topic Re: Coming Soon: New Member Ranks in User Guidelines & General Information

Coming Soon: New Member Ranks

Barry — Thu, 21 Jul 2011 08:23:39 GMT

Hello Everyone!

Is it just me or does it seem like we have we been using the same old member ranking system since, well… forever? Not just me? Okay, I have some good news then...

Seeing as how there have been more than 400,000 new members generating more than 800,000 new posts since the last set of ranks were created more than 4 years ago, we figured it’s time we recognized your dedication to the FICO Forums community in terms of participation and contributions by creating a ranking system that more closely acknowledges your true level of involvement here.

We'll soon be adding 12 new ranks (see below) and a more robust set of ranking criteria that (before you ask) will not be disclosed publicly. We hope you'll enjoy working your way up through these new ranks. And thanks to all of you for your contributions to the community!

-Barry

Epic Contributor

Mega Contributor

Super Contributor

Senior Contributor

Valued Contributor

Established Contributor

Frequent Contributor

Regular Contributor

Contributor

New Contributor

Valued Member

Established Member

Member

New member

Valued Visitor

Established Visitor

Visitor

New Visitor

Re: Coming Soon: New Member Ranks

bunnyrabbit — Tue, 21 Jun 2011 06:43:19 GMT

Hi Barry,

I was wondering why my user name is in color? Then I saw everyone's user name is in color. So, I decided to come her to check out what is going on. I guess I came to the right place to find an answer. Now I see why all member's user name is in color coded.

You know what crossed my mind in first? It's so funny ... I was thinking it's because of male/female (due to the color on my user name), and then may be City/State (location) ... :smileyvery-happy:

Re: Coming Soon: New Member Ranks

p- — Tue, 21 Jun 2011 14:33:46 GMT

Interesting - So how far up the ladder do I have to progress before I can make a custom avatar? Also, glad to hear you've expanded the criteria; I haven't made that many posts, but one of my threads has been read almost 10,000 times. Hopefully that is considered.

Re: Coming Soon: New Member Ranks

p- — Tue, 21 Jun 2011 17:45:13 GMT

Guess I'd better type faster....

Edited to remove an error by me MarineVietvet.

Re: Coming Soon: New Member Ranks

mod-moose — Tue, 21 Jun 2011 17:46:03 GMT

p- wrote:
Guess I'd better type faster....

Before the new ranks were introduced a user needed 500 post to get the custom avatar. We didn't change that because we didn't want anyone to lose the ability to change their custom avatar, however there is more to the new formula than just posts so posting to just rank up won't work.

Edited to remove an error by me MarineVietvet.

Re: Coming Soon: New Member Ranks

MarineVietVet — Tue, 21 Jun 2011 17:17:30 GMT

Thanks for the clarification mod moose.

I knew I should have kept my mouth shut! :smileytongue:

Re: Coming Soon: New Member Ranks

p- — Tue, 21 Jun 2011 17:49:27 GMT

mod-moose wrote:

p- wrote:
MarineVietvet wrote:
From what I understand it will still be the same 500 post level it is currently.
Guess I'd better type faster....
Before the new ranks were introduced a user needed 500 post to get the custom avatar. We didn't change that because we didn't want anyone to lose the ability to change their custom avatar, however there is more to the new formula than just posts so posting to just rank up won't work.

Lol, I won't be posting just to rank up... I've been here since 2008 and I'm less than halfway to the 500 mark, so that would take a while. I honestly don't care much what my rank is, but I do think it would be neat to be able to customize my avatar. My suggestions to the admin would be to relax the custom avatar qualification requirements.

Based on the current frequency of posts, I will likely achieve perfect credit before I achieve a custom avatar.... Pretty funny considering I started here in the low 500's.

Re: Coming Soon: New Member Ranks

Barry — Tue, 21 Jun 2011 18:20:19 GMT

p- wrote:

mod-moose wrote:

p- wrote:

MarineVietvet wrote:

From what I understand it will still be the same 500 post level it is currently.

Guess I'd better type faster....

Before the new ranks were introduced a user needed 500 post to get the custom avatar. We didn't change that because we didn't want anyone to lose the ability to change their custom avatar, however there is more to the new formula than just posts so posting to just rank up won't work.

