Disabling Beer Karma

I thought beer karma was a fun aspect of the site. I agree with those who have stated it can be affected by the "likes" and ticking. Admittedly, I do enjoy the like alert showing up depending on the context. If it is in WBAYDN-ish, it is for the fun factor playing in the virtual bar. I find with threads that I consider more setious discussion, the likes aren't as frequent, but I can judge by the replies and discussion whether my contributions are, well, contributing.

Maybe it is how the likes and hads are counted that needs to be reconfigured. I do see the disparity, because I tend to be a late night contributor and the first few pages get fifty likes a post then it tapers off. There are also a lot of "conversational" likes that keep the discussion lively but sometimes dont have a ton to do with beer advocacy. Arguably, WBADYN likes probably shouldn't count at all. Then again, likes didnt give big bumps to kharma anyway. I happen to believe loyalty and contribution should count heavily.

Personally, I was thinking I was at a plateau because it is difficult to find and add new beers and places, plus I dont trade. I don't tick. I do track beers with scores initially but try to go back and write reviews for the most part. I will never be reviewing multiple beers in a week because my consumption rate is low. So I wasnt racking up the kharma points and didnt give it a lot of thought. I dont think it is so much of a problem with the higher levels being harder to achieve. Honestly, I think they should be. I do think a revamped form of BK would be welcome, but not a system that swamps the site or burdens moderators and staff.

 

I honestly don't know what they were thinking. If it aint broke don't fix it. Maybe they want less people to post. I don't get it but I have to admit that I am a relative newbie.

 

It may not have been broke but they were unhappy with it - which can mean a number of things. Could have gotten tedious to support, they may have tired of the complaints, they may have started to doubt that the scoring was appropriate/equitable/meaningful. Maybe some folks had risen to poohbah status by ticking but did not earn respect and were abusing the pulpit? Whatever the reason, yes replace it, fix it, whatever. But flawed or not, how about keeping the current beer karma in place until then?

 

I never concerned myself with it. Didnt see the need in accruing some type of points. Im too involved with beer as it is, last thing i need is a reason to be more involved

 

I enjoyed Beer Karma, it made me strive a bit more than I might have, otherwise. Also, it provides a quick means to assess other members views and contributions.

 

I came here to learn about beer and I have, I tip toed into trading and it's been great. Points? Eh. You can read thru posts to know who knows what.

 

Not picking on you personally, just this attitude in general. This attitude is why the Karma needs adjusting; if your primary purpose in visiting the site is to accrue electronic points, that have zero intrinsic value to begin with (ya can't spend 'em, ya don't get anything for having 'em, they don't mean anything, add zero real value to either the site or our individual lives) then Untappd is probably more your jam. Badges for days! Enter the same beer under slightly different names by "accident" and collect them badges. I use Untappd, and it's just dumb, goofy fun. Hooray! I like fun!

I just take BA a bit more seriously. Scores, ratings and reviews mean zero to me (I'm gonna drink whatever catches my eye at a given time), but there is a ton of genuinely useful info available here. There are smart, knowledgeable, enthusiastic people here, many in the industry, who will take the time to answer our questions and concerns. Whether it's a history lesson on American brewing from Jesskidden, style information from JackHorzempa, or specific questions about beers and breweries, answered by the brewers and brewery owners who make the very beer we nerd out about, there is so much solid value available here, we drinkers are foolish to not take advantage of these wonderful opportunities.

Does that mean there's not room for some silly, goofy, dumb fun? Of course not. Even those among us who make their living around this beverage, in whatever form, don't have to take it deathly serious all the time. Have fun. Enjoy this great drink, and the amazing people who are involved in it. Laugh, joke, question, answer, just give it all some esteem. Or, as I once read somewhere, Respect Beer.

 

@beertunes: a system was set up, people put work into it, and then it was suddenly suspended. Doesnt matter what it was about, or what "serious" people think of it. Wasted effort is my complaint, and nothing you say addresses that. If it doesnt effect you, and you look down your nose at folk like us, move on.

