News

[The Reefuge]

Hi everyone,

I have come up with an idea that will allow everyone here to fairly trade and help the forums grow. This will be strictly volunteer based, and "item" donations will be up to the users if they want to help out with the forums growth. Here is the idea.

Part 1 - "Donations indirectly to The Reefuge" (members who wish to help out).

Members who have coral, fish, etc that they want to trade for "credit" will be allowed to do so. For example, let's say you have a heater you do not need anymore and wish to get rid of it. A member of The Reefuge can transfer "credit" to your Reefuge account, and then you give them the item. You can then use that "credit" to "buy" items off other users.

Part 2 - "Credit"

Members will NOT be allowed to "buy" credit with money, but they will need to earn it by posting, helping other members, etc. For example, let's say you have gained 100 credit points in your account, and you ask for help. If a user gives you some great advice, you can transfer 10 credits to their account. They can then use this "credit" to purchase items from other members. If we ever have competitions on The Reefuge, "credit" can be used to purchase tickets, etc.

There is no financial gain to anyone, but it allows trading of items for "credit" and will entice users to become more active in the forums. Those users who wish to list items for credit are indirectly making a donation to The Reefuge. Although it is not a financial donation to keep servers running etc, it is "giving away" goods to help the future of these forums.

Understandably not all users will want to do this, but it only takes a few users to get the ball rolling, and once that is set up, others will be more likely to trade using this system.

I would appreciate it if people would give me their thoughts on this, and if you think it is a fair system to go by and if you think it will work. The Buy/Sell/Trade forums will still operate as usual.

Thank you.

 

[MTG]

how will these credits be viewable ? sounds like a good idea.

 

[The Reefuge]

Credits will be displayed in the users profile. It is only important for the user to view their own points.

 

[Synodontis]

Sounds OK to me. Ive got lots of small things that someone may need, but I cant be bothered selling for a couple of bucks. It's like a "free Items" classified, but at least you get something for it.
Just a thought, but could you have a section where people could ask for bits they are after? If I'm to lazy to post it for sale, I'm to lazy to post it for credits :)
I'd rather read what someone want's and just contact them.

Great idea though.

 

[Dynamic]

I would be happy to trade in some of my stuff for members to post more on the forums. Just need stuff to trade...hmmmm

 

[Melissa]

Sounds like a pretty awesome idea.

 

[MagicJ]

Any thoughts on how a value will be determined?

Will a list be kept of past transfers so that members can get an idea of the going rate?

 

[The Reefuge]

I am not sure about that. It will be less than what the value of the item should be, thus "donating" the item. Otherwise it would just be trading dollars. What is everyones thoughts on this?

I do not want it to become of equal value to the dollar. It needs to be independent and given a value by the users of this forum. For example, a heater may cost $15 AUD. I do not want it to be "15 credits" on the forums. Perhaps "10 credits" so it knocks value off the dollar. Otherwise it will be very, very difficult to earn enough points to purchase things from. At the end of the day the "seller" is letting go their items for a much lower cost in exchange for forum activity. Thus the seller is doing The Reefuge a favor. Like Synodontis said, it may be giving away things the seller will not miss.

 

[The Reefuge]

The idea behind this is that some people may want to help this site out. Users can also be rewarded for their hard work posting on the forums. I have yet to see another forum do something like this. What I am hoping to achieve, is a nice close community, where people are willing to help each other out because they want to, not because it makes them look good, or gives them the right to "lord" over other users. This is why discussions like this are out in the open and not staff only, because I want the users and the staff to work together to form a community that is completely unique and where everyone would like to help out a total stranger.

 

[MagicJ]

I guess the 'value' will be determined somewhat by how the credits will be allocated. If you get 1 credit for every post then a heater might be worth 100 credits; but if you get 1 credit for 100 posts then the heater might by worth 1 credit.
Like the carbon tax, we will need to see the detail before we can make any conclusions :D

 

[MTG]

or credits could be awarded to contributors. people that make informative posts that help the society as a whole.?

 

[MagicJ]

So who determines that, the mods?

