Senior Member requirements

So! I didn't think this would happen so quickly, but it seems to have been suggested by mods and implemented by Janis within, like, 48 hours. New record. We'd meant to make the announcement first, and THEN have it implemented. But anyway:

"The number of praised comments required for senior membership has now been raised to 10 or more."

The majority of the people we polled were in favor of raising the minimum. Most people actually requested a higher number, but we thought it would be prudent to start with 10, see how that works out, with the option to raise or lower it from there if we need to. I'm not sure if this means that 10 or more praised comments is now the ONLY way to get senior membership, or if you can still get it from 100 poems or something else. I'll check on that and update as I find out.

Unfortunately, this is kind of a universally-applied change. We haven't thought of any way to exempt older, returned members who may have had more praised comments before they left.

Kinda excited to see if this makes a difference.

To get the first C award (which shows nominator status) is 3-9. I don't think 1 extra comment (or even 7) is going to change anything contest or nominations wise.

Well see if 7 additional praised comments seems to change anything at all. If not, maybe we'll up the ante.

What "kind" of change are we looking for?

Personally, I'd be looking for an even higher quality in the nominations. I know that's pretty arbitrary, but I think we could eventually get a feel for whether people think that "better" poems are getting nominated. Some of it will always be a matter of opinion and preference, but maybe we can still make it a little more highly-regarded. Three comments might not be enough to tell if we want someone nominating poems, but maybe 10 is.

Gotchya :) I'm sure I read that in another thread, but there was probably chaos surrounding it!

I can no longer nominate poems. I thought the new rules wouldn't be applied to old members.I have been here since 2009 and I have 4 praised comments.If the new changes were made officially, I guess I shouldn't be punished because they are officially NOW. Changes made in the detriment of the old members aren't changes.THEY ARE PUNISHMENT.I don't think people gave their opinion on the issue to be penalized now. I disagreed. In my opinion senior membership has nothing to do with praised comments. Some people are good at commenting.Others aren't.

This new rule is arbitrary. I am an old member.I have contributed to this site since 2009. Besides when my status changed to senior, the rules were others.This new measure is ridiculous!!!

IT IS UNFAIR!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

It is not a punishment, it is a measurement. Punishment implies you did something wrong, and you didn't. Do you not want to read members' poems and comment on them?

II AM TALKING ABOUT FAIRNESS!!!I CANT NOMINATE ANYMORE.
IT IS A PUNISHMENT.OF COURSE IT IS!IT IS A NEW RULE. SO APPLY IT NOW FOR NEW MEMBERS!!!!!!!!!
BESIDES THE QUALITY OF THE NOMINATION HAS NOTHING TO DO WITH THAT.

All rules apply to all members, and mods.

REALLY? HOW CAN I KNOW HUH? IT IS NOT FAIR! NOBODY CARED ABOUT PRAISING POEMS. CMON PLAY FAIR!

I agree with Karla.
There are many members like her that write awesomeness, comment regularly and are present from ages... and with this change, they lost their seniority.

but, Karla... I don't think mods can do anything about it
because it's a new rule, and everyone should abide by that.... so, you have this day long to comment in depth on 6 poems.. It's not a big number :p

RULES AREN'T MADE IN DETRIMENT OF PEOPLE. THIS NEW RULE IS ARBITRARY. I DISAGREED WITH IT. I HAVE COMMENTED HERE AND THERE.BESIDES PEOPLE WILL BE OBLIGED TO COMMENT TO BE A SENIOR MEMBER NOW.POETRY IS FOR PLEASURE.I SHOULD COMMENT BECAUSE I LIKE THE POEM ,NOT BECAUSE IM GOING TO GET SOMETHING.THATS RIDICULOUS!WHAT'S EASIER: TO COMMENT OR TO WRITE A GOOD POEM THAT DESERVES COMMENTS AND TOUCHES SO MUCH SOMEBODY AND H/SHE FEELS IT DESERVES A COMMENT?

I'm speechless...
you're totally right ,,,

YOUR NEW RULES SEPARATE PEOPLE. YOUR NEW RULES ARE ARBITRARY.YOUR NEW RULES DISRESPECT ME. YOUR NEW RULES MAKE ME THINK ABOUT A DICTATORSHIP.YOUR NEW RULES WON'T IMPROVE THE NOMINATIONS OF THE POEMS.YOUR NEW RULES PENALIZE PEOPLE.YOUR NEW RULES ARE BIASED.

POETRY IS ART, NOT OBLIGATION!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

SIBSIB I aint sure if this is what you meant, however I have another suggestion...it may be veryyyy hard to do but why not have the nominated poems treated the same way as praised comments are. "approved/disapproved" by Mods..! like two Mods would be somehow "judges" whether the poems nominated are a good addition or ..not to the nomination list.

Ay 10 horses, we got Karla on capslock.

C'MON MODS...WHERE AR EYOU ALL?SILENT?YES, BE SILENT.

CAPS LOCK BECAUSE I AM PRETTY ANGRY.I HATE INJUSTICE.

Whoaaaa, easy on the caps lock, there. If you want to continue to read, write, comment, and enjoy poetry, that's totally fine, and you should keep going. Comment because you want to, not because you're reaching for some goal.

The majority of members we asked, however, said they thought the requirement for nominating status should be raised. This doesn't effect the other aspects of the site, just who we feel is qualified to recognize and recommend poetry for the weekly contest.

