Well DrD thinks the system is bad and I don't think the fanpop four are at fault for what I am about to bitch about but the fact that somebody can add 50 icons with the title "Episode 11" have the name of the tv show as keywords and get a medal is just mean. I mean, obviously rating comes into it alot (Hence why tvman is only a green madtv and I have nothing for Cote de pablo) but I don't understand how you have nothing for dollhouse but that other girl does. I also think that the fact that rating obviously plays such a huge part in it is a bit unfair. Using Debs as an example, she has added bazillions to Buffy and is only a die hard and yet there is one user *No names mentioned* who is a fanatic of three spots and has added less to all three spots than debs has to buffy and that is just unfair! Especially considering she never credits her images and only ever puts about two key words and debs NEVER has less than eight keywords and always credits...Ok rant over.

*Disclaimer - Fanpop four, I love you. Seriously, I'm like a fanpop groupie. I just need to complain, kind of like a nagging wife. You know she loves you, she just has to get it off of her chest*

P.s. Im pretty sure half of what I said makes no sense but hey, you can work it out, you are all smart cookies.
P.p.s. I love the word wonky, so glad you used it to describe the medal system =D

I also got a yellow medal for uploading 50 videos and 400 images to the smallville spot but I've only got a green medal in the 'capitals of the world' spot where I've added 800 images and 30 videos.

lol saul, you'll have to be daves wife i think all the others are married

aholic i think the smallville and capitals of the world has something to do with rates and views, i might go have a ganders and rate some of your images aholic :D

I obviously have no actual knowledge regarding anything on this topic, but I'm going to say it anyway. Debs, about the bar of fans of the bottom. It seems like when a spot is kind of newish... that the bar features the most recent members to join, whereas with established spots, the bar does feature users by order of contributions/medals. I could be totally wrong, that's just how it seemed to be for a while on newer spots.

yeah i think it's with pending spots, that the person to do recent activity is top

but all the spots i have mentioned are none pending

oh and same with the alyson hannigan spot

I have a theory on the bar of fans at the bottom of a spot's home page. I *think* it's the user whose content has been rated the highest. Now, the reason I say this is because Cammie and I have been bouncing back and forth as the only two members of the Dorothy McGuire spot. It doesn't change when new content is added, but it changes once it's rated. The Saving Private Ryan spot also supports this theory - I've added almost 300 images/a few links, videos & picks, but none of it's been rated. The two items that existed before I 'adopted' the spot have been rated, so I'm 3rd on the list.
As for the medals... yeah, I've noticed some general weirdness there, but have no theories.

Dollhouse isn't pending anymore? If so, that's awesome! I've been trying to get a certain spot out of pending status for ages.

ahhh the bar theory makes sense, clever darksarcasm!

...oh wait but why did i get bumped up it, when i tried my, does rating count to medals theory?

lol there's a forum on there by me saying it wasn't pending after 12 days, high five anyone?

which spot?

well one thing is for sure: its not aboot posting quality..its aboot quantity.
anyway the f4 themselves post most stuff with 3 keywords! seriously..they dont care.
which would be fine except searching for specific content is a BITCH on this site.
that filter by keyword option is a DISGRACE and how on earth should anyone NOT post repeat picks when there is no option to narrow down the search to one specific spot!?
ok sorry that wasnt the point..erm yeah..i really dont think it has a lot to do with rating.
its more of a content/ time continuum ( see how i am going all barney with this!?)
ok debsacles and sualey seriously..oh i will message you guys this is too delicate to be discussed in public :P

oh and p.s. i have loved wonky ever since debsacles announced that this smiley o_0 or soemthing similar was probably to symbolize: i have wonky boobs
i am laughing ooooot loud even thinking aboot it now....:D

Wonky boobs? *snort* XD

Ok one, I don't mind being Dave's wife and two, I forgot about the Alyson hannigan spot. I have a green but Debs doesn't which confuses me.
*Another disclaimer, don't take away my green.. It's so pretty, just gives Debs one*

Buffyverse Comics.. it's actually up to 53 members, so it must be close. I add as much content as I can, but some of it is kind of weird stuff.. namely the vids. Some of the images are actually really great, many of which you've added yourself. I guess I should do more picks and quizzes to try and generate some interest.

wow, well someone had to say it germany

searching on this site is a real bitch which is why i always end up giving props to aholic and drd for images because they always seem to have what i want straight off

what content and time continuum theory? i honestly think you discuss it here, you might not get another chance?

leave my wonky boobs alone o.O lol and yeah when i'm all caught up my comics i promise to help more

i would really like to try to get a medal by just uploading tons of images to one spot in a very short period of time cause it see it works for others..
or do very easy quiz questions ( because i think you get the medal not for questions you asked but for answers you generated)
i am fairly sure ( unless the f4 see this and destroy me and ban me from fanpop forever) that i could :)

oh and aboot searching..ive left more that one comment aboot it on the suggestions thread..no reaction :/

yeah i know what you mean germany, it's so tempting, isn't it?

