Disabling Beer Karma

Just checking in to see if there has been a return of beer karma; I've been away a couple of weeks (been drinking beer, just not posting here any more). Apparently not... any updates?

 

Seems that nearly every time I go to a brewery these days, I have to use Untappd to rate brewery only beers. Then when I get home later I'll gladly add it on beer advocate from my laptop (which takes time). I think perhaps some people (not really myself though) might be more motivated to add a new beer or new place to the Beer Advocate website if you give them recognition. Just an idea. I'm doing a lot of charity work for BA with all the places and beers I've added to the site.

 

I am a simple, very dumb man. I like having a point total displayed next to my name. I liked it double good when the total was not a number, but a glass that got progressively fancier as my number got higher.

This is not sarcasm or irony. I am serious. I like that stuff a lot.

 

Oddly I am still motivated to contribute, but I don't know why. Real Karma maybe?

 

Beer karma is real karma.

 

It's been long enough already. Plenty of people including myself want beer karma to return. Do it...do it.

Feel free to send me a fez hat after I regain my Poobah status.

 

This is a really interesting, and rarely discussed point: we (the BAs) generate a pretty massive amount, if not the majority, of the content on the site. Jaron Lanier talks about this a lot in You Are Not a Gadget, as well as other works: ideally, there should be some kind of compensation (like micropayments) for the fact that we, in essence, bring new users in and keep them coming. Beer Karma seems a relatively simple, and inexpensive way to thank the community for making BA what it is.

 

Yes I agree. From about 2010 when I joined BA to about 2014ish, most every beer I rated was already on here with lots of reviews and ticks. Last 2+ years, the traffic is much, much less and I frequently have to add places and beers nearly for any local brewer, even if its been released for over a month or so. Lots of hours spent loggin in beers to give back to the community and make this website relevant for beer reviews. Because it is the most credible and best site out there for this purpose. Untapped rating input is lousy, but its much easier to quickly find/rate and almost always a guarantee that lots of people have rated new beers added just in the last week or so. Anything to get more traffic on BA beer and place reviews should be sought out and considered.

 

Also, I think that as individuals get more and more into it, they seek out more obscure beers, travel for beer, are present for places opening/beer being released, etc. and so they are exposed to more opportunities to have to add beers/places.

 

While I have slowed down considerably on my beer consumption recently (trying to lose weight is hard when you're old), I will continue to add/review places and to a lesser extent beers, not for some electronic recognition, but in an attempt to be helpful . I guess I really don't get the dick wagging over beer karma. The site is free, and I feel comfortable in the thought that I might make it a tad more useful.

 

I was just about to ask if the traffic has increased or decreased due to beer karma being disabled. I wonder now if many of people that would have just typed something, anything for the sake of chasing beer karma points/status have been demotivated, and only the people that are willing to make a contribution without seeking anything in return are now primarily the ones who are contributing, making that feedback/review/comment more meaningful.

Having said all that, I'd still like Beer Karma back.

 

Just a thought.

Free access is compensation.

I've always thought of myself as a guest on this site.

Just as a friend who invites me over to dinner doesn't expect anything, I might still bring a bottle of something really nice to drink.

Similarly, on a free site that I get a lot of value out of, I might want to contribute to the content.

 

Back in July when the announcement of the disabling of Beer Karma was made, there was a clear implication that the system was being reevaluated and that it would return, at some point and in some form. Part of the issue seemed to be the point system itself and part seemed to be the cost of tracking it. Otherwise, the statement that statistics were being maintained would have been meaningless. Many of us have provided comments and suggestions for improving the BK program. I think a lot of us have continued to contribute to BA in good faith based upon this expectation. My understanding is that there has been some form of BK for quite awhile (at least longer than I've participated). I hope that BK is re-introduced within the next few months or at least by the end of the year. I think that if it isn't reintroduced within a reasonable period of time, then a lot of the fun of BA will be lost. I'm not entirely sure what that means but it can't be good for participation.

 

Never missed it to be honest, really wouldn't give it a second thought if not for this thread. Great site doesn't need a gimmick.

 

Don't buy it. I'm with Jay. For example, adding pictures is a great value to this site and takes at least a little bit of experience and knowledge, but especially time. This is one of many things I do for my own peace of mind since I find this site to be the most substantial and worthwhile. That is just but one thing I do that contributes to this site and adds values to other members that don't know what all of us have done to improve the experience for others.

I think not rewarding loyal, contributing members is a liability in the end.

 

I like the thought, but in your example, you're not contributing (in most cases) to your friend's customer base/ad revenue/long-term business plan. Here, you're getting great access to a "free" site, BA is getting access to an almost unquantifiable but very real amount of intellectual property. I'm not suggesting anything except that Beer Karma/gamification is an easy way to "compensate" the community for its contributions.