263 replies to this topic

[redlion]

The Neocodex Staff is proud to present the long awaited, reincarnated, new and improved Private Membership!

For those of you who are unaware of the achievable user ranks here at Neocodex, consider reviewing the Neocodex F.A.Q. which contains information on Advanced, Advanced+ and Retired, as well as new info regarding Private. The text for Private follows in the spoiler:

Spoiler

 Q: What is Private?

A: Private is a title granted by the community to those who contribute to Neocodex in a significant way. They have all the benefits of Advanced Membership plus a series of Perks, some of which are public information and some of which are not, including for instance, a private subforum. Private is unique among the Neocodex member ranks, because members of the community apply instead of being nominated for this rank. A certain amount of initiative is encouraged and welcomed here. This is the rank for overachievers.

 

Q: How do I become a Private Member?

A: At the beginning of each month Private applications are opened for a week (via the Apply tab). All users who have been members for twelve months or more, have made at least 1000 posts and who feel that their contributions, activity and/or helpfulness are up to scratch, are invited to apply. Around two weeks from the opening of applications, results are usually posted. Personal Messages are also sent to all applicants informing them of the status of their applications.

The application process is your chance to shine! Feel free to be a little outspoken and toot your own horn. The application questions are designed to let you talk about yourself and your time at Neocodex. If you've done something extraordinary that not everyone will have read about (a lot of things happen on a forum every day!) bring it to the attention of the voters so they take it into account. Our Staff team along with the Private Leader will discuss the applications among one another and vote potential candidates in or not.

Neocodex has a long tradition of rewarding contributing members. For much of our early history, this included provisions for a rank between Member and Retired Member called Private Member for which members would apply of their own volition. For various reasons the rank was discontinued some time ago, but when a group of staff and codex veterans got together to brainstorm ideas for a new user rank *poof* like magic, the Private name was resurrected.

While the new user rank differs in many respects from the first incarnation of Private, it is alike in that it is awarded to only the most active, helpful and friendly folks.

Private is the rank for overachievers. For people putting in the time to greet new members or answer a newbie’s question about Abrosia on a more than one off basis. For people who enter the Signature of the Week contest week after week even though they don’t win. For the people who contribute to programming projects, and even for the people who are always at the ready with a new humorous or helpful thread.

New and old members alike should note that Advanced is a pay-feature rank; Advanced+ is a rank awarded in recognition that you deserve advanced membership without having to pay; Private is recognition that you’ve put in significant time and work with the community on a consistent basis; Retired is for when you’ve been around too long for your own good

Advanced+ and Retired promotions are made on a nomination basis. Since the previous iteration of Private ended, some users may have noted that the ranks tend to stagnate around Advanced+, with few users being nominated for higher rank. No more.

Private Membership is all about initiative. Everyone understands the concept of giving back, but sometimes it can seem like a thankless task. With Private, members can work towards recognition of their contributions and feel a sense of accomplishment when the rank is achieved. Because promotions to Private are made based on applications by the members themselves, there’s no waiting for the wheelchair brigade over in Retired to recognize how awesome you are (love you guys ).

The application process is relatively simple. At regular intervals (usually the first week of every month) applications will be opened via our new forum modification found here. Applications will remain open for a week or so, after which they’ll close, followed by a voting period. Around two weeks from the start of the process, results should be announced in this forum.

All members who meet the following criteria are invited to apply:

• 12 months of forum membership
• 1000 posts on the forum
• Consistent activity, friendliness, and/or helpfulness
• Contributions of some sort including but not limited to programming, graphics or contests participation

As you can see, achieving this rank is no mean feat. It’s not meant to be easy! To go along with the shiny new userbar (like mine but different) and forum permissions, new Private Members are also rewarded with a series of Perks, which for various reasons (chiefly because this post is already long-winded) will not be discussed in this thread. But more so than any tangible reward, Private members are at the heart of the community. They are the community leaders and discussion stokers. And that recognition and trust is Private Membership’s true reward.

