Official Feedback Request: Emblems!

I don't care about emblems, but PC needs some way of recognising top users, and emblems seem to be a good way to do it. I say keep them.

Owl said:

Originally we wanted them to be fun to discover and collect and have interesting ideas attached to them, but we feel like they haven't really lived up to that purpose.

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Can you possibly elaborate on this? Because in all honesty, I would say that's the complete opposite of the case at hand. I think emblems are a great way for rewarding someone for their contributions to the site. Whether it is through participating in a Community Day on the Battle Server, winning an icon contest due to your art skills, showing enthusiastic attitude in one of the many fan clubs here, and so on and so on, it is a great way for a PC member to commemorate one's achievements and reflect on their time spent here on PokeCommunity, as well as giving other members a history of that member and how they may have grown as a member.

Furthermore, emblems are a great way to spark activity in different sections of PokeCommunity. For instance, the PokeAnni section of PC - truthfully speaking, not one of the most active forums here - is running a contest awarding people for post counts through an emblem prize. Sure, it could be seen as just an easy way for people to farm for it, but at the same time it could easily spark interest for new people to quickly become reoccurring frequenters to that section. And that's what PC should really strive for - more activity. At the same time, the Fan Clubs section of PC is currently allowing regular PC members to design their own emblems which can then be given out to their club's members commemorating their constant activity in discussions related to that club. Again, it encourages people to become more active, and thus can subsequently can lead to new discussions, new relationships with other community members, and again a sense of pride in one's own feats.

Yes, emblems may be seen as a tedious action by the moderators to be given out, but shouldn't that be something that falls under their job description and be recognized when they accept the position? If it's becoming so overbearing for one person to hand out, couldn't the job just easily be divvy up between staff members who are willing to help out one another? Or even still, a moderator should be able to enlist the help of responsible members who can show that they won't abuse the power of the system? I completely understand if real life events are what's causing some people to not be able to hand out the emblems, but if it's just because of laziness that a moderator is constantly putting off handing them out then to put it bluntly they shouldn't be offering prizes in the first place, as it's almost fooling members to post more in their sections.

I digress; going back to what I was initially saying, by taking emblems away - or hereby deleting them - it's almost like you're taking away all of those accomplishments that that person has so tediously striven for. I still strongly believe that emblems are a great tool that can be utilized to benefit the community; whether that means certain adjustments need to be made concerning the matter at hand - which I'm still a little confused at what the issue is - that's up for interpretation.

bwburke94 said:

I don't care about emblems, but PC needs some way of recognising top users, and emblems seem to be a good way to do it. I say keep them.

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This. I feel that those who contribute a lot to these forums could be given a "Thanks for all Your contributions Emblem: Now can you please stop talking" emblem xD.

I know I just came back but...

After being gone for about two or three years....where's my BRB emblem? ;(

I feel like it would be a tedious thing to do for moderators and I'm sure that members who stick out the most probably have the most emblems...the subtle person who meets criteria but never asks for it or never gets noticed might not ever get an emblem (or even know they could have gotten an emblem!) If it was automatic, that'd be cool.

I wish emblems wouldn't go away, just because the few that I have are very sentimental to me. I can look back on them and remember some great times. I feel like the memories would be lost without these reminders.

If it was automatic, and the requirement were a bit more easier with many different emblems, I might care about the emblems.

elheroeoscuro said:

well thought-out paragraphs and that

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I'm just going to address a few points- one being that handing emblems out sucks. The way it's actually done is tedious, I'm pretty sure staff can still only hand out one emblem to one user at a time, the interface is atrocious, it has to load ALL the emblems at once, it's a confusing mess, and this all goes hand in hand with my hatred of ~participation~ emblems- when you get to the GT, and you get like 50 people participating in your event, and like everyone has an event, and then staff have to award emblems for events run by non-staff, that's a heck of a lot of work. And for what? A lil icon that says this one dude chatted with some people once. And then that emblem, by the way, sits in the database for all eternity never to be given again and can only be held by those 50 people, half of whom are probably going to disappear in less than three years. It's gross and kinda worthless.

Section emblems are different. Section emblems exist as long as the section does- PokéAni's "Anime Junkie", FG's "Sucker For Games", they're recognition of significant contribution. Club emblems are similar and restricted to clubs proven to be active for a reason- emblems should be attainable. Emblems for reoccurring events are great as well, because there's always opportunity to attain them. But one-off events? Like emblems specific to GT2xxx? They never gonna be available again. That sucks. And it's like, was it worth it? Are those emblems even worth the hassle of being made, being uploaded, being awarded? I don't think they are.

