Beginner is the Reputation you get when you create a new record.If you actively participate in the chat and forum and help others with their doubts your reputation will increase.If anyone says that they are a vampire or werewolf or impossible things there is chance a their rank will be decreased to Fluffy.
Personally, I call it indoctrination and a form of social control.
Well, you follow the link, and it doesn't clearly state who ranks or really how people are ranked. Intuitively, and probably amongst the general norm, 'reputation' is hogwash. A long story short, 'reputation' is a form of social control, call it bureaucracy.
As a theory, I seriously think there are people that monitor this site, not just the mods, 24/7. Let's just say that in the classical sense of the word coven, there just may be a coven that's actually hidden.
With that said, I don't think the reputations are limited to only the mods' judgement. Just think you got to have a number of people dedicate to monitoring this site. For all we know there are members with multiple accounts. As a parody, I would love to see someone come up with a well thought out, brainstormed and well written description of a conspiracy and gossip theory on exactly how this site works.
In addition, this may get you to a better understanding of the system and its meaning:
Definition of the word reputation: the estimation in which a person or thing is held, especially by the community or the public generally; repute: a man of good reputation.a favorable and publicly recognized name or standing for merit, achievement, reliability, etc.
Definition of the word beginner: a person who has begun a course of instruction or is learning the fundamentals. Also a person who is inexperienced; novice.
The system seems very, very flawed.
I was offended considering after eight years of practice both online and offline, I'm disappointed to see a nice big 'Beginner' sign right by my username
Same goes for a few other users on here who've been in this way longer, only to get beginner or novice slapped on their name.
Whats the deal here?
The system is used to express how others here view your knowledge. We have no understand of your knowledge outside of what is showed on this site. We can not 'rank' your 8 years of knowledge just because you have nor can we discern how much of that 8 years was spent in study. (Doe, I am not picking on you, it was just that I remembered how many years you practiced when I was writing.)
The rank system is flawed. All systems are flawed. Instead of complaining about your rank, do something useful for the good of the site. Create forums that help others grow and learn, participate in discussions on forum and in chatter. Join a coven and get to know a group of like minded people.
Personally I just ignore it and suggest you do the same. All I'd worry about is following the rules. Manage that and I don't think your reputation will make much of a difference. Yes, there are those flamboyantly idiotic members who judge you solely on your reputation but they are few and far between (at least the boisterous ones are).
Beyond that, why don't you show some of that proclaimed 8 years and make the best of your time here.
only a handful of people can rank, so just ignore them and prove yourself in the forums, chats, and other posts around the site. don't know of many people who hold the ranking system in high regards. it works in theory, but humans are flawed by design, so someone might be friends with a member, or hate a member, and rank them accordingly. as well, since few can rank members, and these people are already busy individuals, someone might not get around to ranking you. say only one person has ranked you, that's why you're at beginner, when, say, you should be knowledgeable, more people need to rank you before you can move up or down, and that might take a while. so just ignore it. know the system helps, but just ignore it.
Agree, Nekoshema ...I trust my own reputation as I trust my honestly earned master degree from university, which for sure will not be taken from me ever, but here is nothing forever. One day you can be beginner, next day you are a Fluff. I never care what is my rank, i care whom i met here and to whom to share my knowledge. Very educated people and real practitioners will notice you as a valueble and potential practitioner if you are a REALL practitioner with a bag of wisdom then you will get respect. So, here Rank will not make you a better practitioner at all. But again if you still care about rank, then try to contribute in forums and make influencing friends, which will short cut way to get a rank. Regards
The ranking system here isn't the best but it does sometimes work. Works as in, well I guess by helping other people understand who to listen to than rather their own words. The ranking system just tells each person how many regarded people agree with that person.
But in reality, I got the membership status of "Contributor" way, way before I got the beginner rank. I had that status for about a year and a half and just got the beginner just this week. But really, I could careless because even a ranking of Contributor and beginner will never tell someone who you are, they just need to talk to you and see for themself.
Lastly, people with high ranks will defend this ranking system for a few reasons. Mainly because they feel proud they are on top of the ranking and don't want to lose it. Now I am not saying all of them feel it strongly, but to a certain level they feel the pride of it.
But yeah, I feel like getting a membership status like that than after a year and a half later I am now a beginner.