So. Nothing needs to change in your habits, if you don't want. If you do want senior status again, it should be easy enough to do.

Edit: Nana, thanks for the additional idea. I think for me, though, I'd rather just trust the judges to disregard poems based on their feelings. I think treating them like praised comment would put too much contest control into the hands of the mods.

OOOOOOOOOO C'MON YOU ARE NOT NAIVE!!!HOW CAN YOU QUALIFY POETRY MY DEAR?HOW CAN YOU MEASURE IT?

I AM SO SORRY FOR YOU ALL HERE!

The new rule put in place doesn't disrespect people. I think some are taking this WAY too seriously. It's 10 thoughtful comments. It doesn't have to be a huge comment. Four to five lines/sentences with thoughtful insight or a critique isn't hard to do. You had to have at least three to do it before.

When you delete your account, you lose seniority. I lost mine when I deleted mine.. but I have worked it back up to gain my "status" with the comments I give. This is a poetry site, yes, and it is for pleasure, so if it's working people up so much, maybe they should find another site that suits them better? Not every poetry site is right for everyone. I personally think 10 is not enough and should be raised even higher, honestly.

We bitch for years because we have no change. Now we finally get a change that MAJORITY asks for, and there is still constant complaining. I understand people get irritated because it's not what they want, but there is a lot of things that happen both on this site, on facebook, on every internet site I've been on that I don't 100% agree with. Doesn't mean they're targetting me to piss me off. It just means thats how the site is done. If I don't like it, I leave.

Screaming with capslock because you disagree isn't going to make a change, it makes you look kinda silly. We understand you're mad, but have a discussion, not a tantrum.

BUT WHEN I BECAME A SENIOR MEMBER AGAIN, THIS RULE DIDNT EXIST SO WHY AM I SUPPOSED TO PENALIZED FOR A NEW RULE?

YES, I AM A SILLY BRAZILIAN LITERATURE TEACHER AND YOU ARE A SILLY BLIND AMERICAN.

Because things changed. That's that. Majority states they wanted something higher. Janis obviously agreed it would be okay as he implemented the change.

You're not being penalized. You're not a victim. It's just a change to a frickin' website.

Edit - I don't get why insults are necessary.

If you had just joined again today, and had to have 10 praised comments to be a senior, would that be fine with you?

If I recall, when you originally asked me how to become a senior, I mistakenly told you that you needed 10 praised comments. You seemed fine with this, before Jane corrected me. What's changed?

SOMETHING HIGHER? SO DO YOU MEAN THE POEMS POSTED HERE WERE POOR?

Isn't bitching considered a profanity word?

and... subliminally Britt, you're asking one to leave the site. really? they're just stating their opinions, isn't this called democracy? or in an instant it becomes the opposite............ ?

Something higher as in higher amounts of praised comments.

But yes, a lot of posted poems are poor quality. I include mine in that batch.

YOU SAID 3 SIBS.I HAD 4.NOW I HAVE NOTHING

SOMETHING HIGHER YOU GET IF YOU PAMPER PEOPLE...THERE ARE A LOT OF GOOD POEMS HERE THAT PEOPLE DONT READ BECAUSE THEY WERENT WRITTEN BY A FRIEND.

"Isn't bitching considered a profanity word?

and... subliminally Britt, you're asking one to leave the site. really? they're just stating their opinions, isn't this called democracy? or in an instant it becomes the opposite............ ?"

Last I read as long as you're not directly using it to hurt someone (calling someone a bitch) etc, it wasn't an issue.

I'm not telling her she has to leave. But if a website is going to upset you that much and you really don't like the way it's being changed by the owner, then perhaps a site that makes you happy is a better way to go. It was based off a majority rules decision, majority of people asked for the change, and we got it. If people don't like it, tough. If I didn't like the change and it drastically changed my outlook on this site, then I would leave.

"SOMETHING HIGHER YOU GET IF YOU PAMPER PEOPLE...THERE ARE A LOT OF GOOD POEMS HERE THAT PEOPLE DONT READ BECAUSE THEY WERENT WRITTEN BY A FRIEND."

If a writer is not well known, yes, it is harder to get more readers/traction. Thats why we have all kinds of contests/discussions/etc to try and find new people.

YOU BRITT...YOU COMMENT COLM ALL THE TIME.WHAT ABOUT THE OTHERS?

What others do you mean?

Yes, I comment Colms poetry often. I like his style and what he writes.

NO...IT DRASTICALLY CHANGED MY OPINION ON YOU BRITT.
I AM FIGHTING FOR MY RIGHT.

You still have 4. Those ones didn't disappear, don't worry.

If we raise the limit to twenty, I'd be short 4 or 5. I don't think I'd mind, though... I'd just keep doing my thing until I eventually reached it. You've gotten 4 praised comments in a short amount of time - I don't think you'll have much trouble reaching the new limit. It's a shame old points don't carry over, but I think that's just how it panned out.

That's okay, Karla. I'm just stating my opinion as you are on yours. If your opinion has changed and you have an issue with me, we can certainly discuss it via PM or you can choose to ignore me. That's what I do with people I have issues with.

I PREFER TO IGNORE YOU AS I HAVE ALWAYS DONE. YOU DON'T DESERVE A LINE FROM ME.

AND YES SIBS, IT IS EASIER TO GET MORE 6 PRAISED COMMENTS.I WILL JUST DO WHAT I DO EVERY DAY WITH MY STUDENTS.