About the Top Contributor Announcement for Sep 2021

[pm-smayer97]

WOW! So it looks like not only will shout-outs of top contributors no longer be truly shouted out but now it seems that PM is taking another turn on this and we can no longer give congratulations to those that have made significant contributions?

That REALLY will help this community feel like a community, won't it? So nothing says community like a "Community"  board that limits community,

Well congrats anyway to all that did contribute, whomever you are and may see this, since PM does not even acknowledge you publicly anymore... ironic given the name of the company, "PUBLIC" Mobile.

[darlicious]

@esjliv 

I don't quite understand your point or perhaps you just misunderstood mine. As I meant one thread per board page. If you look at the first board page of "Getting started" there are 31 threads and two moved thread notifications/flags.

On the first page of the Community board there are 3 pinned Announcement/Community user guides. 1 Community discussion thread started by Catherine. 7 actual community related threads including this one and 22 moved thread notifications/flags.Of the 3 threads moved to the lounge 2 are mine. On average per board page there are 30 moved posts (legitimately so...)and 3 community related threads.

I would probably post more in the community board but given the high percentage of my threads (historically) that get moved to the lounge from this board and the former discussions board I just don't bother much anymore.....but if I'm broke and want to make some easy money on side bets on how fast a stats based post gets moved to the lounge I will post a fluff piece just see how fast and by whom it will get action...😒🤥😎/s

[Korth]

@esjliv @darlicious 

I usually use Brave browser on a (virtual) Win10 machine. This PM forum is all bright white boxes/menus on bright pinky-peachy-tan. Absolutely disgusting. No options or settings to change it.

I've been checking out Pop!_OS by System76 - it's a basic mint-lookalike (Win7-lookalike) ubuntu distro with strong emphasis on UI overhaul (including user options to force everything, everywhere, all the time into "dark mode" if preferred).

[softech]

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@keepasa wrote:

 only 20 users can qualify for the $1 with the new rules?   

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No, just to clarify my point.   Some members came here once a month, just post congratulations as a reply to the Top Contributors thread and that could already earn them enough bravos for $1 reward.  So, PM wants to crack down on these behavior.   

The idea is nothing wrong.  Some people talked about fairness , those who posted 10 real posts and still just get $1 reward while these smart guys just post 1 post and earn $1.  ,

But I think it is a bit harsh to change this whole thing just for these guys.  I said probably no more than 20 members are earning the $1 reward  this way.     I was trying to say usually this announcement day is a celebration day for everyone..  Now the thread got moved to The Lounge, although it is still accessible by anyone, because there thread won't appear on the front page and no notification if you never reply on the thread, it will likely get less hits and attentions in the Lounge.

[pm-smayer97]

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@ShawnC13 wrote:
....

Edited:  Autocorrect put in Childish when I wanted business lol

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Perhaps that was a digital version of a Freudian slip?

[pm-smayer97]

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@darlicious wrote:

@softech 

I'm about a week away from throwing away the cane so yeah I will be spending a lot less time here!

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What happened that you need a cane? I clearly missed that. Do tell for those not in the loop.

But glad that you are clearly nearing the end, so that is good.

[pm-smayer97]

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@ShawnC13 wrote:

@darlicious do other help forums offer a financial reward?  Serious question I am not sure if others do and have wondered if other companies would use this business model.  

We also need to remember this is a business and if years are not sustainable for the betterment of the company(because yes everything is still Business driven) they could simply do away with them.

Edited:  Autocorrect put in Childish when I wanted business lol

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Just keep in mind that all this is about the impact of what, $20-$50/month?

Yes, THAT is worth worrying about as a business.

[keepasa]

Sure sounds somewhat discouraging.  I do hope we don't loose some of the best contributors since it's them who help make what the community has developed up to today.  I don't quite understand the comment of only 20 users can qualify for the $1 with the new rules?   I'll have to re-read them again to get a clearer picture perhaps.  Anyway let's all try to make the best of it.

[softech]

@pm-smayer97   doubt they understand. they either think they can save $20 or they decide to follow their strict rule: celebration in the lounge.. only serious matters here.  😞

btw, I am surprise this thread last long here without being moved back to where they think this should be

[pm-smayer97]

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@Anonymous wrote:

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@darlicious wrote:

I even tried once to gather all of the legitimate threads in the board to appear neatly all on one page but instead I was accused of post padding (like I need to post pad!)and all of the threads were scattered about again or worse yet either archived or moved to the lounge.

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 @darlicious : That was much more about thread necro as you resurrected up a bunch of old threads than post-padding. But yes it was also post-padding so much in a row.

