Karma

[Debra]

Hi, Im trying to figure out this new Karma thing thats displayed on the page that tells how many posts a poster has.

I can see there is a "cure" and "curse" button on the page. Now, does this mean if one likes what a poster has written, he is suppose to click "cure?"   And if one disapproves or disagrees with what a posters writes, he is to click "curse?"

Ok, now heres the thing,  I had clicked the cure button for a couple of people, and I noticed that their numbers stayed the same.  For example, I wanted to hit a "cure" button for dom because I liked a post he had written but when I clicked on cure, his karma number stayed the same?

Then when I hit a cure button for a few of the posters, I get a message about having to wait 24 hours??  Does this mean you can only use the cure button one time in 24 hours??

This is all new to me so please bear with me on this. :-

Deb

[Midnite]

I can see there is a "cure" and "curse" button on the page. Now, does this mean if one likes what a poster has written, he is suppose to click "cure?"   And if one disapproves or disagrees with what a posters writes, he is to click "curse?"

Only if you choose to do so.  ( to dom)

Ok, now heres the thing,  I had clicked the cure button for a couple of people, and I noticed that their numbers stayed the same.  For example, I wanted to hit a "cure" button for dom because I liked a post he had written but when I clicked on cure, his karma number stayed the same?

You have to refresh the page to see the updated total.  A few of us appear to have hit the feature's ceiling, but looking into that will have to wait.

Then when I hit a cure button for a few of the posters, I get a message about having to wait 24 hours??  Does this mean you can only use the cure button one time in 24 hours??

You can only perform the same action on the same poster once per 24 hours.

This is all new to me so please bear with me on this. :-

No problem. I know you already read the karma topic that's currently on p. 2 but it might be more helfpul to you now that you're able to use the feature.

[Cassandra]

You have to refresh the page to see the updated total.  A few of us appear to have hit the feature's ceiling, but looking into that will have to wait.

Im not sure about other servers but if you're using IE you don't have to refresh the page because the number will automatically change while you're still on that page.  However on AOL you do have to refresh the page.


Cassandra

[Debra]

Thanks Midnite!  I think maybe it might just be different for the moderators because you all seem to be stuck at the same number and I know I hit the "cure" button for you but your numbers never change.    Maybe that's the limit to how many cures you can receive but I find that an odd number to stop at?  You would think it would be an even 100 say, or maybe 150 and so on?

Cassandra, thanks but I dont know what version of IE you're using but it doesn't change over for me unless I refresh the page as Midnite said to do.   You might have an updated version of IE.

Thanks for the help though and I think Im finally catching on and looking over the past questions in 'testing" has helped me also now.

Deb

[Mysterious Benefactor]

Maybe that's the limit to how many cures you can receive but I find that an odd number to stop at?  You would think it would be an even 100 say, or maybe 150 and so on?

Actually, 127 is a very significant number. In computing, it relates to the number 128 (everything starts at 0, not 1), and 128 is one of computing's "magic" numbers. So, it's not all that surprising that the person who wrote the Karma feature would set the upper/lower boundries at +/-127...

[Debra]

Actually, 127 is a very significant number. In computing, it relates to the number 128 (everything starts at 0, not 1), and 128 is one of computing's "magic" numbers. So, it's not all that surprising that the person who wrote the Karma feature would set the upper/lower boundries at +/-127...

Really?  I find that facinating that the numbers start at "0" in computers as I've never heard this before.   Do you have any idea why "128" is considered a magic number?  Im not that computer illiterate so Im just curious as to why and how they pick these certain numbers for computer magic.. 

Thank you for taking the time with me on this. Im trying to study computers in my free time and this is surely something new so it interests me.

Deb

[Mysterious Benefactor]

Do you have any idea why "128" is considered a magic number?  Im not that computer illiterate so Im just curious as to why and how they pick these certain numbers for computer magic..

Well, unfortunately, that's a lengthy discussion best left for a computer science class and not a forum to discuss DS. But the simple (and I probably use that term loosely ) answer is that everything in computing is based on multiples of 8 (8 bits in a byte) and 16 (16 bits in a word - though certainly not the same kind of "word" most people are more familiar with ). That's why, for example, in computing we speak of file sizes in terms of kilobytes (1KB = 1024 bytes), megabytes (1MB = 1024² = 1,048,576 bytes) and gigabytes (1GB = 1024³ = 1,073,741,824 bytes), and you see memory most often spoken of in terms of 64, 128, 256 and 512MBs.

