I believe this has come up before, but I can’t find the topic.
So I feel really self-conscious about my “backer” label. I feel like it’s a little elitist or exclusionary… I am a “backer” sure, but on these forums I am no more special than anyone else. Most people probably get it, but we are all supposed to be equals here (because I said so).
I don’t think removing the labels is going to be a good solution (and I’m sure some folks really like having that label, which is cool), but I do have some random ideas that might ease my delicate conscience:
Perhaps we could have a “mainstay” label that kicks in for the most prolific people on the forums. Why is @optiMSTie (to pick on someone randomly) a “regular” when he practically writes a book on here every day?
Or maybe we could have some silly labels like “face (in a red jumpsuit),” “sidehacker” and “poodle sharpener.” They would all mean “regular.” Backer" would still be there, but “regulars” (or backers) could express themselves in that space. Lord knows misties expressing themselves makes for a lot of fun.
Or we could change “regular” to “irregular.” To me that sounds like a promotion!
Or we could sunset the “backer” label after a year or so. Probably wouldn’t be popular.
Or I could just take the label off my name. But then how will people know I single-handedly saved MST3K from oblivion?
That sounds like a first kickstarter thing. The Backer label only applies to the second kickstarter. It’s more like a habitat for humanity lapel pin. You helped give one more down-on-their-luck television show a chance at dignity.
This is very much tied in with Discourse; it’s something they do to grant various levels of access, etc. It’s not something that can just be eliminated. Individual forums might be able to tweak titles and whatnot, but that’s something that’s reserved for the Poobah Powers That Be.
Translation: it’s a Discourse thing and I don’t know if it can be tweaked much.
A better idea is to have all the badges you have show up next to your name. That’ll show people who’s the bestest! Of course, you would have the option to not have them, too, because who needs the attention. Don’t need any groupie group groupies cramping your style.
I keep “Backer” on because, well, I’m a backer. Sure, I’ll be up against the wall when the revolution comes, but for now I enjoy watching the little people from the balcony of my palazzo.
I don’t use the “Regular” status instead because it comes and goes for me. In fact, I seem to have lost regular status yet again. The antibiotics may be partly to blame there.
About the only time the signifier means anything to me is when it’s on someone who is part of the Alternaversal team or show staff. Otherwise it’s just a thang.
I’d be open to the idea of individual titles. Another forum I used to belong to allowed for that capability, where you could create an individual title for yourself based on your whimsy (tasteful ones only; we didn’t have people creating titles like “P***y magnet” or something like that). We had some interesting ones, as I recall.
Hey I backed both kickstarters, why don’t I get a Double Backer label??? Or Super Backer!!!
But I digress.
At the end of the day, IMO I honestly think the labels are just fluff. I like having them, but they really don’t mean all that much to me when I scroll through these pages.
I take more personal stock from the multiple Nice Reply badges I’ve received than my backer label, as those are signs of interaction and being part of this great community, rather than “hey I spend $$$” a couple times.
I think Regular also requires a certain visiting frequency. I tend not to be on over the weekends, so this downtime may tell the system to boot me from rotation.
“Backer” and the green ‘K’ are things the team can create and assign. The “Regular” status actually has meaning within the Discourse software, and the team can’t really do anything to affect that.
Could we have more/different flairs? 'Eh, possibly. I’d rather not have the additional clutter, personally. The few we have are for very specific reasons, and I think that’s a good thing. They need to be earned in some way.