Titles for forum members?
 

At present, there are default titles given to forum members.
These are Junior member, Member & Senior member. The title depends on the member's overall post tally.

We are considering bringing in a multiple title system. But we need suggestions on what titles to give to members. Does anybody have suggestions? Preferably list your suggestions in order of hierarchy. :)

But yes, you can also set user a defined title. But the default ones need to be more interesting than what they are at present. Perhaps follow a theme such as fantasy or p2p sharing, etc. ;)

Military Ranks
 

I would like to suggest that the "default titles given to forum members" should always be shown so that other members can have a better understanding of the experience of any given member. I also feel that would be more consistent. However, I like the idea of the custom user title system that is set up for the forums, so that should remain. Instead of the custom user title replacing the default title, though, I think the custom title should be placed underneath the default title so both can be seen, again for consistency and easier understanding.

I would suggest using a system similar to military titles. Doing a quick search on Wikipedia (see here: Military rank - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia), I found a list of common military ranks and have listed seven in order I feel might be appropriate:

Ensign > Admiral > Brigadier > Captain > Colonel > Commander > Lieutenant

I like the idea of seven (7) different titles due to various reasons I'm not sure I can explain. It's just the significance of the number seven (7) that I'm sure most would agree with me. But to describe a way to integrate this hierarchy into the forums, I would also include a title for new users: Rookie. This title would be similar to someone being called a recruit in the military. My suggestion for system with the titles would be the following (smilies included for relevance and amusement):

Rookie: new members with 0-999 posts :welcomeani:
Ensign: 1000-1999 posts :asleepatwheel:
Admiral: 2000-2999 posts :woohoo:
Brigadier: 3000-3999 posts :exel:
Captain: 4000-4999 posts :super:
Colonel: 5000-5999 posts :yourock:
Commander: 6000-6999 posts :partytime2:
Lieutenant: 7000+ posts :downloading

I'm not sure about the number of posts, but I figure increments of 1000 should be suitable. This is simply my recommendation.

I forgot to mention that I feel a third title should be used for those members who are designated as forum administrators. The forum rules mention "moderators" and I've been in contact with members who refer to "administrators." Titles such as these, which I'll refer to as "system titles," should be included next to the corresponding members on top of the "default titles" and "custom titles." I've seen much confusion in the forums about who to contact regarding administration decisions and I think this would help to resolve that issue.

Near the bottom of the forum Home page is a link to View Forum Leaders. This is normal for Forum Leaders to either be listed on the home page or linked from there if there's many of them. :)

Those of us with military experience would be quite confused by the order of ranking suggested above, as one doesn't find admirals and brigadiers (generals) in the same service, (they're equal rank), nor does one find admirals and colonels in the same service (army colonel = navy captain), and lieutenants are the lowest-ranking officers (equal to ensign).

I like the idea of including a ranking sytem in addition to whatever title is chosen by the user. That way we can see that user "LW Master" is actually a rookie with 4 posts. Incriments of 1,000? I'll probably never pass "rookie".

Other systems: apprentice, journeyman...
or plebe, bachelor, master, doctor, professor
or perhaps even cub, wolf, bear, lion, scout. (I must have had a thing for uniforms.)

New Suggestion
 

Well, like I mentioned in the post, I did a quick search for those ranks. A new system is definitely welcome! lol As I side note, I chose the ranks from two different lists, as you mentioned: Army and Navy. Seeing as this is not a military forum, I did not see a reason to choose all from one or the other. In defense of my listing for lieutenant, I've always thought of such a position to be a high ranking official (obtained from knowledge while my father is both in the army and a police officer), however, I admit I could be completely wrong on that. Alas, the interval of 1000 was randomly chosen without knowlegde of how many posts an avid forum user would post. I saw someone with over 6000 posts and judged from that. Maybe an interval of 50 would be more fitting? Also, I found a thread that mentioned "Newbies" and so I thought I might change my suggestion of "Rookie" to that. In light of this new information, might I suggest the following:

Newbie: 0-49 posts
Ensign: 50-99 posts
Admiral: 100-199 posts
Brigadier: 200-299 posts
Captain: 300-399 posts
Colonel: 400-499 posts
Commander: 500-599 posts
Lieutenant: 600+ posts

And again, if anyone has a suggestion for a different order or even different title names, I welcome any and all. :welcomeani:

Furthermore, I would like to mention that I like Blackhorse's idea for Cub Scout through Boy Scout ranks. I'm not sure about Cub Scout ranks but if I might suggest an order:

Scout > Tenderfoot > Second Class > First Class > Star > Life > Eagle

This hierarchy falls in with the idea of seven (7) titles I previously mentioned, as well. And this order I know because, unfortunately, I am "Life for Life" and am currently a Leader in my local Troop. :)

Don't forget the girls. ;) Well I guess those can also be girls. :) There's actually a high number of the female gender who are members here also.