[Mysterious Benefactor]

Well, unfortunately, that's a lengthy discussion best left for a computer science class and not a forum to discuss DS.

Deb,

I did a quick search for you, and here are some Web sites with a little more detailed explanations to get you started if you'd like to do some research on your own :

• Understand bits, binary and bytes
  
  
• The Jargon Dictionary : Terms : The N Terms : nybble
  
  
• Tutorial: Data lines, bits, nibbles, bytes, words, binary and HEX (this one is a tutorial for programming with the language C, but still helpful)
  
  
• A Binary Primer: Introduction

[jennifer]

Hi, Im trying to figure out this new Karma thing thats displayed on the page that tells how many posts a poster has.

I can see there is a "cure" and "curse" button on the page. Now, does this mean if one likes what a poster has written, he is suppose to click "cure?"   And if one disapproves or disagrees with what a posters writes, he is to click "curse?"



Deb

i think some people have been just having fun and clicking
curse whether they like the post or not ....just IMHO

jennifer
also will it always stay at 127?

[Debra]

Thank you MB for posting the links.  Im taking an at home course in computers so Im trying to learn everything I can, although it's not as easy as it sounds.  Im going to save the sites you posted and bookmark them.
Thanks for taking the extra time for me,  I know how busy you all are here so this is very much appreciated.

Deb

[Mysterious Benefactor]

also will it always stay at 127?

Impossible to know at this point because I've tried without any luck to locate just where the +/-127 limit is set...

[Connie]

i think some people have been just having fun and clicking curse whether they like the post or not ....just IMHO

Hi Jennfer 

I really don't think most people use that curse button much - maybe here and there if they disagree strongly with something someone says.  I think the curse button serves as a tool for a few people who are rather frustrated and don't know how else to express themselves. They've usually decided they don't like you, or you annoy them in some way.  Once in awhile you'll get someone who thinks you've stepped on their toes, or you don't fit in to their agenda or what have you, and they decide they want you out of their territory so to speak.  These people will embark on a dedicated campaign to get rid of you.  Problem is, they can't hit your curse button more than once in a 24-hour period so they enlist a couple of their followers to help them get the count up faster.  These are the type of people who can't think for themselves but they DO like the idea that they're serving a righteous cause, so they're quite serious about they're involvement.  They also serve to bolster the person in question's sense of validation.

Don't worry or wonder why your curse number might seem high to you.  It has no meaning except for the person who clicks it.  They aren't someone you'd want to know anyway -- the kind of person who couldn't be forthright if their life depended on it.  Hey!!  Get this.....
I went for about 2 weeks without posting a single thing, and each day my curse count rose by 2 or 3 anyway!  Now THAT'S dedication.  ROFL
Do you realize these people actually went to the trouble of digging up an old post of mine so they could hit that button?  Kind of pitiful how much time some people have on their hands.

Anyway, just continue being the nice person you are and ignore those numbers.  Take care.

love
CLC

[jennifer]

i think some people have been just having fun and clicking curse whether they like the post or not ....just IMHO

Hi Jennfer 



Anyway, just continue being the nice person you are and ignore those numbers.  Take care.

love
CLC

good advice Connie and thank you !Best to forget it too! find myself hitting curse buttons when i see my count go up and
quess that is stupid!
Take care too and hope the comes out soon!

jennifer

[Eleanor_Rigby]

I think you're right on Connie.  Once I saw I had a whole lot of numbers and I hadn't even posted.     But so it goes.

[Mysterious Benefactor]

Get this.....
I went for about 2 weeks without posting a single thing, and each day my curse count rose by 2 or 3 anyway!

Once I saw I had a whole lot of numbers and I hadn't even posted.     But so it goes.

Whether people are posting currently doesn't seem to be a factor in Karma totals. We've recently noticed that several people whose most recent posts were made over six months ago - at least three months before the Karma feature became available - have active Karma totals. To think one has to be currently active on the forum would seem to be a misinterpretation of the feature's impact - both for cures as well as curses. One shouldn't assume that older posts are only being searched out to curse.