Based on your use of a Yiddish phrase that (politely) translates to "old farts" and your reference to "bragging about past accomplishments," I initially read your proposal as somewhat disparaging. (And, given some of the other threads floating around, it didn't seem an unreasonable interpretation.) If I misunderstood your intentions, then I apologize.

While gamification is an element of the site (examples: post reputation, participation levels, etc.), I would suggest that the primary driving purpose of the site is to provide a supportive community dedicated to helping people solve perlish problems. The supportive part of the site's reputation is, I think, a major part of the site's longevity.

Perhaps I'm overthinking here, there seems to be an inherent tension between your gamification remark and your assertion that ranking doesn't mean much here. If rank doesn't matter, then why develop a feature designed to showcase member ranking? Put slightly differently, if you're adverse to people "bragging about their accomplishments," then why invest in a tool that can so easily encourage such behavior?

Let me be clear: I'm not criticizing. Instead, I'm asking questions to provoke thought, self-reflection, and perhaps even a small amount of empathy.

If you feel a "Selected Recent Promotions" node improves the flavor of the place, then code it up. Please. Let's put it out there and see what other people think.

If you truly feel more metrics are of value, then let's see some patches or some discussion about developing those metrics.

I would ask, though, if you're going to start a project of this nature, let's first figure out the problem that truly needs to be solved. That way, we can all collaborate on the solution in an inclusive manner, rather than making it generationally competitive.

Again, my take. Your mileage may vary.

--f

P.S. Have you see Musing on Monastery Content? If not, I recommend investing the time to read it carefully. There's a lot of meat, as well as a lot of back and forth. I think it does a great job of showcasing the strength of the community.

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