Silly idea...but why not remove the points system?

Question

Hi,
I just re-activated my interest in the SAP SDN community and have noticed a lot of discussions around points, Jacobs deals, negative points, quality of content, moderators, etc. Basically a whole lot of discussion, energy and effort towards something that should be a byproduct of an active community, not the core of it.
How about just removing the whole points system?
I can understand why it was initially in place to quickly build up a community, but I assume that you have reached the critical mass and I think you might actually be losing some of the good part of the mass because of this points system (because it might impact the overall quality).
I have been a member of Sun's Java community since 97 and though they have always had "duke dollars" it has never been a motivating factor to participate there and I don't think a lot of emphasis is put on them either. The community became very fast self controlling with people put in place for not being clear with their questions, etc. and I have always thought that it has been quite a good, simple community which has benefited everyone quite a bit. This is not to say that I don't appreciate SAP SDN, but it is just a sample of a community which works without requiring direct "rewards".
Having a link to your business card for answering questions as well as getting a profile with articles, whitepapers, etc. is in my opinion plenty of recognition and for those who you (as the forum owners & moderators) see as being truly exceptional you have the Mentor / Expert (sorry, can't remember what you called them but a sort of fellowship) model and the less people you have in that group the more they will be valued and the more people are interested in truly good quality content instead of quantity.
The only post I found related to this topic with a quick search was Reg Award Points but there might be more around as well. My apologies if this is a topic which has been discussed enough already (please link this to such discussions if relevant, though won't reward any points ).
So how about it. Any chance of dropping the points and trust that the community will survive without them? I think it would do just fine.
Cheers
Kalle
Edited by: Kalle Pokkinen on Feb 26, 2008 1:40 AM

Answer 1

"have the changes improved the quality of the postings?".  I would leave that judgment for the community to answer and perhaps it is still too soon to tell as the changes have only recently been implemented. In most change management activities, it takes time to affect behavioral change.
But as for the World Food Program initiative, you raise a very important point about continuing to spread the word concerning the food for points idea.   I would recommend taking a look at this website called [SAP Feeding Knowledge|http://www.sapfeedingknowledge.com/] and would be bold enough (or perhaps impassioned enough) to recommend that if this idea speaks to you, if you think it important enough to repeat to others, you take the initiative and further spread the word.  That can be done by reminding folks in the forums (perhaps even where such contentious point discussions or debates around quality occur) or it could be that you choose to blog about it either here on SDN/BPX or in a personal blog space.  I'm your willing assistant in that activity!
Viral knowledge-spreading about this, increases the likelihood of the program's success.  And forgive me if I sound like I am evangelizing the cause, but that is exactly what I am dedicated and determined to do.  Having recently visited in countries where this program is designed to help people, I can vouch for its importance as an eye witness to its success and would think it worth everyone's time to at least read about how a simple act of participation here can help alleviate suffering and make a difference in the world.   Please pass it on.