Member reputation

[nordwulf]

Would it be helpful to have badges for something like "Certified Saab Expert" or "Certified Saab Enthusiast"? or fields in your profile settings where you list your (professional) experience and shows up in each post? It sometimes is difficult to figure out the experience level of members and the technical advice they are giving. All advice is important but you may weigh comments from a professional Saab mechanic differently than from from someone who is brand new to Saab and has no mechanical experience. Post count really doesn't say much.

Many of the regulars here know each other so I think this especially important for new members who are not very familiar with the people here.

[Brad Lauzze]

That's not a bad idea, really. How many Saab techs do we have on the site? There's Jeff, me, is t there another one?

[nordwulf]

I know there is someone that used to work for Saab USA in their technical department advising dealer techs (not sure if he wants that to be known so I won't mention his name). I'll follow his advice anytime without questioning. Others who don't know him may think "what does he know?"

And perhaps there are more members like that we just don't know enough about. Maybe that member from Sweden has worked for Saab for 20 years or is a regular car owner who is just guessing.

Or a reputation/rating system for the Workshop forums where you can rate technical advice from others: Reputation - Setting and Profile Features. It was never enabled here but it is now so you can see what it looks like. To give reputation to someone, click the star icon for a post.

[Brad Lauzze]

I like it, why don't we do a trial run for a week or two and see how it goes?

[Burnsside42]

oh boy... lol I'm know by my real name and my profession on the same site! lol Time to hide. (unless you are all paying customer's!) j/k

I thought that's what those STARS were for? I figured nobody like me cause I'm only 2 stars.

I'm for it cause I'm not against it

[rpiereck]

I like it, but is this moderated or something that could end up being a free-for-all, add reputation without oversight?

[nordwulf]

And will people actually remember to submit reputation, especially the ones that are not regular members and asking for help?

Experts Exchange has a great system for asking questions and having a committed community based on reputation.

Very interesting video about online communities, moderator roles and reliability of information on online communities.
TEDx San Luis Obispo TED Talks | The Power of Community

[Dave T]

Put me down as an idiot! I think I will update my signature to disclose my qualifications.

First thought: DIY, 3 decades long Saab experience from reading, driving Saabs, and owning workshop manuals, WIS, Saab club magazines and forums. No professional mechanics experience, only simple maintenance done by me.

[Dave T]

Somehow, this "disclosure of technical experience" shown as a signature looks weird. It's also limited to 200 characters so there wasn't room to disclose how I dismantled parts of my first 900 and had difficulty putting everything back straight and tight. Comments?

[Burnsside42]

not gonna lie - I clicked that link thinking it was going to be something about the movie TED. Ended up being disappointed.