Disabling Beer Karma

Todd I believe some sort of point system is beneficial because it encourages participation which is after the heartbeat of any Board. I suggest the lack of a system actually discourages participation.

So come up with something that works for you administratively and I'm sure the membership will adapt.

 

I guess what I find confusing about this is that you already have more reviews in the database worth reading than some of the people you mention as being in a separate league.

As for myself, at a personal level, I'm not going to be doing a simple thumbs up, thumbs down. But that's because I long ago bought into the idea that doing something that improves my skills and my abilities to enjoy something is worth doing. The fact that there are people out there who've worked longer and harder at it and are better than me gives me a higher target to shoot for. Even when I fall short of my goals I often hit a higher level than before and have seen it pay off for me in some surprising ways.

But I recognize we all have our own goals and choose our own way.

 

Ack, too late to edit. What I meant to say was:

Participation is after all the heartbeat of any Board.

 

Perhaps a point cap on likes and beer ticking/rating? I mean a smaller cap of say 100 max in each category. Those of us who have already accumulated more than that could have our points reevaluated under a new system. If everybody gets the same adjustment then our relative point standing remains the same.

 

@nc41, good point but here is the deal, sometimes I find I don't always agree with them, granted I always read their reviews on a beer I am going to try, but sometimes they don't like x whereas I might. I have found several other people's who reviews are similar to my own likes and I always check to see how they reviewed the beer. That said I mainly review beers in a format that makes sense for me, I look at the review as something that I can come back and look and decide if I want to try that beer again down the road. If no one but a handful of people reviewed beers here, then this site would pretty much lose a ton of it's worth in my opinion. I tend to trust reviews here more than I do reviews from anywhere else i.e. untapped, rate a beer etc.

 

I look at reviews as simply expressing "what do you think of this beer?". While there are some pro quality reviewers on here, I still value what everyone else has to say. If I am looking at reviews to make a purchase, I can usually nail down in satisfactory fashion, what the beer truly has to offer by reading through 10, 15 reviews. Sure, some folks have far longer winded reviews than others, but what makes a difference to me is the overwhelming tastes and aromas. I can figure out nuance, I just need to know if I'm going to like it enough to buy it. So regardless of how you see yourself as a reviewer (or lack thereof), I can GUARANTEE that any review you would have to offer would certainly be appreciated by folks like myself that want at least some information on a beer. This is especially true when making purchases out of state, where I really need to drill down to what sounds most like it would suit me.

 

Not a cap on ratings. A cap on points awarded for ratings.

 

This site is blessed with some real talent, and those that you cite are at the top of the list- plus many, many more. But, I know that your reviews would be excellent, because you care about beer. It really is that simple. Reviews of beers and places are both great, but the overt and subtle humor around here keeps me coming back. Tell us about an IPA on Sundays.

 

Please bring it back. The scope of a thumbs up and down is too narrow. Maybe a quick rating of 1,2,3 stars could be a good compromise.

 

The original Karma system was huge for me when I joined in 2010. The cool little glass icons were awesome and I had the goal to get to 100 points. When the crash happened I was devastated (overstatement). This most recent system was ok, but I really miss the original system.

 

Bring it back!

Loved the system, it created incentives to explore, and helped quantify contributions....just needs to be rebalanced as many others have already said.

 

Does this mean Beer Karma won't be back up until BA 4.0?

I noticed that the "likes" area that had replaced beer karma underneath posters' handles in the comments section had been scrapped recently -- I thought this might mean we were close to seeing the return of the champions (et al.).

 

l like to venture out and try quirky beers from quirky countries and when I found out you could get points for it I was thrilled. I even purposely started looking for imports from countries I had not tried yet just to try and reach fifty. I'm now four away from fifty and was a little disappointed when the BK was discontinued.

On that note, I've seen a post or two where a way to see what states and countries from which you've had a beer would be nice.

Overall, I think the beer karma was a fun little incentive for contributing and motivation to try new beers.

 

Lump me in with the group who is sad to see it go.

A suggestion: Add even more levels. Maybe have like 6 or 7. I think the more you have, the more fun it is.

Cheers!

EDIT: Forgot how many levels there were in the original. According to an above post there were more than 6 or 7. Now it is all coming back to me. I'm definitely in favor of consolidating the lower levels.

 

I'm late to chime in on this but I've definitely my participation has dropped since the karma went away. Most notably in my reviews. I used this site to track all the beers I was having new or revisiting from when I joined the site (since going back over 15 years of drinking would be silly to try to remember and rate). Felt good to get to Advocate, then felt good to be a Champion, and I had sorta worked out what I needed to do to get to Poobah (more beers, more places, more states/countries) and felt confident I'd get there in a year. It's incredibly silly that I was more motivated when there was a title to work toward but I was. Would like to see it come back.

Might be late adding on here, but even a "bad" review is helpful. Otherwise, I just see a # you gave a beer and I have no idea what you're thinking, why, or, most importantly, how you've felt about other beers I've had and you reviewed. Thumbs up and ticking is fun, but it isn't really helpful in a way a detailed explanation is of how you felt about a beer. At least that's what I tell myself as I poorly write a review of a beer

 

I like the BK aspect. I'm absolutely an amateur with regard to reviewing beers, but I learn a lot with each one I give and especially from reading those of other more experienced contributors. As I travel for work, I like to try new beers and I will always rate and review them. The BK was just a fun bonus to keep things interesting.