User Positions, Rankings, What's Up With That?

[Humbugger]

Hi All...

I've noticed each member has a "Position" ranking...mine is the lowly "newbie"!  How are the positions assigned and on what basis?  What are the various positions available?  How does one rise in standing?  Who makes the decisions and on what basis?

Just curious if there is any real meaning behind the position ratings or if they are just based on the number of posts or replies to posts or videos uploaded or longevity of membership or hours logged in or what.  Is there a thread or post in here somewhare that talks about all this?

Humbugger

[z_p_e]

In general, it is based on the number of posts you have made. There are milestone numbers. "100" is the first milestone I believe.

Added lately are the "Elite" and "TPU-Elite" stati.

The former is by request and for those who may ever want to lock their own thread for a while.

The latter consists of 20 or so members that went to a "private" thread set up by Stefan by request.

Don't get too hung up on the rankings. The number of posts doesn't necessarily reflect a major contribution. Some folks post nonsense and unrelated crap just to up their rankings. Others post less often, but have something worthwhile to say in each.

D.

[tinu]

Humbugger,

Four more posts to Jr. Member?
Go for it!

Tinu

[Humbugger]

I see...

TPU Elite sounds like the antithesis to Open Source.  It sounds a bit like big government...we don't want the peons to muck up our big plans...let them eat cake...keep them in the dark!  We are the elite, after all!

It seems to me they should, if too many idiot posts and dumb questions are the real problem, let themselves have an exclusive thread or forum where only they could post, but where everyone else could at least read and learn from the unimpeded master elite!

I'm quite disappointed that politics and secret clubbishness has taken over at the highest technical levels of the site, given that Stefan is supposedly a proponent of open-sourcing new energy technologies. 

I don't disagree that the level of idiocy and babble in general is rather clogging of good scientific debate and real educational discourse around here, so why not let the skeptics and the blind followers and those of us with "lesser privilege" at least quietly observe the elite geniuses at work?