is it done by answers generated? wow, what the.... i would have thought it would be done by amount of questions, it almost makes you want to stop adding to the smaller spots and just spam the office

i guess its by answers generated...because i figure its like the rating logic: if a lot of people answer a lot of people enjoyed the question...well i guess thats the train of thought- its not the truth but you could argue that if someone makes a bunch of bad questions no one is interested in they shouldnt get a reward.
but i am just guessing this..i dont know anything

ha haaaa trick comment..i do know
*puts on evil voice* i am one of the fanpop daves- in disguise! i hacked into this account to spy on my users..and i dont like what im seeing...beware! you shall wake up tomorrow and all your medals will have vanished...MUAH AHA HAHAHAHA AHAHAHAHA!!!!

lol gerley!!!

well yeah but bad questions should be reported and those users that bother to add to littler spots should get rewarded too
i get the rating thing on a basic level because like answering questions how can you determine how hard it is until someone answers, with rating how can you determine how good it is until someone rates
but me getting a medal for 10 vids is ridiculous, it shouldn't matter after a certain point, that would also stop those with fake accounts from cheating their way to medals from a few images

well i add a lot as u guys may know but i haven't earned a single medal in months...

*laughs at DarkSarcasm's wonky boobs*

Yeah I do think the medal system is weird. I have medals in spots that I haven't added much to at all, but no medals in spots that I practically live in! The only difference that I can see is the rating: that is in those spots where I haven't posted much, what I have posted has been well rated.

And that is very unfair to you aleciane! You have posted so much awesome stuff in the Dita Von Teese spot but you don't have a medal for it! There are other spots like that too, but I whenever I go to the Dita spot I always think you should have a medal.

it's rating AND views + comments. Gotta be a mixed bag of it all :) after a while people will get medals, just need to learn to be patient

I think the bar at the bottom is for the members who are closest to going up to the next medal. That is what I have gathered just by observing the bottom bar users.

well all I can say is Debs you definitely should have a medal already for dollhouse, I'm just wondering if it has to do with the fact that you created the spot that they expect the creator to add more than the average fan... just a theory.

okay guys i have said above that i realize the ratings, comments ect, ect but i'm talking about things in the same spots, sometimes in these cases that i'm talking about thing have even better so that just makes no sense
general flukes that seem to be something wrong

and hmmm interesting theory ineedcoffee but it didn't work like that though for me in the unbelievable spot of the advice spot

and yeah i aleciane i think you should have had a medal in buffy long ago but so little people seem to have rated the older content,

It could also be some people linking images to others like friends when they look for them. Like i have images on Flickr that have hundreds of views in very little time because i look around and found people giving links on communities and Wikipedia.

As much as some situations may seem unfair i really, honestly think it all comes down to views and how much someone has added. It can seem unfair but someone out there, even if it's just one person will have appreciated what you have shared and i think that's a good feeling to know that :)

snerkie what i'm getting at is not the unfairness of it (i realize that long ago and personally get more excited over props and spanks)
but i mean lately they don't even seem to be making sense, like there's something wrong?

of course if the unfairness of it could be fixed too then that would be great and as much as i like to rant about that, that's not what i'm getting at

Yeah, well i do think there are some cracks to it. Like i posted a bunch of videos, they had a few ratings and then the videos became broken so i deleted them and then i got a medal for that spot, lol. So yeah some things i think are crack slipping in the system.

hmmm actually do you know what i take back that bit about this forum just being about a possible fault

maybe we should speak up more about the unfairness of the system

yep! i dont friggin want my medal if you dont earn it..and you dont!
if they were awarded somehow..ok. but like this its just silly...i am sooo going to get a medal somewhere by adding useless content! right now i am still hesitating for karma reasons...

germany you will be karma bitch slapped if you post useless content :P

lol yeah you'll spend time uploading loads of useless content and then fanpop will change the system and you'll have wasted....what abut five minutes? of your life, 10 if you go a for a fanatic ;p

well i did post my silent protest "what is teds surname" question on the pop quiz just to get some of it oot

oh germs you make me chuckle :D

You did earn your medal though Ger, you are constantly rating and commenting and foruming (yes, thats a word) However I do kind of agree with Snerkie. Karma bitch slapping is extremely common.

hmm okay for when fanpop four does acually reach this forum do you rekon they would consider this rule in to their forumla?

-no credit or less than than three keywords= no medals points

okay i just found this forum and i really dont have the time to read it all so i am just going to say this..

in a spot (i will not say the name) the top fan is a die hard, i have seen the content that they have added and there is not much of it, also on their profile they have only rated about 12 things and i never see their comments anywhere. this is a pretty active spot and alot of good well keyworded content gets added eveyday by other fans,
i dont understand how this person is a die hard fan on something that they have hardally added anything to and dosn't rate anything? it baffles me? ♥

my point exactlty...the user i am talking aboot does NOTHING on the HIMYM spot..except they uploaded a buch of uselesss images...and they do NOTHING for the spot..yet they have a green medal.
i dont add images a lot..but i add links and make pics add the occasional video and comment and rate A LOT as in: i rate EVERY SINGLE THING i look at..unless i report it of course :D
its NOT aboot diversity..its aboot quantity. and that pisses me off

sorry..for getting all huffed but i can not believe that user is REWARDED for spamming the spot. i reported every single image for copyright infringement. of course they havent been removed and the medal will stay with that user even if all the content is removed

s;ok claire then general gist of it is

"lets rant un f4 notice us" lol i have alerted them of the forum and our concerns so far no reply, but i did only send it about 12 hours

i have a theory on the medals, does the f4 want lots of images because they seem to get more medals?