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Yes, that is what happens when moderators, et al., fail to step back and see the bigger picture. Has happened to me multiple times in this forum too, leading to deterring me from making real meaningful contributions in an significant manner.... who wants to contribute when your efforts are misconstrued and you constantly get slapped on the wrist or like others, their posts get relegated to the archives, or worse, the "Lounge"?

[pm-smayer97]

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@darlicious wrote:
...

It was the sense of community, camaraderie and the amount of times I laughed at humorous posts that hooked me.....it wasn't a troubleshooting thread about greyed out APN settings that convinced me to stick around and tackle the monumental learning curve needed for me to become proficient enough to refer friends and manage my account and service and in turn my referrals.

....

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And THAT is EXACTLY the kind of point I am trying to drive home.

It is the VERY SAME thing that motivated me to get super involved in another community... and it turned me into one of the top contributor for MANY years (much to MY surprise), UNTIL THAT forum brought in new whips that failed to see the benefits of some of the dynamics that benefits the company and product... and I was shunned. NOW I am hardly involved there...

Seems a similar thing has been evolving here too, and has brought us to this point... that is what pettiness eventually leads to, when the greater purpose and vision is lost. Oh well.

@J_PM   are you understanding this?

[pm-smayer97]

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@Luddite wrote:

@softech "probably only 20 users might be really able to benefit the $1 reward out of it.  So, the actually cost for PM is $20"

My suspicion is that the wrong 20 are getting that reward; not that there are too many. 

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All this fuss over who will get that measly $20.... but at what cost?

Sorry but I feel that is a very narrow view.

[pm-smayer97]

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@dabr wrote:

@esjliv   Agreed 😊    Yes it would be nice if more customers were aware that many things, whether related/or not to "PM services" get discussed in the Lounge as well.  So more awareness of the Lounge would definitely be helpful..

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But then doesn't that effectively render the distinction between the Lounge and elsewhere get blurred again?

And yet, moving Community-based posts intended to improve community involvement to the Lounge seems to got against the spirit of the community.

I do not think it has much to do with separating out business vs not in the forum. I'll call it out.... it boils down to the so-called "fairness" that some interpret on how rewards get allocated.

And has been pointed out, the meagre amounts are really not worth all the hubbub... This is throw-money for PM to stimulate involvement... however it gets accomplished, as part of their branding.... Too bad PM seems to have lost sight of that vision by continually trying to restrict some of the ease that some could gain a small reward for just hanging around.... and maybe actually help someone.

This will likely only stifle participation and limit it to just a few. At that point you might as well change the purpose and vision of the community to ONLY be a support forum....

@J_PM   Again, please take these comments into consideration.

[esjliv]

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@Korth wrote:

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@esjliv wrote:

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Quick question ...

How did you get delicious "dark mode" on that screenshot?

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@Korth - it shows like this on Chrome when I use both a macbook, Windows and mobile.

I also see it on Safari and Samsung Internet.

What browser do you use? Maybe it is a theme you have set on your device(s), that it does not show like this?

[esjliv]

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@darlicious wrote:

@esjliv 

"So if they have a question about the community, the former bravo leaderboard, how to deal with another community member they are having an issue with,"...

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@darlicious 

Then, that OP posts a question on the Community, and another member may link the appropriate post (whether that post is under the Community category or the Lounge category). This, is really no different than when any of us links or references another post in a thread.

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@darlicious wrote:

So why are many of the answers to them buried in the lounge? By moving so many threads out of the community board to the lounge the oracles have killed the community board with maybe one thread per page. I even tried once to gather all of the legitimate threads in the board to appear neatly all on one page but instead I was accused of post padding (like I need to post pad!)and all of the threads were scattered about again or worse yet either archived or moved to the lounge.

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I don't understand this. Answers are buried Everywhere in the Community, not just in the Lounge. Only 5-6 Latest Topics posts are ever showing at one time on the main page.

Someone posts a question on the Community - then, steps in someone who can help, or IS able to find answers in the Community/Lounge to help the OP.

Oh, and btw, what is wrong with "one thread per page". 

You know you can adjust how many posts are listed on a page?? I have 50 set. It is A Lot to get through when there is more than one page. LOL

How about limit 10 posts on a thread - this is more like it - LOL

Ever visit the French side of the Community. Now, they appear to know how to get it done short and simple. 😉

Why would you do this to begin with, other than trying to be helpful? You are not a PM Staff with rights to post under the Announcement section.

It gets cluttered and difficult to get through, especially for someone stressed out and desperately looking for help asap.

I am not trying to give you a hard time on this, really. You do good!

I just happen to agree with the direction of these latest changes.

This is likely a decision driven by a Community Reward allocation. If the way this is set up is the best way (or easiest to capture) to allocate these awards, than so be it. I see this as being most fair to the majority of customers.

