On thing I have figured out from the ranks is that they do not play favorable to people who practice or study more obscure topics. Generally when someone is ranked, they have shown to be intelligent in some form or another either in forums or on chat, and have proven to know about a certain topic(s). People such as myself, are left behind simply because their practice is more obscure and less known, leaving us in the position of always being seen as a beginner or novice since our practice isn't one that very many people know or understand.
A new rank idea would be for "Specialty". This could apply to someone who is well diversed and obviously knowledgable in say Herbs, but nothing else. This way, the rank itself would imply that someone is not a beginner persay, but is not diversed in enough topics to be put in the knowledgable ranking. This rank, just like any other, wouldnt be handed out to anyone but to those who have shown to be intelliegent in a certain subject beyond something that can quckly be searched on Goodle and regurgitated.
Being able to help with others helps pet has made the way the ranks are and i think they should stay as it. If you are entirely worried of your rank perhaps this site is to much for you.
To my understanding this is already how many knowledgeable and adept ranked people choose to vote. Just ask them, I'm sure that with polite inquiry they wouldn't mind explaining their stance or perspective of their ranking privledges.
So just cause you specialize in one thing you are not allowed to help kinda cold there snowqueen huh fitting name. Just cause pet has one way doesn't mean that no one should speak about it thats just fascism its a great idea so people can know who to ask for what i might add that the Specialty people would have a list somewhere on the site that shows what their specialized in
A list big enough to show everyone's specialties would be massive and a waste of time. Not to mention you'd have to test and survey each person to see if their claims of specialty are justified.
I'd also like to mention that at one point we did have an up to date list of people and their specialties. It was a list of mostly moderators but it was a list as you describe nonetheless.
It is always good to move forward and evolve than to leave everything it as at the moment. This idea may make people more comfortable in chatting in the forums, covens, and the chat without fear of someone (with the ability to give or remove ranks) to disagree with them simple because they don't have their view or study resources.
Moegami makes a point that magick isn't one simple topic that everyone can agree on. It is a moving library that is always changing according with our studies. One person may see spells as fake but another may see them as a prayer. Giving one point to one but not the other because they see magick a little differently isn't exactly fair. So adding another rank, which shouldn't be hard to do, that means that person knows something completely differently than what the knowledgeable people do know and is used to knowing.
Of course this leads to a problem of what defines getting this rank. Will it be people that study voodoo? Wiccan? Pagan? Why not make another type of ranking different from "Rank" that helps others know what area of magick you believe in first than give that special new rank.
