Mahalo staff advantage?
Do Mahalo staff members have an unfair advantage over regular users? Do they know something we don't, or do they simple spend a lot more time on the site than the rest of us?
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M$7 Answers
The team isn't spending half as much time answering questions on the site and is instead focusing on things like removing spam, answering questions to the feedback email and fixing bugs.
We're at day three and already half the folks in the top 30 are not full-time Mahalo employees. In another week my guess is that we are 10 of the top 30 and we will probably drop down to only three of the top 30 in two months because we can't afford to pay folks to just answer questions on our staff.
We are paying out folks to be the developers and the admins... and trust me there is a LOT of development and admin work for Team Mahalo! :-)
Folks in the orange boxes are NOT Mahalo full-time staff (some are freelancers who are NOT paid to work on answers, but I'm not sure which ones). Also, a number of folks who were not even in the beta are in the ranking now like @budgallant and @bmlhailstone.
You can leave an optional "tip" with Mahalo's virtual currency, Mahalo Dollars. If you are asking a difficult question that might require some research, or if you'd like a wide variety of feedback, a higher tip often leads to more answers to your question.
M$
You can leave an optional "tip" with Mahalo's virtual currency, Mahalo Dollars. If you are asking a difficult question that might require some research, or if you'd like a wide variety of feedback, a higher tip often leads to more answers to your question.
M$
You can leave an optional "tip" with Mahalo's virtual currency, Mahalo Dollars. If you are asking a difficult question that might require some research, or if you'd like a wide variety of feedback, a higher tip often leads to more answers to your question.
M$
You can leave an optional "tip" with Mahalo's virtual currency, Mahalo Dollars. If you are asking a difficult question that might require some research, or if you'd like a wide variety of feedback, a higher tip often leads to more answers to your question.
M$
You can leave an optional "tip" with Mahalo's virtual currency, Mahalo Dollars. If you are asking a difficult question that might require some research, or if you'd like a wide variety of feedback, a higher tip often leads to more answers to your question.
M$
I think this question is about a more subtle issue regarding the "Top Members" list. Assuming that's true, then the simple solution is to probably just prevent official staffers from showing up in the "Top Members" listing. Let them accumulate all of the other points, M$, etc.... but just not show up in that list.
There are probably under 1,000 people on here that have contributed anything significant at the moment, but judging by the "welcome new members" information, it looks like the site will double and double again in size relatively quickly, and with some luck and word of mouth, will be able to get to a size where there are a bunch of people contributing at all times of day.
In my book, they're welcome to contribute as much as they want, for as long as they want. Their main advantage right now, I think, is that they've been here from the very beginning, and have been making a concerted effort to contribute as much as possible.
I know that if I took every bit of spare time I had, I could produce an impressive quantity of answers and questions!
You can leave an optional "tip" with Mahalo's virtual currency, Mahalo Dollars. If you are asking a difficult question that might require some research, or if you'd like a wide variety of feedback, a higher tip often leads to more answers to your question.
M$I ran out of "comment ammo", but here is another idea about points. I don't think there is much to learn about points. Perhaps they did start with a few extra ones (more than the 50 we got when we joined the site), but I think a few people do pick their answers as the best because of who they are and are supposed to know more because they are on the top. I have also seen people (here and at Yahoo Answers) who, instead of looking for an honest answer, want others to tell them what they want to hear and nothing else. If you ask something like "Can I work at Mahalo?" or "Am I pretty?", you'll probably get a vague answer and still rate it high if it comes from a staffer.
Budgallant, I think you're right, but it's not much about freelancers. It's about staff, official workers here at Mahalo, who can alter directly how many points or Mahalo Dollars they have without really having them (which I doubt they do now, even if they did in the beginning) and stuff of that sort that can make people suspicious about the staff.
You can leave an optional "tip" with Mahalo's virtual currency, Mahalo Dollars. If you are asking a difficult question that might require some research, or if you'd like a wide variety of feedback, a higher tip often leads to more answers to your question.
M$
I can reply again! The good thing about thinking is that you can keep on thinking until you die, so here I go again. In the last paragraph of my edited answer, I told Budgallant, "I think you're right, but it's not much about freelancers". I also agree with you, Jason, in that, as more members join, others will get to the top. I don't disagree with freelancers participating with their answers, but the official team, at one point, will have to take the role of an official team and lead in a clear way, more than taking and active part in answering. And lets face it: it won't be long before it happens.
"The fact that @budgallant is #6 in the system after just three days should tell you something!"
He uses modafinil and doesn't want to share? :-P
The freelancers have no advantage other than the fact that I think we gave some of them M$50 to spend in the system to test things out (that gives them, what, 100 points after they give it all away?).
They have the right to spend their non-Mahalo time Answers as much as anyone, and they don't have any advantage.
The fact that @budgallant is #6 in the system after just three days should tell you something! :-)
While I understand your perspective, I have to disagree that those who freelance for Mahalo should not participate in question answering once the traffic is higher. The reason is, any one of us can do freelance work for Mahalo. I have been looking into this myself, and I do not think it would be fair to be expected not to participate in Answers just because I submit content directly to the site in exchange for money. That is, afterall, the driving motivation behind answering questions for tips on here. It is much the same thing. We are, in a way, freelancing for Mahalo when we receive M$ for the answers that are chosen. Providing content to Mahalo, without officially being an employee, should not be seen as an unfair advantage. It's an opportunity that everyone has. Anyone can visit "The Greenhouse" and participate doing freelance work.
I don't know about them having an advantage other than that they work within the system all day long. I know that employees can't participate in the M$1 questions unless they are off the clock (unless that has changed). Also, I have been with Answer since the beta and I am #6. I have averaged about 3 to 4 hours a day since then. I ask a lot of questions and answer few and I am still only half way to where Jason is... I think everyone needs to just put in a little effort and you be where you need to be in a short amount of time.