So I totally agree that emblems are really cool and great for recognition of community members. But the way they've evolved- into casual event trophies- isn't the way they should be going. And I think they should be a more featured thing- maybe in a profile sidebar rather than a tab. They should be talked about more and I think an actual big list should be made for section-specific and misc other attainable emblems. They should be more of a big deal and actually put to use if they're kept (which I'd like them to be). Additionally, I think people should be actually informed that they can nominate others for certain emblems. Staff can't observe everyone but they can certainly evaluate the nomination and that so people wouldn't be abusing the system.

Kyain said:

But on the other side of the coin, to be completely honest, emblems do nothing more than look pretty. Which is OK and all, but honestly, I do think they lead to huge inflated egos in some people. :\ I don't know why, I'm probably pulling that statement out of my butt, but..

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I feel like people always say something like this and I never see anyone even suggest that they have a bigger ego due to the amount of emblems they have. I know it would be difficult/rude to name names, but have you really seen people act this way, or is it more a feeling that people might feel that way?

I love emblems, but not for their own sake - for the inherent sense of accomplishment in them. You participated, you stood out, you are a longstanding member of the community, here is an acknowledgment of that. I wouldn't be upset if they were phased out, as long as we could take that sense of giving people a little recognition for their actions into whatever new system happens.

If the emblems stay, I think they could benefit from some objective criteria - for example, take the PC IS MY LIFE emblem. It would make sense to have it give to someone who has been online like 50% of one week straight (hypothetical numbers here), but instead it's "whenever a staff member notices you're on a lot and remembers that an emblem exists for that and cares enough to give it to you". It doesn't help that at least when I was staff the emblem area was a MESS and never got cleaned up so finding the emblems that you can actually give out (like non-competition and non-staff-specific emblems) was difficult - that's beside the point though. The point is that some emblems are about standing out, like gem among granite, and some are for things that you can do without standing out, like Manga Maniac.

Aquacorde said:

solid reply ~

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If it's the way that the emblems are given out then that seems to be such an issue, shouldn't that be the problem that needs to be addressed rather than the actual emblems? The way I see it is if we have something that will eventually replace emblems, than it just sounds like this same issue will reoccur. Either way, new coding would have to be done; the old coding would have to be rewritten to make it easier for moderators to give emblems out in a quicker and more timely manner, or a new system of coding would have to be implemented to work with whatever takes the place of emblems. Based off of what you said, it sounds like that seems to be more of the issue here.

Addressing emblems specifically and what the contents should contain, I do semi-agree with you. The ones that require significant contribution like you said should be awarded; the one's that are one-off events or are considered casual event based are up for debate. Personally, I still think they're a great way to see what that person has been involved in when it comes to the community's activities. Either way though, it still comes down to the fact that in the end, it's the staff members who are being overburdened by a system that otherwise could be better.

Aethestode said:

If it was automatic, and the requirement were a bit more easier with many different emblems, I might care about the emblems.

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Yeah, that could definitely work. Another thing I thought of (throwing this out here, too, so that everybody else could read) is self-awarding. Say, if you've been a member here for three years and think you deserve veteran emblem, you could go into your user cp, check-mark that, and apply it to your profile. Then, system would be checking if you're actually eligible or not, and if you are, it'll allow you to get past. If not, then you would be getting a no-permission message. Automatic could sound like a better idea to some people, but if it were manual, you'd be having more control over what you would like to see displayed and vice-versa. =)

I can concur that the emblem area is a mess, looks and in handling. You give out one at a time, you have to wait on them all to load, they're not organized very well, and there are so many that are unnecessary. If anything, I'd like to clean them out and reorganize them than abolish them. They have great potential, and like Oryx said, they're good recognition in that they show where you've stood out. Plus...I don't know about all of y'all, but I come up with some damn good titles and descriptions. I can't let my brain juice go to waste by getting rid of my clever little emblems.

I love my emblems. Every single one of them. I can look through the list and tell you exactly what happened when I got each of them. I have been on PC for nearly 2 years now, and have collected a good few over that time. Ranging from the events I was in, to the various ego emblems I have accrued. I've even made a few for battle competitions and one for Challenges (not sure if Syd implemented it yet or not). I think they're an important thing to have, and I can understand the need for improvement, but I don't think they should be taken out entirely. I've never been on staff though so I don't have a real opinion on how they need to be improved. I don't want to lose those memories any more than a person wouldn't want to lose a photo album.

They're not bad, but they just needed a little refinement with the system.

Aquacorde said:

Section emblems are different. Section emblems exist as long as the section does- PokéAni's "Anime Junkie", FG's "Sucker For Games", they're recognition of significant contribution. Club emblems are similar and restricted to clubs proven to be active for a reason- emblems should be attainable. Emblems for reoccurring events are great as well, because there's always opportunity to attain them. But one-off events? Like emblems specific to GT2xxx? They never gonna be available again. That sucks. And it's like, was it worth it? Are those emblems even worth the hassle of being made, being uploaded, being awarded? I don't think they are.

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This was posted before I posted the first time but I wanted to add a positive - I love how Member of the Year is handled. There are what, two emblems that are re-used every single year? It keeps clutter down and makes it so they're always attainable, since you can try to attain them again once a year.