Lol, I won't be posting just to rank up... I've been here since 2008 and I'm less than halfway to the 500 mark, so that would take a while. I honestly don't care much what my rank is, but I do think it would be neat to be able to customize my avatar. My suggestions to the admin would be to relax the custom avatar qualification requirements.

Based on the current frequency of posts, I will likely achieve perfect credit before I achieve a custom avatar.... Pretty funny considering I started here in the low 500's.

You make a great point, p-. I agree this is something we should -- and will -- consider for those of you continue to be invaluable members of the community despite not having the post count of some others. Thanks for the suggestion!

-Barry

Re: Coming Soon: New Member Ranks

p- — Tue, 21 Jun 2011 18:54:34 GMT

Barry wrote:
You make a great point, p-. I agree this is something we should -- and will -- consider for those of you continue to be invaluable members of the community despite not having the post count of some others. Thanks for the suggestion!
-Barry

Thanks,

Re: Coming Soon: New Member Ranks

ShanetheMortgageMan — Tue, 21 Jun 2011 21:35:21 GMT

I am intrigued with the new algorithm.

Re: Coming Soon: New Member Ranks

p- — Tue, 21 Jun 2011 22:39:45 GMT

ShanetheMortgageMan wrote:
I am intrigued with the new algorithm.

MyFico is keeping the details under wraps. From what I understand your ranking is baset on "bucketing". Items in your Board file such as AAOP (average age of posts), number of posts, utilization (percentage of posts used relevantly), and negative accounts (posts deleted or edited for violating terms) are used to come up with a risk assesed profile bucketing you with other users that have a similar scorecard.

These buckets are then divided up into the scoring models, with some buckets limited as to how high they can score. As your profile changes, you can be moved from one bucket to another, or one branch to another, changing your overall score. That being said, no one really knows exactly how these algorithms work, and the information above has a high chance of being made up.

Re: Coming Soon: New Member Ranks

beamMEup — Tue, 21 Jun 2011 22:44:50 GMT

:smileyvery-happy:

Re: Coming Soon: New Member Ranks

Lel — Wed, 22 Jun 2011 03:01:33 GMT

p- wrote:
ShanetheMortgageMan wrote:
I am intrigued with the new algorithm.
MyFico is keeping the details under wraps. From what I understand your ranking is baset on "bucketing". Items in your Board file such as AAOP (average age of posts), number of posts, utilization (percentage of posts used relevantly), and negative accounts (posts deleted or edited for violating terms) are used to come up with a risk assesed profile bucketing you with other users that have a similar scorecard.

These buckets are then divided up into the scoring models, with some buckets limited as to how high they can score. As your profile changes, you can be moved from one bucket to another, or one branch to another, changing your overall score. That being said, no one really knows exactly how these algorithms work, and the information above has a high chance of being made up.

This may very well be the best post that I've read on these boards!

Re: Coming Soon: New Member Ranks

ShanetheMortgageMan — Wed, 22 Jun 2011 03:14:10 GMT

That was classic.

Re: Coming Soon: New Member Ranks

MidnightVoice — Wed, 22 Jun 2011 03:19:19 GMT

lel- wrote:

This may very well be the best post that I've read on these boards!
Very close to

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------- TheNewWorldMan wrote:

Remember that credit bureaus use different methods to receive and process good versus bad credit information. Information that would negatively affect your credit rating--like a late pay or charge-off--is instantly beamed from the creditor to the agency via Department of Defense 256-megabit fiber optic lines and written to their servers in 8.6 milliseconds. Information that would positively affect your credit rating is scribed onto scrolls in special ink by Gregorian monks, which are then painstakingly illuminated. The Credit Scrolls are then placed onto camel caravans which wind their way to the credit bureau headquarters by way of Marrakesh, Dubai, and Tripoli. Once the caravan reaches Equifax, Experian or TransUnion, the scrolls are then laid out in the sun for a week so that the special ink can be read. (Note that the weather around the credit bureau headquarters is notoriously gloomy, like FICO itself, so finding seven consecutive days of sunshine can be quite an ordeal in and of itself.) Only then can the information finally be encoded into your credit files...

