You already have 25% chance of getting +2 XP for each you logged in, so to an extent, it already exists.

... Have the bot randomly message people with short but warm comments...

I would be against, unless it's an option you can switch off:

<input type="checkbox">Don't listen to the "happy" monk
[download]

But seriously, you would have to be very careful in your wording, because interpretation can be very culturally determined.

Anecdote alert
I used to know an (American) interactive teaching program that would ask questions as 4-choice multiple choice questions. No matter how many tries you would need to get the right answer, once you got the right answer, the feedback would be "Great!". Apparently this was considered comforting and reassuring in the States. Over here in Europe, that feedback was considered to be very cynical, especially if presented after 4 tries.

So what might seem reassuring to you, might be construed as very cynical and downputting by others.

Liz

u already have 25% chance of getting +2 XP for each you logged in, so to an extent, it already exists.

Actually this only applies for the first few levels. I dont remember how long for, but it doesnt last for ever.


---
demerphq

_{<Elian> And I do take a kind of perverse pleasure in having an OO assembly language...}

Actually this only applies for the first few levels. I dont remember how long for, but it doesnt last for ever.

You're probably confusing two things.
From Voting/Experience System:

Other ways to alter XP:

25% chance of +1 every time you vote
+1/6 number of votes cast if all votes are cast on any given day(This bonus only exists until you reach level 5)
25% of gaining 2 XP points once a day if you were logged in within the past 24 hours

I am much more in favor of Slashdot voting methods

Well, we've seen how well that works.. now let's take another look at how well PerlMonks works..

Sorry, I'm cranky this morning. Need to get some coffee and/or more sleep (not necessarily in this order)..

Makeshifts last the longest.

While I hope the PM way is better then Slashdot way - we cannot deduce that from the current state of affairs. On slashdot you have more than 20 times more users, we cannot guarantie that the PM system would scale to that level. Additionally judging on some programming subject is much easier then in more political matters - you can usually verify it by executing relevant code, or by checking the documentation.

I believe the shlasdot zoo system has much potential.

But if you really wanted to prove the insignificance of XP and stop people from mentioning their rank in their resumes...

People really do this? Wow. I wonder if employers value that sort of thing.

In defense of the experience system, it does encourage participation. As other monks have pointed out, the incentive to gain XP at the lower levels means that you will learn how to vote and post, and get in the habit of doing so.

Granted, the longer you have been around, the less you probably care, but in the short term, it is encouragement for newer people to participate.

I agree that it isn't perfect, but it really it ain't so bad.

</ajdelore>