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Competition: healthy or not?

I have to say that I am not a big fan of the idea. I think I like to play things for fun and hope that everyone wins or at least has a good time playing.
This site has a bit of a competitive nature to it, is points and levelling up.

Now, I get the purpose of the idea, it's better to have interaction of someone posts and receives points for doing so. But I also see people who post endlessly just to gain more points. Or worse, putting provocative stuff on just to get everyone to comment.

I find it discouraging and I also feel the need to climb up with the points when I see people who have been here for such a short time passing mme. Or worse, asking for help from the site to get to the next level. I don't even know why it bothers me. Maybe because I have always been a person who likes things to be fair. Ha!
I never enjoyed playing against teams that were stacked with good players.

Akfishlady 8 Sep 16
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42 comments

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1

This is the sort of thing that pops into my head all the time.

It's nice to have a place to share it where maybe a few people will appreciate it.

Yes when we get near a level - we want the points to level up if we notice it happening.. most of the time someone else tells me. Ok I'm at 8.9...

But I'm not changing my style. I just might mention I've got another Level 7 and a half to go... 😉

@Akfishlady Not one bit!

Everyone posts differently. I commented to someone yesterday - that I do put thought into what I post. Even when it's humor. Sure I might free associate - but I figure that's half the fun of how my brain works.

This has been a great thread to read. I love finding out what other people see when they look at us.

And you should post more of your photos! ❤.

@Akfishlady I think the post is spot-on.

@bingst Exactly! (Plus I could hardly post Taylor Swift now could I?). 😉

@RavenCT I don't put a lot of thought into some of my post. I do a lot of lol because I appreciate the comments that make me chuckle.

@Akfishlady By the way, what did you mean that Raven is a contractor?

@RavenCT I meant the original post, not your comment.

@Akfishlady Oh thank dawg - I thought maybe I was a contractor? That seemed odd.

Commenter I'm good with.

I was really shocked when I looked at my profile to see just how many comments versus posts.

1

Never thought of this site as a competition but healthy competition I see to be a good thing it brings out the creativeness of those involved.

@Akfishlady that's one I have always found pointless

@Akfishlady it is ashame, I would use the word sad but.

3

With or without points, you're gonna get people who, in your view, post in a frivolous manner. I personally don't find it to be detrimental or distracting, but we all roll in our own lanes. Maybe the administrators can make it so the display of any points is an option you can toggle if you ask them. And honestly, I want that purple t-shirt. (Got a ways to go, however.)

@Akfishlady It's an aspect of the competitive nature of the points system that was unintended. An unintended consequence. The implication spurs a kind of "keeping up with..." reaction, that tends to make some of us feel "less than."

0

Why should there be any "competition" for points in the first place? I never looked at the point system as a competition. Am I missing something or is the person with the most points awarded a trip to the moon?

@Akfishlady
Honestly, I couldn't care less about the t-shirt or any of the perks (well, maybe a little about the t-shirt lol). But, seriously, I'm not bothered by point-whoring in and of itself, I'm more disgusted by click-baiting tactics and low-quality contents.

1

I don't think about the points as a competition. It actually pushes me to interact a bit more if I feel I've been antisocial for a little too long. If I've been hanging out at the same point level for a while, maybe I need to get more involved and share more. That's a big step for me and the points become a reward for taking that step.

@Akfishlady I’m sure there are some people who approach it that way. If it makes them feel better, where’s the harm in that? I am generally a pretty competitive person with games, but I don’t view these interactions as a competition. I don’t generally “like” a post just to get/give points.

2

in what way is it even a competition? in a competition there are winners and losers. here, no one loses points when you gain them, or even fails to win them when you gain them. we're not competing for the points. we're being rewarded for our activity, independently of each other's rewards. that is not competition.

yes there are people who take the points so seriously that they post garbage just to get the points. that's rude. there are rude people in the world. this may seem like another world but it's just another part of the world; you can't come here and expect to escape rude people. but their rudeness, while annoying, does not prevent you from gaining points, nor take away the points you have already gained.

it's not a competition.

g

@Akfishlady lol it's an illusion. it's just a reward system for your contributions. you want to be rewarded a lot and fast? hurry! you just want to participate at your own rate, like most of us i think? do what you do and don't worry about the points, and you still won't be giving them up, because they'll eventually come to you. there is no deadline.

g

2

This site rewards people with high levels by making them work. It's fairly easy to get to level 8 without really trying. It's a long way to level 9, and IMO only obsessive people would actively work towards it.

I see level 9 as a goalpost for persistence more than something to obsess over. I expect to take 1.5 to 2 years to get there, assuming I don't lose interest in the meantime. So in a way, it's really a motivator for the site owners. Can you hold people's interest long enough for people to get to 9 and even 10? If I make it that far, I'll give THEM a gold star.