Re: Coming Soon: New Member Ranks

p- — Wed, 22 Jun 2011 16:37:07 GMT

MidnightVoice wrote:
lel- wrote:

This may very well be the best post that I've read on these boards!
Very close to

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------- TheNewWorldMan wrote:

Remember that credit bureaus use different methods to receive and process good versus bad credit information. Information that would negatively affect your credit rating--like a late pay or charge-off--is instantly beamed from the creditor to the agency via Department of Defense 256-megabit fiber optic lines and written to their servers in 8.6 milliseconds. Information that would positively affect your credit rating is scribed onto scrolls in special ink by Gregorian monks, which are then painstakingly illuminated. The Credit Scrolls are then placed onto camel caravans which wind their way to the credit bureau headquarters by way of Marrakesh, Dubai, and Tripoli. Once the caravan reaches Equifax, Experian or TransUnion, the scrolls are then laid out in the sun for a week so that the special ink can be read. (Note that the weather around the credit bureau headquarters is notoriously gloomy, like FICO itself, so finding seven consecutive days of sunshine can be quite an ordeal in and of itself.) Only then can the information finally be encoded into your credit files...

heh heh, thanks.

Re: Coming Soon: New Member Ranks

MidnightVoice — Wed, 22 Jun 2011 17:55:00 GMT

12 new ranks - now that reminds me of something, what is it now?

Ah yes that it:

The FICOHolics 12 Step Program - With apologies to Alcoholics Anonymous

1.) We admitted we had been powerless over credit--that our finances had become unmanageable.

2.) Came to believe that a Message Board greater than ourselves could restore our Credit Scores to sanity.

3.) Made a decision to turn our will and our credit lives over to the care of MyFICO Forums.

4.) Made a searching and fearless inventory of our finances.

5.) Admitted to MyFICO, to ourselves and to other board members the exact nature of our **bleep** ups, and our actual scores.

6.) Were entirely ready to have MyFICO members help us remove all these defects of our CRs.

7.) Humbly asked them to help us, and wrote GW letters.

8.) Made a list of all creditors, and became willing to make amends to them all if required, and DV them it was likely to do any good.

9.) Made direct disputes to such creditors wherever possible, except where illegal.

10.) Continued to take personal inventory (usually via web banking) and when we carried a balance quickly PIFfed it.

11.) Sought through constant reading of the board to be aware of all pitfalls and to not stray from the path of financial responsibility, and to stay at 1-9% Utilization

12.) Having had a financial awakening as the result of these steps, we tried to carry this message to others with credit problems, and to help more people straighten out their CRs, and become EpicContributors

(had to make minor modifications).

Re: Coming Soon: New Member Ranks

demi — Fri, 24 Jun 2011 18:50:27 GMT

Humm....sounds like credit scoring!

Re: Coming Soon: New Member Ranks

Hopelives2 — Sun, 03 Jul 2011 19:47:57 GMT

I think the hierarchy sucks, actually.

Anytime an individual or group contrives a scoring model that is based. even partially, upon subjective variables, it instigates competition amongst its membership. Instead of being a collegial minded set of people, it does not encourage friendliness and respect but rather a one-ups-manship by those who want the "appropriate" tag or think that because of their "tag" their words carry more weight and are "better" - I've been on the receiving end of that... and honestly, it makes me think that this is not the greatest place to belong... Unfortunately, the site is the only one with a true FICO score, or I would be.

just yuck.

Re: Coming Soon: New Member Ranks

beamMEup — Sun, 03 Jul 2011 20:02:28 GMT

Hopelives2 wrote:
I think the hierarchy sucks, actually.

Anytime an individual or group contrives a scoring model that is based. even partially, upon subjective variables, it instigates competition amongst its membership. Instead of being a collegial minded set of people, it does not encourage friendliness and respect but rather a one-ups-manship by those who want the "appropriate" tag or think that because of their "tag" their words carry more weight and are "better" - I've been on the receiving end of that... and honestly, it makes me think that this is not the greatest place to belong... Unfortunately, the site is the only one with a true FICO score, or I would be.

just yuck.

That could very well be true; and I'm sorry that you've felt that way while you've been on the forums.

I have to note though, that those who seem to "think that because of their 'tag' their words carry more weight and are 'better'" probably exhibit that same behavior with or without the tags. And it's also true that we've occasionally found some members who go out of their way to remind us that in spite of any relationship to any tags, that "their words carry more weight and are 'better'". Folks are folks. I have to say one thing I enjoy most about these forums is the good-nature of most all of the folks here. It's really a grand group of people, all-in-all, from the New Visitor to the Epic Contributor.