Maybe it's because images are rated more than links or videos, Debs? I know I don't watch a lot of videos on here or check out a lot of links (if I'm going to rate something, I want to see waht it is), but images are easier to rate - what you see is what you get. You don't have to investigate to find out if it's dead or if it's labeled wrong - you can see if it has proper keywords in list view and so on...

yes but my episodes have all been rated more than my images?

what about picks? forums ect

Hm. I don't know, then...
I know (okay, strongly believe) being active in a forum will contribute to a medal, that's how I got my die-hard Heroes medal - playing the survival game obsessively. Who needs therapy when you can get a medal? =P That's been a while ago, though.

Hey guys, we are reading this feedback and appreciate it. The medal system has been tweaked repeatedly over the last couple of years and it will get additional tweaking in the future.

I will add that the granting of medals does not occur in a regularly scheduled manner. It is automated, but sometimes you might see a bunch of new medals earned all at once.

Also, improving search is on our list of "to do's". It's one of our highest priorities. But as you can imagine we're still trying to fix the my updates module too! But search improvements will be coming in the future. It's an area where we've lagged and now that the site is getting large enough it's really needing some attention.

Finally, I would reiterate that a careful reading of our FAQ reveals some clues of what activities/actions might affect the earning of a medal (you are familiar with these, but I thought I'd reiterate since I'm seeing a lot of varied theories in this thread).

I'd also add that while some of you are speculating about adding "easy" content like 50 icons vs. making a great soapbox, it's also worth remembering that we (the Fanpop Four) can be clever on occasion and that we *try* to account for such things.

Finally, it's worth remembering that "more" isn't always better. I say this with respect to both posting of content as well as tagging. Spamming tags with a lot of terms can be just as problematic as not using tags at all.

thanks for the feedback papa :)

Spamming tags with a lot of terms can be just as problematic as not using tags at all.
very true as demonstrated in my link

thing is i dont really WANT to know how it works exactly...but a lot of times it just doesnt work well :(
i am very excited to hear aboot improving the search options!

oh yes i think we all understand not to put pointless keywords, or especially in bulk uploading where users add all the characters in to the tags

i very much appreciate my shiny new medals... a buy off to shut me up by any chance? ;p

we know you guys are very clever and very busy but this is something that has been talked about since i arrived on fanpop, it's pleases me to know there have been many tweaks and such and you guys have acknowledged it too

i know you won't get around to them soon because of all your other work but since you guys like feedback so much may we suggest a couple of things for the magic forumla?

for me personally

-the keywords and image credit be taken in to account?
-the amounts of rates have a less of a effect to make it fairer in smaller spots and larger spots?

-the keywords and image credit be taken in to account?

i very much doubt that will happens since the system is automated..and no one can check if the keywords& credits are correct...:(

oh and if you want me to shut up: take that useless content off the himym spot delete that users medal and i will shut my trap :D

(for the record.im joking..or am i? o_0)

oh yeah that was something i wanted to ask drd said it was possible to loose medals... is that true?

tru germany, but that could reported, at least it will stop the majority?

I only think you can loose a medal if you unsubscribes to a spot.

Debs -- no buy-off. Like I said, the medals "dispersal" mechanism doesn't always run regularly. But that is not to say that we can't manually initiate it from time to time (this doesn't grant anything that wouldn't have otherwise been granted had that process been run) ;-)

Also - you can "lose" a medal by unsubscribing. But you don't really "lose it". We only display medals for spots you subscribe to. If you have "earned" a medal in a spot and rejoin it, you should be granted a medal (when that magical "medal conference" mechanism does its thing).

So if you unjoin a spot, don't worry. You won't lose anything for good (assuming you rejoin at another point in the future).

Your idea about rewarding certain behaviors is a good one. Will definitely consider. We've also toyed with tweaking the difficulty of earning medals (e.g. how hard should it be?). Right now it looks like it might be a tad difficult (which is what we wanted), but we may still fine tune in this area.

I realize by virtue of having the medals, it's something that users will be curious about. But for me personally, I find the props more meaningful... :-)

And yes...we feel your pain on search. I was working on the project schedule recently and search was a big item on that list. Dave and I had been noticing how hard it is to find stuff ourselves on the site. I was researching search functionality on some other sites, but didn't find many sites that did this well either. I'm hoping that with a combination of global search and spot-level search in addition to being able to filter the results by content type (e.g. search for these keywords in the Buffy spot, but only show video results), we'll have a much better, much more robust way to find cool stuff on the site (and it'll be superior to what the competition has too).

Ok, now I've divulged way more than I should have and one of the others from the team will be taking me out to some empty field to dispose of me. If you don't hear from me tomorrow...call the police.