True, but they're only allowed to be leaders. . . . :( lol I didn't think about the gender issue, though, so now I might suggest using the military ranks if it's between those and the Boy Scout ranks. What say yee, other Gnutella forum members?

I'd also like to mention that I stand behind my three user title system because forum posts by a system administrator could still be confused as a post by a "regular member," for lack of a better term. That way the users won't have to click to the "Forum Leaders List" page to find out if they're talking to an administrator in the case it isn't mentioned.

Actually, some of the mods & admins prefer to be .. erm .. sort of anonymous. We prefer not to advertise our position on the forums. We are very modest in nature lol. :winklaugh:

The job of admins & mods is to mod & admin. We prefer experienced members to help on the forums, & us fill in the gaps. But there's certain periods of time when we end up posting a lot also to help threads. :)

hmmm, the mil idea is decent, but the rankings there are off, im In the army now, and its not so much the switch betwee navy and army but the order listed.
here is another idea though
Initiat>Apprentice>Scion>Joureyman>Master>Elder
just an idea, mabey a few changes here and there.
and along with this system, the journeyman and master could be changed to be more gender specific If that was wanted.

What about names related to filesharing?

Newbie,
Leecher,
Sharer,
Seeder,
Releaser,
Gnutella Great Master

...and similar names?

Considering this is an online forum, I like the idea of using a system that incorporates an idea from doing something online, but I have never heard of any of those terms (at least in this context) and I like to cosider myself computer and internet savvy. . . . If anything is used, then there should at least be an explanation posted somewhere that's easily accessible to users.

I'm pretty sure that at this time the discussion is moot....new titles are already in place..

you have the best emoticons

There's always the possibility of adding a few more titles. :)
makepurple has an interesting title lol

I highly oppose Leecher being used as a forum title. While in the technical sense leechers are a good thing, a single person being referred to as a leecher or leech sure isn't. It would most likely **** a lot of people off.. even to the point of stopping completely to post before reaching Leecher rank.

hell, I'd rather be labeled as a leecher as opposed to a releaser or grand master..

Do any of these titles cause offence to anyone?
 

When looking at the original meanings of some of the titles they may have a religious or dark side to them. However obviously nowadays their meanings are often expanded & a little different as they are used in different contexts. Question is, do any of the forum members find any of these titles offensive or do they trivialise religion? Do they make you think about religion?

Looking at the terms used in a different dimension as they may sometimes be used today. This gives them more of a Mythical or Adventurous aspect. Some games & stories may use these titles in more of a poetic sense.

Gnutella Addict, should this be changed to Gnutella Follower or Fan or Admirer instead?
Or perhaps even changed to Gnutella Junkie?
Obviously Gnutella was thrown in front of addict so no misunderstanding would occur in it's meaning.

Novitiate, should this be changed to Novice or remain as it is?

I felt Novitiate had more of an interesting sound to it than 'Novice'. There are some other forums that use Novitiate also for their user titles.

Present Titles:
Novitiate - 0 posts
Apprentice - 5 posts
Disciple - 10 posts
Devotee - 20 posts
Enthusiast - 30 posts
Gnutella Addict - 50 posts
Connoisseur - 100 posts
Distinguished Member - 500 posts

Proposed Titles:
0 = Novitiate
5 = Apprentice
10 = Disciple
20 = Devotee
30 = Enthusiast
50 = Gnutella Addict
75 = Gnutella Partisan
100 = Gnutella Worshipper or Gnutella Veteran
150 = Connoisseur
250 = Gnutella Seer
500 = Distinguished Member
750 = Exalted
1000 = Gnutella Aficionado

Should any of these terms be replaced: Disciple, Devotee, Addict, Worshipper, Seer, Exalted?
Does anybody not like the sound of Gnutella Muse, which is another possibility?

Any responses? :)

The only one I don't particularly like is worshipper. Veteran sounds much better.

I do think Novice is more appropriate. And I agree with Sleepless.
I would also go with 10-25-50 and drop Addict. I'm also not fond of Seer. How about Gnutella Pro(fessor)?