a bump counts as a post. Hell this even counts as one even though it has no value.

[debron]

The rank and file status can be a bit misleading. Mine shows me as becoming a member in 2008 and I now warrent one star. Fact is I have been a AVA member since about 1997/8 and a past Board Member. Message Post over the years...????

Bill O

This version of the forum was created in February 2008 so everyone who was a member before that on the old forum (before my time) shows a "joined" date of Feb 2008. Prior to that date a different forum software program was used. By the way, this is the date of joining the forum, not joining the AVA.

The stars thing has always seemed a little odd to me too. The four red stars are the first four (lower) ranks then you graduate to the yellow stars for the nest four (higher) ranks. One yellow star is a step up from four red stars. I may have to create something new when I have time!

Also, your post count is posted under your Avatar just below "joined" date and is always current.

[Bill O]

I knew all about the new forum and the dates and msg counts. I was pointing out that user should not weigh in too heavily on the status. Hopefully I didn't sound like I was winning.

Bill O

[Scott-(Altoona, PA)]

No wining, if anything you've helped to clarify a subject that some "newbie's" might have wondered about but just didn't want to ask. I remember when I joined this forum (1'st forum for me being active on) I asked some questions and held off on some for fear of looking foolish. I soon realized no matter what I will always be & look foolish so now I don't care. Others may not be like me and be more reserved. So this very well may have been good and beneficial for someone and we'll never know!

[debron]

OK, I have too much time on my hands today! What do you think of these for new ranks? Colors are more consistent with the forum colors:

1 Post = Newbie
15 = Streetster
30 = Cruiser
100 = Traveler
225 = Tourer
350 = Grand Tourer
600 = Elite Tourer
1000 = King of the Road
Top Gun - Carl

[Bruce in OK]

I don't have a problem with the old system, Ron. I never have paid much attention to the rankings. What you came up with looks to be just as good. I say you make an executive decision and implement it if it strikes your fancy. Call it a perk that comes with your compensation package.

You're doing a great job with the forums. I trust any decision you make.

[gearheadfla]

Looks good to me, less confusing than before.