 

[Synodontis]

If it's more about the "action" of helping another/forum out, and getting away from the "dollar" term, could you assign every and all item's at say 5 credits each? That way a $15 heater has the same value as a $25 wave maker. Everyone knows that they will gain or lose 5 credits no matter what the item. If you would rather have the $25, don't list it in this section.

 

[Synodontis]

Maybe, 10 "likes" on your informative post could attract a credit, that way it's almost a vote by the community as to who gets awarded a credit.

 

[The Reefuge]

I think I have a lot of work to do. One thing I am picking, is that credits will be private, only for the user to see. Different tasks will earn you credit.

 

[MTG]

i still think credits based on trophys would be a good idea. opinions?
credits given for donating reefing information,
credits given for giving a helping hand with members. gives everyone somthing to work towards

 

[MagicJ]

i still think credits based on trophys would be a good idea. opinions?

At the moment there is no real value in abusing the trophy system. But, put a value on it and you would need to have some way of preventing its abuse - meaningless posts; getting your mate to 'Like' all of your posts; logging on down at the library, work etc as a different user and 'Liking' all your posts.

It could get difficult to manage.

 

[The Reefuge]

True. I think it should be completely separate to the trophy system. That way only points handed by other users will be of value, which is where the value is.

 

[jashay]

gday reefuge crew :D I think this is a great idea, kudos to those who come up with it! definately like the idea of this, and the thing is it wont affect the buy/trade/sell forum as this would be considered different to the credit system. there are some minor kinks that will work out in the long run of it all. I would definately use something like this. I have a little nano tank out in the shed that is in decent knick, just needs a new light. this would be the sort of thing that could be done, right? one thing that does need to be worked out before anything starts though, is the value of the credit. I honestly think that the value of the credit needs to be higher than that of the dollar. a bit like the old arcade ticket system, you would need a crap load of tickets to get something reasonable. doing it this way not only makes the value worth but also makes the collection of credits take a little time, therefore contributing to the forum more so, I think credits could be accumulated from good posts, informative ones, not just a post along the lines of "nice tank mate". one person who I beleive posts alot of very informative info and helps a lot is the Doc. these are the sort of posts I am talking bout. I guess the more valuable the more the post is worth. one prob I see with this is that we will need someone to be on top of this. ie. a moderator to control which credits go to which person for how informative the post is. I really do think this is a cracking Idea though. would definately like to see this go somewhere and not just discussion :D

 

[The Reefuge]

gday reefuge crew :D I think this is a great idea, kudos to those who come up with it! definately like the idea of this, and the thing is it wont affect the buy/trade/sell forum as this would be considered different to the credit system. there are some minor kinks that will work out in the long run of it all. I would definately use something like this. I have a little nano tank out in the shed that is in decent knick, just needs a new light. this would be the sort of thing that could be done, right? one thing that does need to be worked out before anything starts though, is the value of the credit. I honestly think that the value of the credit needs to be higher than that of the dollar. a bit like the old arcade ticket system, you would need a crap load of tickets to get something reasonable. doing it this way not only makes the value worth but also makes the collection of credits take a little time, therefore contributing to the forum more so, I think credits could be accumulated from good posts, informative ones, not just a post along the lines of "nice tank mate". one person who I beleive posts alot of very informative info and helps a lot is the Doc. these are the sort of posts I am talking bout. I guess the more valuable the more the post is worth. one prob I see with this is that we will need someone to be on top of this. ie. a moderator to control which credits go to which person for how informative the post is. I really do think this is a cracking Idea though. would definately like to see this go somewhere and not just discussion :D

Hi Jashay,

This is what I am getting it. An example would be, let's say it takes 50 posts to earn 1 credit point. That is a lot of work for 1 credit. Now lets say someone writes up a REALLY well written article. Users may wish to "donate" 1 credit point to the author of the article. If 5 users donate 1 point each, then the author now has 5 points in his account. Meaning, writing that article saved him from posting 250 times. Now let's say a member has a tank for sale for 5 credit points. The author can transfer their points to the sellers account. Thus receiving the item and the points are now in the possession of another user. That user may wish to donate some of those points, etc etc.

Hopefully as a result, some users will take time to add valuable content to the forums. They will still stay the same relaxed forums, but there will be very good information available to the community.