Who knows, maybe it will all go back to like it was next month. 🙃

Now, I have gone on and on, pretty soon this thread will be so long - I won't be able to keep up.

I think I just tl;dr to myself.....

[pm-smayer97]

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@darlicious wrote:

Here in lies the problem. I lobbied for a community board to be created so the community membership would have a designated area to discuss all things public mobile community related.

....

The lounge is supposed to be about everything not related to pm, phones and our service. Not everything the oracles deem not worthy of a bravo or for the occasional member to lay their eyes upon should they be corrupted into contributing to the thread.

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And unfortunately, we see the outcome when the squeaky wheel gets the grease!

[darlicious]

@Korth 

It's always been that way for me?

[darlicious]

@mimmo 

Thank you. Despite the long wait between surgeries I feel very lucky to have squeaked in before they start cancelling elective surgeries across the board.

[Korth]

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@esjliv wrote:

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Quick question ...

How did you get delicious "dark mode" on that screenshot?

[mimmo]

@darlicious just in time for the liquid sunshine 🙂  glad to hear you are healing well 

[darlicious]

@softech 

I'm about a week away from throwing away the cane so yeah I will be spending a lot less time here!

[softech]

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@darlicious wrote:

 after asking 3 oracles if they would consider organizing the community board in the interest of better serving the community and being refused 

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That's an indication that you spent wayyyyy too much time and effort here.. LoL

[darlicious]

@Anonymous 

It could be considered post padding if that was my intention and 20 posts would significantly affect my post count but at maybe 3% of my average monthly posts that's hardly a drop in the bucket. If I had that particular Oracle privilege then posting would not had been necessary but after asking 3 oracles if they would consider organizing the community board in the interest of better serving the community and being refused I went about doing it the only way I knew how....

[softech]

@benfatto  we did the math, post no longer will  earn people $0.11/letter ... for those who just reply Congrats! and earn tone of bravos.  LoL

[darlicious]

@benfatto 

Lol.....😅😆🤣

[Anonymous]

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@darlicious wrote:

I even tried once to gather all of the legitimate threads in the board to appear neatly all on one page but instead I was accused of post padding (like I need to post pad!)and all of the threads were scattered about again or worse yet either archived or moved to the lounge.

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 @darlicious : That was much more about thread necro as you resurrected up a bunch of old threads than post-padding. But yes it was also post-padding so much in a row.

[benfatto]

Dang it all. Just realized it's going to take more than 1 post in the official Top Contributors announcement to get a $1 next month. 

[darlicious]

@esjliv 

So if they have a question about the community, the former bravo leaderboard, how to deal with another community member they are having an issue with, they just sat out a dreaded 12 hour ban from the community with the red warning "You have been banned from the community for 565 minutes...."etc.....are these not legitimate questions?

So why are many of the answers to them buried in the lounge? By moving so many threads out of the community board to the lounge the oracles have killed the community board with maybe one thread per page. I even tried once to gather all of the legitimate threads in the board to appear neatly all on one page but instead I was accused of post padding (like I need to post pad!)and all of the threads were scattered about again or worse yet either archived or moved to the lounge.

More to my point....pm is DIY service. Part of the goal of the community is new member engagement. If a new member/customer joins the community and comes to just take a tour (like I did) you want them to feel welcome, pique their interest, make them laugh, get them to join in on a discussion so that they want to come back again when they have some spare time.

It was the sense of community, camaraderie and the amount of times I laughed at humorous posts that hooked me.....it wasn't a troubleshooting thread about greyed out APN settings that convinced me to stick around and tackle the monumental learning curve needed for me to become proficient enough to refer friends and manage my account and service and in turn my referrals.

Sure I have visited the XDA developers forum in search of an answer but I don't hang around.... it's way too boring and mostly over my head. There's no real engagement or for that matter socializing to make me want to stay to learn. It's a fine balance but when done successfully its makes for a very effective forum. Why is RFD so successful other than saving money and finding deals? There is a lot of socializing in the threads as the members supply info and help others.

[Luddite]

@softech "probably only 20 users might be really able to benefit the $1 reward out of it.  So, the actually cost for PM is $20"

My suspicion is that the wrong 20 are getting that reward; not that there are too many. 

[Luddite]

@hTideGnow I expect PM will reward the same number of members though the mix in 25% and 50% categories will likely change. 

[Meow]

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@esjliv wrote:

It should be lessening the TICKETS submitted overall - WHICH, isn't that part of the reason with PM's marketing (save costs on call center's / agents to call / etc.)?

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Not going to happen.

Very few people do any kind of research these days. It is 'give me service NOW' and if I have issues I will ask.

I see that daily on auto forums; people spend 30+K on brand new car an then ask dumb questions how to do this or that or why car cannot do this nor that. How about reading manual first????