So without any further ado we invite all qualified members to apply via the modification. We look forward to reading your applications!

redlion,
Private Leader
-x-

[Map]

The long awaited Private membership! I was extremely curious to see what Private Membership was all about. Props to the Neocodoex Staff, ever since I semi-retired Neopets I just lurked around Neocodex as my tether to see what's going on in Neopets. I was wondering does past contributions be taken into consideration or is this more of a from here on out, what can you contribute?

[Strategist]

Thanks for taking the time to make this announcement, Patrick! Myself and the rest of the staff are eagerly looking forward to some applications to read over and to hopefully induct our very first members into the new rank Whilst it will be a tad bare in the Private forum for a little while, @redlion and the rest of the team will be looking at adding some exciting new perks and features that will be discussed within the hidden 'Private' section

 

So get cracking and show us what you're made of, don't be shy and please apply!

[Doomsday]

Are all retired members automatically given access to the Private sub-forum? 

 

Given that many retired members are inactive they shouldn't really have the privilege of lurking those forums without conintued contribution even though the section is technically 'below' the retired rank, the retired people don't really have any perks over Advanced other than their own subforum.  The impression I'm given here is that the private rank will actually have a few extra perks.

 

Also, is the promotion only available via meeting those strict criteria, or is there provision for exceptions to be made for members who far exceed the general contributions of members but aren't overly forum active (such as people who may start contributing regularly to programs etc despite not being on the programming team.)

[Strategist]

Are all retired members automatically given access to the Private sub-forum? 

 

Given that many retired members are inactive they shouldn't really have the privilege of lurking those forums without conintued contribution even though the section is technically 'below' the retired rank, the retired people don't really have any perks over Advanced other than their own subforum.  The impression I'm given here is that the private rank will actually have a few extra perks.

 

Also, is the promotion only available via meeting those strict criteria, or is there provision for exceptions to be made for members who far exceed the general contributions of members but aren't overly forum active (such as people who may start contributing regularly to programs etc despite not being on the programming team.)

No, they are not. This was discussed at length with the staff team and we all agreed that this rank should have it's own private subforum. We also agreed, that if any Retired members wanted to 'demote' themselves to the Private rank for various reasons, this may be possible. They should send us a PM stating why and we will review it. This will be a once off thing though, so if you wish to remain in the Retired rank, you cannot apply for a Private demotion.

 

We also discussed Retired perks, but we came to the conclusion that since the section isn't overly active these days apart from the occasional popping in of older members (who mostly (we assume) do not play neopets anymore) it was relatively pointless adding in perks for them that would be mainly Neopets related (apart from the occasional Store credit giveaways, but shhhh, it's a secret ). If it is any different and Retired folk DO feel that they should have perks, please do PM/ping the staff and we can discuss it further there

 

We made the criteria on the basis that we wanted to distinguish a level that was high enough to be recognised as a 'presitigous' rank apart from Advanced+ (not saying that Advanced+ isn't a worthy rank at all). Private should be a rank where people strive to achieve the best that they can for the community and we want to be able to represent it as such. It shouldn't be easy to reach, but we can make exceptions based off of exceptional (and I mean exceptional in every way, shape and form) contributions. We cannot lower the standards of the process though, as it would be pointless in having the criteria set. 

[Nalah]

I really like the criteria for Private, I think it's great to have something new to aim for and inspire! 

 

 

 

Now to find more time to be more active on Codex xD

[Sweeney]

Wait, so... Retired members can't see Private?

[Romy]

Wait, so... Retired members can't see Private?

Private members also get exclusive "perks" that will not be made available to Retired members.

[Sweeney]

Private members also get exclusive "perks" that will not be made available to Retired members.

Well, that's pretty stupid. Promotion is meant to add perks, not remove them.
Being promoted to Retired from Private is essentially a downgrade.

[Romy]

Well, that's pretty stupid. Promotion is meant to add perks, not remove them.
Being promoted to Retired from Private is essentially a downgrade.

Arguably.

Private members are members that have made contributions to the site and deserve recognition for doing so.

 

I personally believe that the Retired rank (though "achieved" by long time members of Neocodex) is a rank that dictates seniority, NOT contributions or "consistent activity".

