@Nathanial Rumphol-Janc please choose an actual avatar.
Maybe some day, sure. Or, I could keep using the default, as I proudly display the pathetic xenforo defaults (and ones I am sure we should probably change). Either way, it's different and unique, so I'll stick with it for now.
Anyhow, I largely agree with the bulk of your post, but I would argue while our rupee system does technically display "have and have nots" it's also based on participation, anybody can get that amount of rupees — it's not inherited, when I die my ZD rupees won't go to our son
@Lozjam rather our turkey foundation
@Misty and I started.
Of course. As I said, I don't actually want to shake things up. Just figured I'd throw my two cents in to help frame my viewpoint of on charging for emotes and the current cost of starting a blog. None of it really applies to me anyways, but I just thought I'd frame where I am coming from for context.
I like the coin system. It would work as a good motivator to come up with new threads and posts IF rupees were actually worth something.
There needs to be shop items at all levels. For myself there is nothing I can't afford many times over. There should be items that cost thousands and there should be items that can be gotten for people with just 25 rupees. It means there is something to buy at whatever level poster you are.
Shops are nice for some things. Never really seen a forum with a shop I really thought added value or increased activity. In fact, the most active forums out there don't do any nonsense with points or rewards, shops, games, yada yada. People are there talking about things because they want to be there talking about things. They don't need incentives to want to do something. But again, its' been here for a long time. No point in going back at this juncture.
There is always a heirachy. You yourself have positional authority and more power than an average member. To say you aren't above them is false. The reality is you are. It isn't doable to create a system where nobody is above another. Even amongst regular members there are always older members, members who post more, members who are liked more. People up top and people below. That's just the way things are, in life and on forums.
I don't even believe the whole "staff opinions are worth the same" bs, that's just a downright lie. That's not the case for anything in the world, be it a forum, a company, or a country. People with more authority have more weight to their opinions. That's the point of having authority.
I agree with you with the coin system, too. There's lots of potential with it.
Lumped these together with some highlights to address uniformly from my end. I am, technically, above everyone at ZI save Mases from a positional standpoint. Things at ZI happen quicker, faster, and more directly when I am directly invovled. Traffic is higher when I am busy putting in work then when I am absent. Of this, there is no doubt, and ZI becomes a more prosperous place when I am around. However, that doesn't mean I actually view my opinions being above everyone else. I really don't. There was at time years ago when I certainly did, but today, what makes ZI so special is that everyone has almost equal input, and if a staff member didn't get a say on something, it's generally because they didn't care to have a say or they just weren't around at the time when a decision needed to be made. And sure, you can argue that all of us staff at ZI are above the readers, because we control the literal platform. As in, we put content on the platform that ZI is for all of them to read. But, unlike most places on the net - any reader, be them just discovered us today or been an avid reader for years, can be on the staff if they have the skillset in place for it.
Also, in regards to MOST major changes at ZI in the past few years, the fans have been in the know and we've been completely transparent, allowing them equal say on the matters at hand. This is not common practice - and it's certainly not a practice Mases himself adheres to, which sort of goes at odds with my management technique. However, thankfully he's fairly hands off at ZI save a couple areas (like the forums), so for the most part a vast majority of ZI still operates under the same way it has for years.
But, I definitely disagree that someone's opinion is less important because they are new and not established in the community. That's elitism. The key thing is being able to recognize viable stuff from the garbage - and even long term members can take advantage of them being well known to push things that have no business being considered seriously.
Obviously I can't pretend that people in the community at ZI don't seem to respect what I have to say more because of who I am, but that's them. It's not how my management style works. I am glad folks respect me because of my work, but ZI hasn't been "what I wanted it to be solely" for ages. It's all about open trasparency. ZI can run this way because we're not some for profit company trying to shove product down your throats. Rather, we're doing what we do out of passion and love for a series. 18 years and counting here running fan sites.
Hoping for another 18 more!