[Tuthmosis]

(03-06-2012 11:05 AM)basilransom Wrote:  

The Talmud has a good saying on this, "Kinat sofrim tarbeh chochma" - "Jealousy among scholars increases wisdom." One of my friends was very fond of saying this in regards to pussy, as we were always competing on who was getting more

You know shit's getting real when Jews stop dropping Talmud into the discussion.

As the guy who, at last count, had pulled into number two in this silly race, I have a few comments about it. Frankly, I'm as surprised as you guys to see Roosh take this drastic action, but I'm not really opposed to it. I'm curious what this will do.

Guys like us pay a bigger price in this communistic move but, right now, it makes more sense than not. Yes, it was a good way to know you were getting the recognition of your peers. And, it was a ready way to tell how credible somebody was, in general, to the community. But, there was also a ugly thing happening with rep points that was starting to make it less about those things and more about something else. It was quickly becoming a sort of dirty currency that was beginning to get gamed. Here are some things I observed recently.

If you recognize yourself in this list, don't take offense. Chances are, you're one of my favorite members on the board, and there's no ill-will intended. Plus, there's already a lot of beef in the air:

1. Guys excoriating other guys for not having sufficient rep to be making certain claims.

2. Guys openly and repeatedly complaining that, despite all their contributions, they aren't getting enough rep. They would then get a couple of courtesy points.

3. Guys giving rep just for the sake of rounding off a member to the next major digit (saw three examples of this).

4. Guys publicly asking for rep in exchange for information. "If you give me a rep point, I'll tell you."

5. I had a guy PM-ing me immediately after giving me a rep point asking me to give him one in return.

6. Guys using rep as a way to retort to disagreements. "When you have this much rep you can X."

I compiled most of rep through a series of longer game-related posts where I shared some of my field-tested tactics. As many of you know, I'm less of a venue data-sheet guy since--despite my travels--I spend most of my time gaming in the states. I was proud of my points and happy whenever someone dropped me an additional one, but I tried to let it be something running in the background. And, I made it point to be something I never really brought up. I knew I had standing in the community, but I didn't think the fact that I pulled 5 points ahead of this member or that member made me 5 points better than him. Shit, I had more points than Roosh. What the fuck does that mean?

When Roosh picked me as moderator, I didn't add that shit to my signature--even though that would make sense when I close threads or tell newbs to use the search feature. I didn't insist on a custom title. It was just a way to help the community. On the occasions that I've had to axe someone, I did it thoughtfully and carefully.

What am I saying? We gotta chill about the points. Let's not lose sight of why we're here in first place. No one is going to confuse you for a newb. Perhaps this isn't the right solution, but a "cooling off period" is probably not a bad idea. I like the idea of custom titles, but--I assure you--that would create a new breed of problem.

Stop status-whoring.

-Tuthmosis