 

I WANT MY MTV !!!
...errr beer karma points...
It was a fun little accolade system, and I got a lot of enjoyment from it. As I read this thread, I gather a few guys had figured out a way to work the system and earn more points then they deserved ?! Well who cares ? There's no cash value, they are just screwing themselves out of the pleasure of earning something for real. Ironically their fake karma points will add up to bad karma in the very real game of life. You know why ? At some point we will ALL be dining in the REAL karma cafe. There are no menus... you get what you deserve !

 

As a guy who's built most of his "likes" through WBAYDN, in all honesty, the point system doesn't really mean much to me. It's just a number. I'm fine with it gone but if it makes most of the regular posters happy, then keep it. But I'm not exactly gutted that it's not there at the moment. I have never posted anything to get a "like." I don't do reviews but I always add a blurb to whatever I'm drinking and I've actually bought certain beers because of posts in that thread. I love that thread and I really don't think BK being there or not being there would stop anybody from contributing.

The one thing I miss is the person's state (which is still on my PC, not on my phone). I like seeing where BAs are from, I think it adds perspective and insight to the poster's post and gives you more of an idea of where he or she is coming from.

 

Beer Karma is in fact the only reason I prefer BA over other quality beer sites. It pushed me to try new styles, and look for new places to try great beer. Very dissapointed to see it go....

 

Fair enough, that's a valid viewpoint. But, I'll mention again, that there have been a few different iterations of BK over the years, and when the big site crash happened (IIRC, '13), everybody lost what BK they built until that point. We all started from zero.

I don't know if you were a lurker before that, or had an account with a different name, but we used to get these images of various types of glassware, and, as a gauge of measurement, each type was filled at a different rate. I had moved beyond an empty mug, past a full mug, and (again, IIRC), I had just gotten a nice layer of head on top of my tulip, when the crash happened. It was fun, and, again, I got nothing against fun. For you to compare the only system you knew, apparently, to the various systems that others of us have dealt with over the years, and say that it has to be the way you are familiar with, makes me think that, maybe, in spite of my generally being in favor of it, that perhaps it is time for BK to go away. We can all go to Untappd and compare badges (currently 611 for me, if it matters to you).

 

Bring back the beer karma!!!!!!

 

I didn't join this site for points, don't care if it's DC or not. Great site to help educate almost anyone, and it's fun. Some very knowledgable guys here whether they're a Double Poobah or a Newb.

 

I've always liked the beer karma system, even when I first joined 12 years ago. It was a fun way to track not only your contribution to the site, but also as a motivator to contribute more. It was one of the prime motivations for me to start spending more time on the site last year, actually, because I looked at my number and said to myself "Self, you've been a member for a long time and that's all the points you have? You've been slacking. Spend more time on the site, rate more beers, try new places, look for beers from new countries, and above all spend more time in the forums." I've been doing so and loving every minute of it. There were some things I thought should have been noted, like adding more beers and/or photos. But overall it was fun as hell. And it was an easy way to judge how much other users had put into using the site well. It was cool to be able to look the stats.

I would like to see the system preserved in some fashion. Maybe break apart the points from actual beer contribution and those from forum contributions. I have seen people with under 50 beer reviews and 0 place reviews with scores over 1,000 which did seem a little unbalanced.

 

I can't believe I drank all that beer and made all those posts in an attempt to become a Poobah someday and now it means nothing. Absolutely nothing.

But seriously, I did like the points, found them somewhat motivating, and like that it gives a chance to recognize who the wise "old-timers" are around here.

 

Agreed that full reviews should get a lot more Karma. My average review: 15-30 minutes. A rating probably takes 30 seconds. That's 30-60x more time contributing to the site. Not saying a review should be worth 30-60x more than a rating, but definitely more.

 

The beer Karma was fun. I enjoyed it. It motivated me to get involved and to share my thoughts and experience through posts. If the post was not well received or irrelevant you received little to no likes. If it was relevant and was reasonably meaningful you would get likes. It is like a reward system for contributing without being a moron. It is work, takes time and effort. Why take it away? I don't get it.

 

Life is better with beer karma in it.