Regarding Name Changes (fao crystal & platinum members)

Looks like some of you took my last post too seriously here (the problem is I don't view this as a "normal" discussion because there's a lot of divided opinion) when I was only having a laugh... but if none of us can come up with a suitable feature to replace the extra name change (especially because a huge portion of us don't even go to the battle server as pointed out) then I guess this means we will just lose a perk and not get anything in return.

Customizable postbits could be going a little too far but if that's the only thing I can think of that would benefit non-battle server goers then yeah, I'd be happy with that becoming a thing if the coding can be possible. The beta testing thing could be a possibility for Platinums only, but I cannot think of anything that me and my Crystal cohorts (the fact there's too many of us compared to the Platinums) can have that won't break boundaries too much.
 
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Also, I don't know if anyone has brought this up yet, but people on the Battle Server actually really deserve whatever rank they have.

Even members with the Voice rank have to "work" for it-- that's why there's so few of them, despite how many regulars the place has. I would be sorely disappointed to see the Battle Server riddled with all these useless ranks given just because people paid money to PC. Ranks are supposed to mean something.
 
Universe said:
Even members with the Voice rank have to "work" for it-- that's why there's so few of them, despite how many regulars the place has. I would be sorely disappointed to see the Battle Server riddled with all these useless ranks given just because people paid money to PC. Ranks are supposed to mean something.
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I remember the days when we had loads of voices because they were solely giving the rank out for activity (I was among those) and then the criteria changed and I was sadly one who doesn't fit the criteria in any way. While a special symbol for supporters would look cool, the problem is too many would disagree with it because they feel little-to-no-effort was put into it, and as mentioned there are too many flaws to it.
 
Just to give everyone a heads up, we have decided to scrap the rank idea on Showdown. shenanigans, the other PS admins, and I discussed it and we decided that it would be best not to have a custom rank at the server. I don't know how this will affect a potential "replacement perk" as ultimately that is up to hstaff, but I just wanted to let you guys know that you don't have to worry about the battle server rank being one of them as that seems to be the main focus of this thread now.
 
So as I expected the battle server idea was scrapped because most of us don't even go on the server and the ranks need effort to earn, so to have one that doesn't have any effort earned to it whatsoever doesn't deserve a place.

But the main issue is that we can't think of a new perk, so what I'd rather do is see what the higher staff suggested before making a final decision. TF may have suggested stuff for Platinums, but it's the Crystals where we're really struggling because they're a larger group and we can't think of anything for them.

I guess go for customizable postbits, and Platinums can have the beta testing if we had to choose.
 
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So what you're saying here is that Platinums get a few more stuff in exchange whereas Crystals get nothing and remain as they are? Just so there's more difference between them? I still do want to see a new perk suggested for Crystals or else we'd feel like we're getting ripped off for not getting something new in trade for a name change.
 
The problem was I was one of the few who didn't earn theirs via donating, but instead as a gift. I can see why you want Platinums to get more and Crystals to get nothing and keep their current perks, but think of how sad Crystals would be if they don't get anything new just because you want more difference between the ranks. It's not fun to be biased, as some words once told me.
 
Team Fail said:
I'm sure we can think of something additional for Crystals so that there's more difference between Golds and Crystals though.
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This. We still need significant difference between us and the next lowest tier and if we don't get any new perk than that would essentially make us almost the same as Golds except for the customizable usertitles and extra PM space which they don't have.

flight said:
can you really think of anything else that would enhance people's experience on the forums? The point is we have everything we already want, so there's really no need for more and getting rid of the extra name change isn't a big deal. I just find it questionable because I think about this: do you really change your name that often for the extra name change perk being removed to be that devastating of a removal?
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Is it me or do we often argue too much because our opinions are so contrasting? But that's out of the question.

I never used the extra name change perk because I'm often too lazy to come up with new names, and I like this name anyway. But we have to think of those Crystals who did use name changes often, and I could imagine how sad they'd feel if we lost our perk only to end up with one less difference to separate us from Gold. What I'd do is see what perks higher staff have suggested and see which one would be the best to go with.
 
Just a little note: being Platinum is a perk. Platinum supportership isn't an official tier like the other three are. See here.

Not saying we don't appreciate you donating more than the normal amount, but Platinum is a "secret" tier and isn't generally held to the same standards as the G/S/C ones.
 
Klippy's got it. Platinum doesn't really need much difference if what he's saying is to go by. What we need to focus on more is to differentiate Crystal from Gold and as a result we mainly have to discuss a new perk the Crystals can adopt, which of course the Platinums also adopt because they still get all the perks the lower ones get.

Crystals are more easily accessible so the focus needs to mainly be on them since Platinum isn't as easy to donate to compared to Crystal due to the huge difference in the money.
 
In case anyone hasn't noticed, the extra name change has been removed, and i wouldn't expect it to come back soon
 
Alright, so if we were to ask how many people are actually bothered by this extra name change removal, I wonder how many would be? My guess is very few. Yeah, it's a privilege and makes some fell "special" but let's be honest, it's a name change... Once a year. It's not like it makes much of a difference. I don't see the need to bicker over the perks of being a supporter;

You're a supporter because you support the community, not because you get perks. Remember that. Perks are a side bonus.
 
Yeah so as Chase said we aren't doing the server rank thing, it turned out to be way too controversial and not enough people were interested for it to be worthwhile.

The name change perk is going to remain gone for now. Sorry to anyone this disappoints.
 
If we don't get something new, then it'll only make the difference between Gold and Crystal supporters much more narrow. Some would think that the only difference Crystals would have now compared to Gold is just the customizable usertitles and bigger profile pictures, which to be honest is not much.
 
Hikamaru said:
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And don't forget your userbanner, which shows you off as a more generous and active member than the gold one does, regardless of how you got it.

Seriously, what does the difference even actually matter? Look at Plats and Crystals. The difference there is narrower than Gold and Crystal. It doesn't matter though, because it doesn't actually mean anything at the end of the day. What matters is the banner you get and supporting the community.
 
Platinum is a tier that is counted as "secret" and that's why you don't see it on the listing of features of the supporter benefits. They are like a more elusive group compared to the others.
 
So I was looking at this and noticed something...

Apparently Crystals can use CSS in usertitles now? Maybe that's what we got for trading away that extra name change, because there was literally no other ideas that came up. I guess this explained why I was able to insert an image in my usertitle now.

Quajutsu said:
You guys complain way too much about this stuff.
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You are spot-on. Because we can never agree on anything together.
 
Hikamaru said:
So I was looking at this and noticed something...

Apparently Crystals can use CSS in usertitles now? Maybe that's what we got for trading away that extra name change, because there was literally no other ideas that came up. I guess this explained why I was able to insert an image in my usertitle now.
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Crystal tier has been able to put CSS in their usertitles for about a year now iirc, so that's not the replacement for the removal of the name change.

I would like to hear what hstaff (particularly the admins) thinks about Team Fail's suggestions, because at the moment those are the only suggestions for a replacement still left.
 
Beta tests for new features etc. come on an as-needed basis anyway - staff would have priority but when we need a larger sample stuff can be extended to supporters. Even now it already happened (see Member Encyclopedia, for example, which was supporter-only at first). The other suggestion with regards to coding your own widgets and all is even more niche than the Battle Server idea because so few people can actually code, so that one is very unlikely. Those are Platinum-only suggestions anyway, though.

By the way in case there was any ambiguity (which there seems to have been a little bit of) - right now there is going to be no added perk. I didn't even realise that Crystals could use CSS usertitles (in fact, I'm pretty sure they can't) but if they can then that's not due to this recent discussion.
 
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