 

Edit: Redlion stated it perfectly

Private Membership is all about initiative. Everyone understands the concept of giving back, but sometimes it can seem like a thankless task. With Private, members can work towards recognition of their contributions and feel a sense of accomplishment when the rank is achieved. Because promotions to Private are made based on applications by the members themselves, there’s no waiting for the wheelchair brigade over in Retired to recognize how awesome you are (love you guys  ).

Edited by Bulbasaur, 14 April 2014 - 04:12 AM.

[Sweeney]

Arguably.
Private members are members that have made contributions to the site and deserve recognition for doing so.
 
I personally believe that the Retired rank (though "achieved" by long time members of Neocodex) is a rank that dictates seniority, NOT contributions or "consistent activity".
 
Edit: Redlion stated it perfectly

Do you think that people have achieved retired without making contributions or having consistent activity?
The fact that people may not fit those criteria now does not mean that they have not done so in the past.

And frankly, who gives a shit if we're awarding inactive retired members with perks? It's not like they're going to be taking advantage of them.

[Nymh]

What if a member wants to maintain their Retired rank AND apply for Private? Are the ranks mutually exclusive? I would like to apply, but I don't want to lose my current rank or access to the Retired section.

[Strategist]

Wait, so... Retired members can't see Private?

At this stage (and probably into the future), no.

 

Well, that's pretty stupid. Promotion is meant to add perks, not remove them.
Being promoted to Retired from Private is essentially a downgrade.

Like I said above, if Retired members wish to discuss perks and the likes, you are more than welcome to bring it to the staff's attention We are more than willing to work something out with you guys

 

Do you think that people have achieved retired without making contributions or having consistent activity?
The fact that people may not fit those criteria now does not mean that they have not done so in the past.

And frankly, who gives a shit if we're awarding inactive retired members with perks? It's not like they're going to be taking advantage of them.

Exactly, the perks would benefit a few active Retired members, but would there be enough activity in Retired to warrant the awarding of such perks to make it worthwhile? This is something we can discuss further (as above).

 

What if a member wants to maintain their Retired rank AND apply for Private? Are the ranks mutually exclusive? I would like to apply, but I don't want to lose my current rank or access to the Retired section.

Initially I shall say no to this, although there is possibility to work something out in terms of this at a later date. We want to trial the whole Private thing to start with anyway, so we can always adjust things as we go. I can't promise anything just yet, but I shall not stamp it out as a possibility. After all, Retired is essentially a rank above Private

[Sweeney]

Exactly, the perks would benefit a few active Retired members, but would there be enough activity in Retired to warrant the awarding of such perks to make it worthwhile? This is something we can discuss further (as above).

As an active Retired member, I don't see why I should lose out because the majority of my rank is inactive. I can't think of a single equatable example where a promotion results in a loss of priveleges.

Retired members should have access to the perks of all lower ranks. Plus some of their own. Are you going to remove Retired's access to Adv+ tools, like the RS List generator, because many Retired members wouldn't be active enough to earn the Adv+ rank this month?

[Strategist]

As an active Retired member, I don't see why I should lose out because the majority of my rank is inactive. I can't think of a single equatable example where a promotion results in a loss of priveleges.

Retired members should have access to the perks of all lower ranks. Plus some of their own. Are you going to remove Retired's access to Adv+ tools, like the RS List generator, because many Retired members wouldn't be active enough to earn the Adv+ rank this month?

Good point. We shall have a chat about this in Staff Gen and let you know. I know if I were in your shoes right now, I would probably want to be able to access the various perks of Private too (seeing as it's technically a lower rank). Give us a bit of time to chat about it and we'll try to come to an amicable solution.

[Sweeney]

Good point. We shall have a chat about this in Staff Gen and let you know. I know if I were in your shoes right now, I would probably want to be able to access the various perks of Private too (seeing as it's technically a lower rank). Give us a bit of time to chat about it and we'll try to come to an amicable solution.