Oryx said:

I feel like people always say something like this and I never see anyone even suggest that they have a bigger ego due to the amount of emblems they have. I know it would be difficult/rude to name names, but have you really seen people act this way, or is it more a feeling that people might feel that way?

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I don't know. I guess it would be the latter. And by the way, I only have three emblems. :P

On one hand, emblems are nice to have. But on the other hand, as I said before, other than sitting on your profile and looking nice (and showing what they got it for and sometimes representing what a person did to get it idk), there's not much other function.

I'd be all for it being replaced, but only for it being replaced with something better.

Never cared at all, mostly because they're too hard to get, and don't actually have any real value. Though, I don't think removing them entirely would be a good idea. I'm sure they do encourage people to participate more.

I would like them a lot more if there was a list of all the non-section specific. It doesn't even have to include the descriptions or how to get them, but I don't see why those have to be a secret. (so people don't obviously try to get them? But if people know they exist anyway they'll still try to aim for them..?)

I think they're nice though, especially when you get one because of an event n_n

Peitharchia said:

Yeah, that could definitely work. Another thing I thought of (throwing this out here, too, so that everybody else could read) is self-awarding. Say, if you've been a member here for three years and think you deserve veteran emblem, you could go into your user cp, check-mark that, and apply it to your profile. Then, system would be checking if you're actually eligible or not, and if you are, it'll allow you to get past. If not, then you would be getting a no-permission message. Automatic could sound like a better idea to some people, but if it were manual, you'd be having more control over what you would like to see displayed and vice-versa. =)

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I don't know how possible this is, but it seems like a nice idea. It doesn't even have to be the system that checks it if that won't work, there could be a mod page that has a bunch of emblem requests, but instead of actually handing them out a mod could just check it and click a Yes or No button.

introduce badges, let's pull a smogon

I think Emblems are pretty cool, but they could use something to spice them up a bit. Some emblems are important to others, so I wouldn't want them gone. Just something to make them worth a lot, if that makes sense. Make them more fun, more unique.

I love the concept of emblems, but it's like they're invisible. I didn't even know I had an emblem until just recently. I think they should be more noticeable and easier to show off.

Oryx said:

I feel like people always say something like this and I never see anyone even suggest that they have a bigger ego due to the amount of emblems they have.

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Perhaps people don't always get big egos, but I'm sure there are a lot of people that feel inferior to those with many emblems. Even I do, just a little. I feel like I'm not giving enough to this community. But that's not a sufficient reason to remove emblems. It'd be like"No Child Left Behind" rather than "Work harder next time." Such a policy doesn't work, and often makes those who excel feel upset because people who don't do as well or work as hard are being rewarded.
I'm not saying that participation emblems are bad, either. Not everyone goes to events, so not everyone gets an emblem.

Oryx said:

I love emblems, but not for their own sake - for the inherent sense of accomplishment in them. You participated, you stood out, you are a longstanding member of the community, here is an acknowledgment of that. I wouldn't be upset if they were phased out, as long as we could take that sense of giving people a little recognition for their actions into whatever new system happens.

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I agree with this. Although I don't have any emblems, I realized my previous post was rather selfish. If I deserve an emblem, I'd probably get one. If emblems go away, people who have them should still have some sort of medal. It's unfair for those to disappear. Those people deserved those emblems, and they should be able to keep them on their profile, even if they never get any more.

Oryx said:

If the emblems stay, I think they could benefit from some objective criteria - for example, take the PC IS MY LIFE emblem. It would make sense to have it give to someone who has been online like 50% of one week straight (hypothetical numbers here), but instead it's "whenever a staff member notices you're on a lot and remembers that an emblem exists for that and cares enough to give it to you". It doesn't help that at least when I was staff the emblem area was a MESS and never got cleaned up so finding the emblems that you can actually give out (like non-competition and non-staff-specific emblems) was difficult - that's beside the point though. The point is that some emblems are about standing out, like gem among granite, and some are for things that you can do without standing out, like Manga Maniac.

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This. Although I am pretty ignorant about things on PC, I think an automated system is a good idea. At the very least, it should be implemented for the "It's Your Birthday!" emblem (If it's not already). Some people have been here for a while yet still don't have one...
Although I'm sure people will cheat to get emblems. Why? They're not something you can hold in your hand. It's strange that people would do this, but it will happen. People would probably keep their computer on all week to get the "PC Is MY Life" emblem. They'd probably get it, too, since it's automatic. Someone else would have to notice this and remove it, and that might not happen.

Perhaps a new system truly is in order.

Emblems are a neat feature but nothing to really obsess over, at least for me.

If some feel that emblems need more importance - maybe make it more prominent? I don't have any ideas right now, but I'm sure there are people in here that can come up with better ideas for that purpose.