A letter from Dave to the Community: Introducing bigger and better Community Rewards

[Dave_M]

Hello Community,

It has been a while since I last posted a letter to the Community. Today, I am excited to be back here with an update on our Community Rewards program. The whole team is excited about these changes and we hope you will be, as well.

A few weeks ago, the Oracles brought our Community Rewards front and center and shared with us that there was some confusion and perceived unfairness surrounding how the Top 0.1%/Oracle award gets applied every month. We are thankful for all of you who shared your feedback and for the Oracles who shone a light on that for us.

Your feedback has helped us recognize that we had an opportunity to clean up and simplify our Rewards. To that end, we are changing our Community Rewards to make things fairer and easier to understand. On top of that, we are delighted to increase the Reward amounts (full details below!). Our online support model could not work without the tremendous support that you, our Community members, provide so we thought it very fitting to increase the Rewards as we went through this review. Your contribution and support, as always, is greatly appreciated, and we hope you’ll enjoy these changes as much as we do.

Sincerely,

Dave

Details:
FAQs:

Question	Answer
What has changed?	1. We now reward Oracles on a clearly separate level from other contributors, allowing our other Community users to achieve the top Rewards level.   2. The Rewards buckets will be grouped in Top 50%, 25%, 10%, 5%, and 1% buckets in favour of eliminating confusing decimals (We’re looking at you, Top 0.5%!) and to make the Rewards levels less intimidating to navigate. 3. The Reward amount has increased at almost every level – Oh yeah!
Why are these changes happening?	As suggested by our Oracles, we’ve made these changes so that our Community Rewards will be more fair and easier to understand. As we reviewed our Community Rewards, we also thought it was fitting to increase their value, as our online support model could not work without the tremendous support you and our other Community members provide.  Thank you for all your help - keep it going!
I’m currently earning a Community Reward every month. How is this going to affect me?	The short answer: it depends. The amount you are rewarded depends on your contribution level relative to overall contribution, which can change month to month even if you contribute very consistently.   All things equal, if you’re in the Top 10% or above for June, you’ll find yourself a bigger Community Reward. Sweet, right? If you’re in the Top 50% or Top 25% in June, your Community Reward value will remain the same. If you don’t get a Reward, don’t get discouraged! Keep helping others out in the Community and you’ll get there.
When will this change be taking place?	The new Community Rewards structure will come into effect beginning June 1st, 2018. The June 2018 Community Rewards and beyond will follow the new structure.
Will this affect the way rewards are calculated in May 2018?	No - for the month of May, the Rewards will continue to follow the current structure and will be unaffected by this change.
Is everyone in the Top 1% going to become an Oracle?	No, Oracles are chosen based on merit, along with maintaining a certain level of contribution. This contribution can take different forms, such as providing the Public Mobile Community Team with constructive feedback, or helping other Community members with their questions.  To learn more about how to become an Oracle, click here.

[JFF]

Not too sure how it works yet. I guess it depends on how much others are contributing. I just join in and got 3 badges already. 🙂

[Noosiekins]

How involved do you have to be to reach... say Top 50%?!

[JFF]

This is great! Helping is rewarding indeed. 🙂 I'm new in the community, and really like it here. 

[srlawren]

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@NDesai wrote:

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In addition to rewards, we [Oracles] enjoy the backend interaction with the team. So that's a huge perk to me 🙂

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@NDesai well put!  🙂  

[Acekiller]

wow! this is a big jump for the upper echleon!

[ShawnC13]

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@dna2016 wrote:

I still think Oracles that go above and beyond (such as @will13am, @NDesai, and @ShawnC13 ) should get a bit more perks, but that's just my opinion (I'am not an Oracle).  

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Thanks, for the mention.  Just a new Oracle around here and as @NDesai, stated the excellent work and standards were already set by those mentioned by him when I came on board.

