Member Praise Gift Program Archive 1

Member Praise Gift

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otseng
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Member Praise Gift Program Archive 1

Post #1

Post by otseng »

How to praise a member's post:

- Next to the user's post that you like, click on "MPG Donation".
- Enter how many tokens you'd like to donate and enter a comment on that particular post. It'll then send a PM to that user and also automatically post in this thread the message you entered.
Last edited by otseng on Thu Feb 07, 2019 4:39 pm, edited 11 times in total.

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The Happy Humanist
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Re: Member Praise Gift Program

Post #2

Post by The Happy Humanist »

One member will be randomly selected and will be based on the total tokens given.
If its based on the total tokens given, how is it random?

Maybe this is why you believe in Creationism? Natural selection isn't a random process either! :lol:

Good idea, though.
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Post #3

Post by The Happy Humanist »

Allow me to be the first to participate. I donated 200 tokens to Achillesxxxxx (whatever that number is) for growing in his understanding of why some people reject the notion of God, and acknowledging that some of us have good reasons for it.
Jim, the Happy Humanist!
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Any sufficiently advanced worldview will be indistinguishable from sheer arrogance --The Happy Humanist (with apologies to Arthur C. Clarke)

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Post #4

Post by achilles12604 »

I guess I will step up next. I donate 150 to Cmass for offering logical debate, understanding that people are to be respected not de humanized, and for keeping a good sense of humor especially when we engaged in a rather fired up topic. Good level head. I also appreciate the fact he offered a bit of his personal background. I feel this helps me understand who I am debating a little better.
It is a first class human tragedy that people of the earth who claim to believe in the message of Jesus, whom they describe as the Prince of Peace, show little of that belief in actual practice.

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Post #5

Post by achilles12604 »

And again I offer 150 to Lotan. Out of everyone on this forum he has caused me to toss out the most garbage apologetics. His tireless hounding has caused me to research and study in order to keep up.

He also caused me to discover a few alternative explainations which fit the facts better and thus strengthened my faith, (even if he didn't mean to). Rock on!
It is a first class human tragedy that people of the earth who claim to believe in the message of Jesus, whom they describe as the Prince of Peace, show little of that belief in actual practice.

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Re: Member Praise Gift Program

Post #6

Post by otseng »

The Happy Humanist wrote: If its based on the total tokens given, how is it random?
It's based on a random number generator, but weighted on number of tokens given.

For the curious, here's a snippet of the code:

Code: Select all

	$data[] = array('user' => $user, 'tokens' => $tokens);	

	$random = rand(1,$totalTokens);

	$tally = 0;
	for &#40; $i = 0; $i < count&#40;$data&#41;; $i++ &#41; 
	&#123; 
		$tally += $data&#91;$i&#93;&#91;'tokens'&#93;;
		if &#40;$tally >= $random&#41; &#123;
			$winner = $data&#91;$i&#93;&#91;'user'&#93;;
			break;	
		&#125;
	&#125;
	
	$template->assign_vars&#40;array&#40; 
		'L_RANDOM' => $random,
		'L_WINNER' => $winner,
		 &#41; 
	&#41;; 
	
Anyone is also able to try it out here:
http://debatingchristianity.com/forum/mpg.php

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Post #7

Post by Cmass »

A great start!

The selection methodology could be a whole thread topic in itself! Is a random number generator really random or pre-ordained? Hmmmm What is randomness?

Achilles, your words for me are far too kind and not deserved - but thank you anyway. Now when I try to slam your arguments in a debate I will have to think twice about it. You have successfully disarmed me!

Nonetheless, the program can work - as it has in every group I have introduced it. Spread the word & get others to participate. The more people who get into it the more fun it gets.

- Chris :dance:

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Re: Member Praise Gift Program

Post #8

Post by Confused »

otseng wrote:Cmass has proposed the following idea. It seems like it'll be fun (and rewarding too!) so we're going to give it a shot. He has also graciously volunteered to supply the awards for the program.

Here's how it'll work:
  • Donate tokens from your token account to a debater that has a different position than you do on a particular topic.
  • Post in this thread who you donated to, how many tokens donated, and, most importantly, a compliment or praise on that particular poster in regards to his/her post(s).
  • At the end of the award period (to be decided, but probably monthly), I will use my handy Member Praise Gift Program Award Calculator to determine a winner. One member will be randomly selected and will be based on the total tokens given. So, if you give more tokens, you'll have a higher chance of winning the prize.
  • The winner will receive free of charge an item from one of Cmass' stores - Tiger Mountain Gear or Badge Magic. PM Cmass with your mailing address, and then he'll ship it to you.
While it sounds like a good idea, I prefer to donate my tokens as a way of showing repsect for that members logic and respect. To me, that is bettern than any item form one of Cmass's stores. So I will continues to donate my tokens to those who are respectful and logical without asking for anthing in return.
What we do for ourselves dies with us,
What we do for others and the world remains
and is immortal.

-Albert Pine
Never be bullied into silence.
Never allow yourself to be made a victim.
Accept no one persons definition of your life; define yourself.

-Harvey Fierstein

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Post #9

Post by Cmass »

While it sounds like a good idea, I prefer to donate my tokens as a way of showing repsect for that members logic and respect.

This is precisely the point of the experiment: To encourage people to donate tokens to others for doing a great job in a debate or for any reason you choose. You certainly don't have to accept any gift and can in fact donate it to another participant.
In similar programs I implemented in factories, I occasionally found people very suspicious of the program who would refuse the gifts. I then gave them a choice to donate the gift to someone. This ended up being popular among some groups of 1st generation immigrants who often came from cultures where it was somewhat embarrassing to receive gifts and public compliments. Many would accept the gift and then walk over to their coworker and give it to them with thanks. This was very cool to watch and worked even better to build cooperation and close relationships.
The point is not the gift, it is the process. The gift is just a fun way to bring some physical reality into the process. I could be wrong, but I think people would get a kick out of getting something in the mail as a part of participating in discussions with an otherwise anonymous "virtual" community.
To me, that is bettern than any item form one of Cmass's stores.

Of course it is! I would never place the respect and dignity of another human being above one of my silly products.
So I will continues to donate my tokens to those who are respectful and logical without asking for anthing in return.

Perfect!

Please understand this is not some kind of slick marketing ploy for me. You folks are not in my market demographic and it would be marketing suicide to discuss religion or politics with potential customers. I am doing this because I read in some past posts where people had asked Osteng if the tokens were worth anything. At the time of the response he mentioned that he had thought of setting a possible store of some kind. That is when I thought it might be fun to try this. I am also simply curious as to whether it will work to apply a program designed for a one-on-one factory setting to the Internet.

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Post #10

Post by otseng »

Cmass and I have decided to slightly modify how to determine the winner. As before, the winners will be picked from all the posters who have donated tokens to others. But, for calculating the winner, it will be based on the number of tokens given and received.

So, for example, Billy Bob donates 50 tokens to Suzy Q. And Suzy Q donates 50 tokens to Tommy Joe. Only Billy Bob and Suzy Q will be entered in the drawing since they donated tokens. Billy Bob will have a 50 token amount and Suzy Q will have a 100 token amount. A random number between 1 and 150 will be generated. If the number is between 1 - 50, Billy Bob will be the winner. If it's between 51 and 150, Suzy Q will be the winner.

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