Ok.
It's also worth noting that, unless you're going to be demoting inactive Private members in the future, denying priveleges to Retired members for that reason is a little nonsensical.
We've never really demoted inactive members (aside from ranks that require activity, like staff or section leaders) - I don't think there is a good reason to do so. If a person has made sufficient contributions to achieve a rank, then that is always going to be true. Inactivity does not invalidate past activity.

[Romy]

Do you think that people have achieved retired without making contributions or having consistent activity?
The fact that people may not fit those criteria now does not mean that they have not done so in the past.

And frankly, who gives a shit if we're awarding inactive retired members with perks? It's not like they're going to be taking advantage of them.

Promotions to retired have stagnated. Very few people have been successfully promoted into Retired during my time on this site.

 

If actively contributing to the site and/or having consistent activity on the site are the only prerequisites for being promoted into Retired, we'd have considerably more people being promoted to it.

[Ali]

Ok.It's also worth noting that, unless you're going to be demoting inactive Private members in the future, denying priveleges to Retired members for that reason is a little nonsensical.We've never really demoted inactive members (aside from ranks that require activity, like staff or section leaders) - I don't think there is a good reason to do so. If a person has made sufficient contributions to achieve a rank, then that is always going to be true. Inactivity does not invalidate past activity.

I think we had a couple of culls of Private when I led, but it was of people who had clearly left...and they mostly got the rank back if they returned, it was just to keep things cleaner/shut people up from whining on about how unfair it was that whoever was Private.

Cannot believe you're still putting the kiss on the end of Priv announcements Paddy.

[Sweeney]

Promotions to retired have stagnated. Very few people have been successfully promoted into Retired during my time on this site.
 
If actively contributing to the site and/or having consistent activity on the site are the only prerequisites for being promoted into Retired, we'd have considerably more people being promoted to it.

Very few people are ever promoted into Retired. The only reason the rank is so full is that it was merged with Private (for some unfathomable reason) when the original Private was shut down. It's meant to be that way. The requirements are tough.

So no, we wouldn't have "considerably more people being promoted to it", because the requirements are a challenge to meet.
Just as they have always been.

Plus, of course, the merge brought not inconsiderable amounts of confusion as to who exactly was meant to be eligible for the rank.

[Strategist]

I think we had a couple of culls of Private when I led, but it was of people who had clearly left...and they mostly got the rank back if they returned, it was just to keep things cleaner.

Good to know, but I doubt we will bother doing any 'culling' of the rank this time around. Well, unless a certain Private Leader has an OCD for cleanliness

[Sweeney]

I think we had a couple of culls of Private when I led, but it was of people who had clearly left...and they mostly got the rank back if they returned, it was just to keep things cleaner/shut people up from whining on about how unfair it was that whoever was Private.

Aye, but the repromotion on return means it wasn't really a demotion. Just a tidying

[Ali]

Promotions to retired have stagnated. Very few people have been successfully promoted into Retired during my time on this site.

If actively contributing to the site and/or having consistent activity on the site are the only prerequisites for being promoted into Retired, we'd have considerably more people being promoted to it.

It's not the only criteria but near impossible to get without meeting those!

I would argue that without retired access to Private, there will still likely not be many promotions, so many came out of getting to know people better through Private without all the riffraff clogging up conversation.

Having not played Neopets since circa 2004, I couldn't care less but I suspect you'll end up with an area for newer members and old people will stay in retired rather than it being tiered. I won't nominate someone for retired if there's endless activity I can't see, I know full well from years of being Priv and Retired that some people are right dicks the second they're out of the public eye. By the same merit, some people are much improved when not appealing to the masses.

[KaibaSama]

Looks like I need to step up my contributions then. Finally, some incentive!

[Romy]

Plus, of course, the merge brought not inconsiderable amounts of confusion as to who exactly was meant to be eligible for the rank.

 

And yet Retired members never bothered to specifically outline the requirements for such a promotion.

There shouldn't be any confusion lingering from something that happened upwards of 3 years ago.

[Sweeney]

And yet Retired members never bothered to specifically outline the requirements for such a promotion.
There shouldn't be any confusion lingering from something that happened upwards of 3 years ago.

Defining the requirements of a rank following a change is not the responsibility of the members of that rank.