[NDesai]

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@dna2016 wrote:

Wow, this is amazing.  Once again PM doing what is right, I completely agree, the Oracles do so much for the community, in essence they are operating almost at the level of a MOD, just without the system capabilities.  These Oracles respond within minutes and help sooooo many PM customers.  I guarantee these Oracles have helped PM retain hundreds to thousands of customers from switching to another provider, and also reduced the MODS service line up tremendously.  It's only fair that Oracles are given a separate reward level based on their constant and consistent contribution to the Community forum.  

I still think Oracles that go above and beyond (such as @will13am, @NDesai, and @ShawnC13 ) should get a bit more perks, but that's just my opinion (I'am not an Oracle).  

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Thank you, but before me, @Luddite @srlawren @imm1304 have done a great job. In addition to rewards, we enjoy the backend interaction with the team. So that's a huge perk to me 🙂

[NDesai]

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@MEU_21 wrote:

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@NDesai wrote:

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@ShawnC13 wrote:
The formula hasn't been changed as @NDesai, mentioned but we have been told they will be mornitoriing the forum more closely to prevent and catch any gaming of the system to try and improve odds of receiving a higher reward.

---

In regards to gaming the system as mentioned by Shawn, we would appreciate if you community members let Oracles or Moderators know if you come to know some unusual activities around the community. 

Just so everyone knows, I am tagging known community members who are often active around the community. I know i probably missed some as this is just top of my head. But if you read this post, same message applies to you. 

 @computergeek541 @Anonymous @mtfolks @mimmo @LEGO @stonechucker @Korth @wetcoaster @jp2 @SD08 @kav2001c 

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And this is the reason why some, like me, are not as active. I remember 40+ shadow accounts that Bravoed one user in under an hour to get to the top of the heap - it was a borderline fraudulent act and upset some who were active here, although we still hung around to help the community.

---

Now that rewards payout is increased, please report if you see anything unusual. And we will try our best to look into it. You can always tag or pm Oracles or reach out to mod.

[dna2016]

Wow, this is amazing.  Once again PM doing what is right, I completely agree, the Oracles do so much for the community, in essence they are operating almost at the level of a MOD, just without the system capabilities.  These Oracles respond within minutes and help sooooo many PM customers.  I guarantee these Oracles have helped PM retain hundreds to thousands of customers from switching to another provider, and also reduced the MODS service line up tremendously.  It's only fair that Oracles are given a separate reward level based on their constant and consistent contribution to the Community forum.  

I still think Oracles that go above and beyond (such as @will13am, @NDesai, and @ShawnC13 ) should get a bit more perks, but that's just my opinion (I'am not an Oracle).  

Overall, great to see the increase in Community rewards, this will definitely increase the activity within the forum going forward.  But unfortunately with this increase in credits my corporate mind is also sending alarms because I'm sure it's a matter of time before the base plan costs start to increase as well.  May not be this summer, but wouldn't be surprised if we see some plan increases by late 2018 or early 2019.  As the nature of business is "give a little, take a lot".  Guess we'll see what happens.

[dna2016]

Wow, this is amazing.  Once again PM doing what is right, I completely agree, the Oracles do so much for the community, in essence they are operating almost at the level of a MOD, just without the system capabilities.  These Oracles respond within minutes and help sooooo many PM customers.  I guarantee these Oracles have helped PM retain hundreds to thousands of customers from switching to another provider, and also reduced the MODS service line up tremendously.  It's only fair that Oracles are given a separate reward level based on their constant and consistent contribution to the Community forum.  

I still think Oracles that go above and beyond (such as @will13am, @NDesai, and @ShawnC13 ) should get a bit more perks, but that's just my opinion (I'am not an Oracle).  

Overall, great to see the increase in Community rewards/dollars, this will definitely increase the activity within the forum going forward.  But unfortunately with this increase in credits my corporate pessimistic side is also firing alarms because I'm sure it's a matter of time before the base plan costs start to increase as well.  May not be this summer, but wouldn't be surprised if we see some plan increases by late 2018 or early 2019.  As the nature of business is "give a little, take a lot".  Guess we'll see what happens.

[dna2016]

@CalvinW, suggest you contact a MOD and provide screenshots.  Rewards should take a couple weeks to be applied to your account, not months.  Get that money.

