Guys, I read everything that's posted here, too. I don't really want to, though. I'm just looking for the best stuff.
It's not all good stuff. Problem is ... one has to read through the crap, to find out for oneself that some of it was a waste of time. Then there's the good stuff, that keeps one coming back ... to a point. Eventually, it will get to be too much trouble to sort through the weeds.
If the members who have already read the threads could note, positively or negatively, the value of the thread in the "membership's" opinion ... that would be of value to
all members, not just new members and guests. God knows, everyone here has an opinion on everything ... why not an opinion on the thread itself?
Nothing in this proposed rating system takes away Maggie's or dham's or anyone's right to read it all ... even if to judge for themselves what's the value. I'm sure that even some of the drivel here is interesting when you know well the poster. But even you guys will lose interest in this, if strangers start going on and on about
poutine or some other exotic foodstuff.
(And then the core group will start to think seriously about starting over with the original founding group, like CitizenX is doing. That wasn't their plan for their community, but CX didn't put in place a system that works for a growing audience and scales for a larger membership.)
I fear that this community will lose members and miss out on attracting the right new members if the existing members don't soon take an active role in sorting through the growing number of posts ... and telling the broader audience out there just what's so good here.
If the core group doesn't want a growing membership, and is happy with the Cellar exactly the way it is ... just put the site behind a password login page and call it a private community that only has to worry about attrition.