@mordant Good point

0

Does it really matter to you what "level" you are? If so, why?

0

Is this really a competition or a recognition for being a contributor..???

1

PS: I love the photo!

Jnei Level 8 Sep 16, 2018
3

Your post is just a thinly veiled attempt at getting more points. Nice try. ?

1

So is this just a post to gain points then? Maybe i shouldn't reply ?...shit, too late now ?. Nice beach though ?

3

I’m not sure that points or no points makes a difference to discussion and discourse. Doesn’t make an interaction more or less valid!

0

Competition? I never really thought about it that way. I'm here to benefit from the accumulated knowledge and experiences of all the members here. And have fun, which is exactly what in getting. Didn't even notice my level until I achieved level 5! Then I checked and saw that most of my points come from talking to people about what interests me. I only make a post when I need advice haha different strokes for different folks I suppose. Do we get super powers at level 10. Lol

2

great photo! for some the "competition" seems to the whole point. i try to keep in mind that friends aren't a result of levels.

0

Gamification is everywhere these days, and many have come to expect it from dating apps. I will help folks up a level, but I am not as concerned about it for myself.

1

competition itself is definitely healthy, I know personally it drives me to do better, better work, be more innovative, casual competition can make mundane tasks fun, serious competition can and has moved our whole species along

the emphasis our culture puts on winning can be a problem
the way some of us react when we win or are winners can be a real problem
the entitlement that many people feel when they are winners is a real problem

being competitive is not a bad thing, thinking that you are better than or more deserving than another person because you won some competition is one of the bigger issues facing society today (outside of god)

2

I think competition is healthy when it creates actual benefits. Athletics can drive you to improve physical and mental toughness, elections ideally give you the best candidates (I know...), competitive grants, scholarships, etc. drive is to do our best, most out-of-the-box thinking. Competition at it's pinnacle forces us to be our better selves. Are there negatives that come with it? Sure. The points system here definitely help generate some of the shallow "click bait" posts we've all come across. But in creating more interactions in general, you're bound to get some detritus. It's a case of not throwing out the baby with the bath water.

2

For the most part, I'm with you on this one. Not sure about it being competitive, but I do suspect there is a lot of system gaming going on. Since the site offers points for participation and perks for advancing up the ranks, there are those who would take advantage of that, but where competition would be concerned, I think it would either be easily identified and I would tend to avoid those people. Personally, I use the like feature for responses to my posts, not so much to get points, but to genuinely thank people for providing meaningful comments. I'm not a fan of the 'pointstitution' scheme and will often skip those posts. There's no rush - I'll get up to where you're at soon enough. 😉

3

I liked it when I got higher level but it was not to pass up someone else it justs shows interaction no bragging rights/

5

Quality is always worth more than quantity. I think the majority of people here see gaining points as just a bit of fun and have a friendly rivalry with other users - so while they might talk about it and even ask people to give them a bit of a push when they get near to moving up a notch, it's not the be-all and end-all of their membership here and they make interesting posts and replies for their own sake rather than for points (in those cases, I'll often help give them the push to move up). On the other hand, there are undoubtedly a few members here who do seem to be primarily concerned with points and collect them either by making lots of fairly inane points or being deliberately provocative in an attempt to get more replies (this might also be an issue with private groups - it wouldn't be difficult to create one as a points factory, unless points were not awarded in private groups).

So in other words, I don't worry that much. I know the people here who say things worth saying and I read their posts and replies when they make them. If someone has reached a high level by posting rubbish, I'll be aware of them as someone who doesn't post anything particularly interesting and won't pay much attention to them.

Jnei Level 8 Sep 16, 2018
3

I agree with you in that the point system generates some unwanted (really) and unnecessary activity by people who are just point whores. Personally, while I think the point system is fun (and I think I'll be stuck at L7.whatever forever, LOL) I don't post just for the sake of posting and don't comment just for the sake of commenting.

2

It doesn't bother me that other people ask for help getting points, but I think that when people gain points just for posting "like this post" garbage, it devalues the level system.

The stated purpose for points is to reward people who contribute to the growth of the site. I wonder how much does it contribute to anything just asking for help to gain levels.

JimG Level 8 Sep 16, 2018
3

The points and levels not really competition as I see it. The fact tht the lower levels have to have posts approved by someone in the higher levels means that the haters wont' stick aroudn here long, and the sie remains a nice place to visit.

If there is a competition, I'm not playing it that way.

1

Don't so much care about the points, or promoting that. I am really just interested in quality posts which, to me, are thought-provoking, or funny, or musically pleasing, for the most part.

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