[dna2016]

Wow, this is amazing.  Once again PM doing what is right, I completely agree, the Oracles do so much for the community, in essence they are operating almost at the level of a MOD, just without the system capabilities.  These Oracles respond within minutes and help sooooo many PM customers.  I guarantee these Oracles have helped PM retain hundreds to thousands of customers from switching to another provider, and also reduced the MODS service line up tremendously.  It's only fair that Oracles are given a separate reward level based on their constant and consistent contribution to the Community forum.  

I still think Oracles that go above and beyond (such as @will13am, @NDesai, and @ShawnC13 ) should get a bit more perks, but that's just my opinion (I'am not an Oracle).  

Overall, great to see the increase in Community rewards/dollars, this will definitely increase the activity within the forum going forward.  But unfortunately with this increase in credits my corporate pessimistic side is also firing alarms because I'm sure it's a matter of time before the base plan costs start to increase as well.  May not be this summer, but wouldn't be surprised if we see some plan increases by late 2018 or early 2019.  As the nature of business is "give a little, take a lot".  Guess we'll see what happens.

[will13am]

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@ute1978 wrote:

"Participation" is probably a high rated point in the community rewards formula.

Do I "participate" if I sit in front of the computer, wait for a new topic to be opened and then just copy and paste my text to please contact mods? I can do that just to get into higher rankings.

That is the trend I am seeing. Not a lot of suggestions to resolve a problem, but a lot of "copy and paste" comments about contacting the mods.

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As part of the community, we play a role in keeping the community functional.  Call it neighborhood watch if you will.  If you see an honest effort put into understanding an issue with a focused response, then use the bravo button liberally.  If you see contact moderator team copy/paste response for an issue that doesn't require moderator team intervention, don't acknowledge the effort.  Furthermore, help correct the incorrect suggestion. 

[will13am]

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@Wonder_why wrote:

@Dave_M awesome news,how can I apply ORACLE position 😃,I will quite my full time job 😋😃😄

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It won't put any rice, bread, potato or whatever your favorite form of starch is on the kitchen table. 

[MEU_21]

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@NDesai wrote:

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@ShawnC13 wrote:
The formula hasn't been changed as @NDesai, mentioned but we have been told they will be mornitoriing the forum more closely to prevent and catch any gaming of the system to try and improve odds of receiving a higher reward.

---

In regards to gaming the system as mentioned by Shawn, we would appreciate if you community members let Oracles or Moderators know if you come to know some unusual activities around the community. 

Just so everyone knows, I am tagging known community members who are often active around the community. I know i probably missed some as this is just top of my head. But if you read this post, same message applies to you. 

 @computergeek541 @Anonymous @mtfolks @mimmo @LEGO @stonechucker @Korth @wetcoaster @jp2 @SD08 @kav2001c 

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And this is the reason why some, like me, are not as active. I remember 40+ shadow accounts that Bravoed one user in under an hour to get to the top of the heap - it was a borderline fraudulent act and upset some who were active here, although we still hung around to help the community.

[ute1978]

"Participation" is probably a high rated point in the community rewards formula.

Do I "participate" if I sit in front of the computer, wait for a new topic to be opened and then just copy and paste my text to please contact mods? I can do that just to get into higher rankings.

That is the trend I am seeing. Not a lot of suggestions to resolve a problem, but a lot of "copy and paste" comments about contacting the mods.

[Wonder_why]

@Dave_M awesome news,how can I apply ORACLE position 😃,I will quite my full time job 😋😃😄

[djmitch99]

Thanks for the detail.  I have been wanting to participate more and while this alone doesnt dictate that participation, It is great to see.  Once I figured how things worked, I found it very simple to have my service with Public Mobile.  Good service options at a very reasonable price.  Not to mention not being locked into plans.

[Korth]

@mimmo wrote:

for clarification what is /can be considered gaming the system?

