After a lot of brainstorming and community consultation, we've developed a ratings system that takes the best of feedback (i.e. it encourages good behaviour and discourages bad behaviour) and avoids the problems with feedback (i.e. it required full-time staff to settle disputes between pissed off members - which was often a mission impossible). It's called ratings and is fully explained in the Ratings section of the Instructions.
Here are the differences between ratings and feedback:
- Instead of writing comments you rate the member from 1 to 5 stars on four attributes of game behaviour.
- Next to your username will appear a star followed by your average overall rating.
- As with the current feedback system, you will only be allowed to rate someone after finishing a game with them, before the game is archived. However, ratings are not tied to any particular game, so you can update an older rating for someone as your opinion changes over time (provided you complete more games with the member in question).
- Ratings cannot be altered once the game is archived, but they can still be withdrawn.
- To prevent tit-for-tat ratings, new or changed ratings will be hidden until the game is archived because at that point it is too late for the recipient to retaliate.
- "Leave Ratings for:" links now show stars next to the username, grey indicating you still have to rate the player, yellow indicating you already have.
- Ratings are based on members' opinions and Conquer Club staff will NOT review, judge, edit or delete individual ratings.
What happens to old feedback? Since there is no way to fairly translate feedback into ratings, everyone will start off with a blank rating score. Until the ratings system has matured we'll provide a link to view the old feedback on each member's profile. We'll figure out how to drop feedback for good at a later date, in consultation with the community.
Oh, and please be a good sport and earn yourself a decent rating. In the future we will release a tool for members to block those with low ratings from joining their games!
The Wall
Since you can no longer use feedback to leave cute comments for your Conquer Club buddies, we developed a guestbook-type tool for socializing with other players, inspired by Facebook's Wall. Everyone has their own wall on their profile, and anyone can post comments to it! Sounds like fun, eh?
You have complete control over your own wall! If you don't like a comment posted on your wall (or that you posted on someone else's) you can just delete it. You can also block someone from commenting on your wall by making them a foe. Like with private messages, you'll get email notifications for new wall comments (unless turned off from Control Panel -> Board Preferences -> Edit wall settings).
Webmasters: Interested in having a wall on your forum? I've published the code as an open-source phpBB MOD.
Duplicate Start A Game Thingy
Did you know that 48% of public games on the Join A Game pages are duplicates - meaning there are already waiting games with identical settings? Now when you try to start a new public game and there is already an identical public game out there, you'll be presented a listing of duplicates and given an opportunity to join one instead. Hopefully this will trim down the pages of waiting games and make games fill up quicker. You can still start your own game if you insist.
Rule #2 Change
To promote fairness and counter-negotiation, we have changed Rule #2 to encompass all forms of secret diplomacy. That's right, it all has to be done in game chat now. This will require some of you to change the way you do things, but it is for the better of the club. Please take a moment to review Rule #2: No secret diplomacy on the Rules page.
Friend & Foe Notes
As promised in the last update, we've modified Friends & Foes to allow notes. You can attach a note when you add a friend or foe either via the member's profile or via the Control Panel. We also loaded up any notes you had on the old Ignore List to your foes list.
Medals
It's not all about score and rank now that we've got 9 game achievement medals for you to collect. Actually, each one is available in Bronze, Silver and Gold so make that 27 medals! Being awarded a medal will earn you the right to display it proudly on your profile and by your forum posts. Check out the medals page to see what you can win. Those of you who already qualify for any game achievement medals will get them after your next win.
Look out as well for our line of contributions medals to be awarded to those who've helped make this website a better place.
You can expect more medals to come out in future updates...
There is 1 thing on my mind at the minute though, that if a player receives really poor ratings, when this new tool is implemented, then they will no longer be able to play, because who wants to play with people that have a reputition for making stupid moves. I dont get it.
