I realize this is not a final call and my opinion nor summary counts for much, but I have discussed this with DT and listened to the opinions of many current Experts as well as some Regular Users/Soon to be Experts. While this seems like a good move, I do not believe that, in retrospect, it will solve much.
A) What is the real problem?
Is it that we have too many Experts? Well if that's the problem then PM has already stated his opinion on this:
"As has been explained many times before (like here), "Expert" is
just a title and does nothing on the site (because anyone at 6000
points can already edit posts). Also, it doesn't matter if the "Expert
Population gets too high". There is no reason to limit it."
Pokemaster - Decreasing Expert Population Idea
"Later still and the software we use added the ability to allow
users with N points edit posts, which was set at 6000. That has
basically taken over from Expert status, which is why it's described
as a meaningless title. However we can't set Expert status based on
points."
Pokemaster - Expert Confusion and a few Questions
PM has clearly stated that Expert is simply a title that has no true meaning other than to illustrate the fact that you have achieved over 6000 points. People at 6000+ points can still edit as seen in Whatson's profile. So this isn't really an issue.
B) If that's not the problem than what is?
Answer spamming is a controversial issue, and one that I find abhorrent. We have JarJar, fondant, Indigo, Le Scraf and a few others who have posted a huge amount of answers and have gotten a lot of points really really fast. However, they are all good quality answers, with good spelling and grammar, with notable sources. So as DT asked me "What is the problem with answer spamming if the answers are good?"
I didn't have an answer for him. Sure, there's something annoying about not being able to answer anything because one of the "answer spammers" answered it, but that isn't really a problem. We are a Q&A site after all. So if there's no actual law or valid reason behind one person or one group of persons providing us with many good answers I think we should move on.
C) With the distinct possibility that the suggestion of hand picking experts gets accepted by Pokemaster, how do we define "hand-picked"?
I think this is truly the most problematic issue with this post. We propose going to "hand picked" but how do we remove bias from it? And what sort of guidelines do we institute? Well I wrote up something short that would give us an idea on guidelines for "hand picking" experts.
- Must be a user for a certain period of time, 6 to 9 months
- Must have activity on all sections of the DB
- Must be agreed upon by Pokemaster and three Moderators
- Have a relatively clean record
- Show respect for other users of the site
- Pass an online grammar test
- Have good site activity
To clarify:
- Must be a user for a certain period of time, 6 to 9 months
This would ensure some dedication to the site, the time period I've listed is rough and can be worked on. 6-9 months also gives us a broad base on which to judge a person's activity as well as other qualities that I've listed out. It also allowed to to quote Madagascar 2, "No, 6 to 9 months" No? Oh... ok.
- Must have activity on all sections of the DB
When a person receives editing status they receive it for all sections. Some activity would include some comments, a few suggestions, preferably some understanding of how to build teams in the RMT section. Basically what fondant has going on. Her main focus is Pokebase, but she also comments in the other section as well as the occasional answer or question.
- Must be agreed upon by Pokemaster and three Moderators
Pokemaster for obvious reasons, but also three Moderators. This eliminates a lot of the potential bias that could be involved with just one or two mods. I didn't include Editors because there are enough Mods and including Editors brings in more potential for biased promotions. Not trying to offend you guys, just what I've thought of.
- Have a relatively clean record
Relatively because we've all been new users and we all make the occasional mistake. As for why a potential Expert should have a clean record, well, that's obvious enough. Clean record would mean no bans, and less than 3 (serious) offences on chat.
- Show respect for other users of the site
Again a fairly obvious one, respect people's opinions, don't start huge fights in chat, be respectful of a person's privacy, all of those things.
- Pass an online grammar test
You won't get accepted if "u t@lk lik di$" If you fail the test then you can retake it again after one week. The grammar tests will be drafted up by us (DT has offered to do it) and there will be multiples to prevent memorization.
This will be kept track of via your activity on Chat, and also your activity on the various site sections.
Activity:
Pokebase: 4000 points (This is simply to judge activity) or have 100+
answers and 100+ serious comments pertaining to the question at hand
Battle Subway: 1 or 2 well written answers and 50+ serious comments
- Meta: 50+ serious comments pertaining to site relevant issues
- Chat: Hopefully you appear more than once a week, but seeing as the
Chat is where you're likely to gain respect as a user I'd suggest
going there.
This is all of course up for serious debate, and the final word rests with Pokemaster. Thank you for reading.