I think "exploiting" or "abusing" the system would be better descriptors than "gamifying", although they all basically mean the same thing in this context.  Any attempt to cheat or manipulate the system itself towards "winning" the rewards (other than increased quantity and quality of positive community participation, which is what these rewards are intended to motivate).  I think that if you even have to ask if/when a specific action is (or is not) fair, ethical, honorable, or just ... then the short answer is "no, it is not".

@NDesai wrote:

... And yes, sometimes users say the same thing again and again ...

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Hey, I'm guilty ... but that's because the same answers need to repeated in response to the same questions being asked again and again, lol. 

This new Rewards structure is most awesome, thank you PM.  Top 50% here I come!

[CalvinW]

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@NDesai wrote:

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@CalvinW wrote:

Will these rewards even be given out? PM still owes me my community rewards for April

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Yes, starting from next month.

Have you contacted mods? It seems to be a simple fix.

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Yes, multiple moderators in fact. I thought it was a simple fix as well, but that doesn't seem to be the case.

It's been almost a month and nothing was fixed.

[NDesai]

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@CalvinW wrote:

Will these rewards even be given out? PM still owes me my community rewards for April

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Yes, starting from next month.

Have you contacted mods? It seems to be a simple fix.

[NDesai]

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@mimmo wrote:

@NDesai for clarification what is /can be considered gaming the system?

Personally I don't like it when:

-posts say message mods when clearly there is no need

- a post is made  restating the same info/answer that was provided hours before.

But I do not think these really  qualify as gaming.

---

Keeping an eye on the bravo leaderboard is a good start to find something fishy. If someone receives so many bravos/solution in a 24 hours or a week period, you can tell there is something going on but not always. To further investigate this, you can review who gave those bravos/solutions, and whoever gave them, what's their contribution to the community. Believe me when i say, users are getting smarter to get past this, but if you all continue to look out, it should not be that easy. 

Many times there are duplicate posts because users are unaware that there is a reply. And yes, sometimes users say the same thing again and again, but not a big deal as only posts are probably not the only factor in their formula. 

[CalvinW]

Will these rewards even be given out? PM still owes me my community rewards for April

[mimmo]

@NDesai for clarification what is /can be considered gaming the system?

Personally I don't like it when:

-posts say message mods when clearly there is no need

- a post is made  restating the same info/answer that was provided hours before.

But I do not think these really  qualify as gaming.

[NDesai]

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@ShawnC13 wrote:
The formula hasn't been changed as @NDesai, mentioned but we have been told they will be mornitoriing the forum more closely to prevent and catch any gaming of the system to try and improve odds of receiving a higher reward.

---

In regards to gaming the system as mentioned by Shawn, we would appreciate if you community members let Oracles or Moderators know if you come to know some unusual activities around the community. 

Just so everyone knows, I am tagging known community members who are often active around the community. I know i probably missed some as this is just top of my head. But if you read this post, same message applies to you. 

 @computergeek541 @Anonymous @mtfolks @mimmo @LEGO @stonechucker @Korth @wetcoaster @jp2 @SD08 @kav2001c 

[computergeek541]

If nothing will be changing for the calculation of the rewards levels, and the reward amounts are higher, who are we to complain?  Sounds great to me!

I do wish there was more transparency about how Public Mobile decides to pay out the rewards.  I know that the algorithm used in some secret at Public Mobile, but as it stand now, Public Mobile could pay out as little, or as much as they want each month, while providing no explanation or justification.  The amount of awarded community badges at each levels varies so greatly each month that it's pretty much impossible to know where you stand part way through a month.

With the higher amounts, this can be seen as a push to get as much partcipation from members to help each other.  Perhaps, this might liven things up a little during some of the slower months.

With higher community reward amounts each month up for grabs, good luck to everyone.

[mtfolks]

Well this is a pleasant surprise. Glad to hear. 

[Anonymous]

Wow!  What a major improvement.

I'm sure participation will go up.  Better for everyone!

[mimmo]

Great news, and great change.  It is definately  clear now (especially separating Oracle's from the rest).

A future  change to metals ie gold silver bronze might be even better as it removes percentages completly, but baby steps 🙂 

[crtowns]

@Dave_M Great changes! Love it!