They've certainly gone to a respectable amount of effort with this one. I was expecting Taco's achievements page to be static HTML, but it seems we all get them.
They've certainly gone to a respectable amount of effort with this one. I was expecting Taco's achievements page to be static HTML, but it seems we all get them.
I was surprised by that, too. I'm trying to decide how far back they went in the database to come up with the numbers.
Not far enough IMHO. For some of them, it appears they went with the most recent that would get the achievement. However, I'd really like it to go back and find the OLDEST.
Then again, they may not have relevant data from the early years.
I got credit for submitting a story that was posted, with the credit date of March 27. But... I haven't submitted an accepted story in years. (I haven't submitted anything in years.)
I suspect their records for that go back a lot further than other records, and they went all the way back.
If Maker truly is for making a comment thread then the database doesn't go back that far because I swear I've started a comment thread recently (ie: within the past 6 months)
I was surprised by that, too. I'm trying to decide how far back
they went in the database to come up with the numbers.
It looks like they searched the DB by some random criteria... For example, I have 2^8 "Score:5",
but no "Days metamoderated in a row", which for a while (a year or two ago) I did on
a daily basis. It also has some errors - I've never tagged an article with a "!" tag, but have
the "Contradictor" award.
Plus I have 'The Cheater' achievement! (Truthfully, achievements can serve a nice function to the site: we actually intend to use a few of them for legitimate purposes, starting with tutorial type functions: all major parts of Slashdot have an corresponding achievement, so getting them all requires you to explore much of the site's functionality).
I actually don't mind the addition of achievements, were they permanent, but you should adopt a model similar to Valve: create little icons and give them corny names, with the description below. That would at least give a good reason why each achievement item is so damn big on the page.
Crowdsource it! We'll make the icons for you. Just make an upload widget so users can submit icons. Maybe each achievement would get a little mini-poll where we can vote on each icon. What could possibly goatse wrong?
If you want my guess, there is no way to get "The Cheater". You get it by hacking the achievement database. This means Taco gets to have it, along with anybody else who can get into the database, legitimately or otherwise. Whether they'll prosecute everybody with the achievement who doesn't have legitimate access is another question.
I was surprised at how many achievements I do have! I'm not exactly a prolific poster, but I somehow managed a +5 insightful and a +5 funny in the past.
No UID achievement for me, though.
"By the time they had diminished from 50 to 8, the other dwarves began
to suspect "Hungry."
-- a Larson cartoon
Come on (Score:2, Insightful)
Re:Come on (Score:2)
Re: (Score:3, Interesting)
They've certainly gone to a respectable amount of effort with this one. I was expecting Taco's achievements page to be static HTML, but it seems we all get them.
I was surprised by that, too. I'm trying to decide how far back they went in the database to come up with the numbers.
Re:Come on (Score:4, Interesting)
Not far enough IMHO. For some of them, it appears they went with the most recent that would get the achievement. However, I'd really like it to go back and find the OLDEST.
Then again, they may not have relevant data from the early years.
Re: (Score:2)
I got credit for submitting a story that was posted, with the credit date of March 27. But... I haven't submitted an accepted story in years. (I haven't submitted anything in years.)
I suspect their records for that go back a lot further than other records, and they went all the way back.
Re: (Score:2)
Re: (Score:2)
If Maker truly is for making a comment thread then the database doesn't go back that far because I swear I've started a comment thread recently (ie: within the past 6 months)
Re: (Score:2)
Shh don't tell anyone I can't count.
Re: (Score:2)
It looks like they searched the DB by some random criteria... For example, I have 2^8 "Score:5", but no "Days metamoderated in a row", which for a while (a year or two ago) I did on a daily basis. It also has some errors - I've never tagged an article with a "!" tag, but have the "Contradictor" award.
Re: (Score:2)
I've got the "Submitted a Story That Was Posted" achieve, which I actually did do - back when Firefox 2 was released. Which was quite some time ago.
To be honest, if this is an April Fools joke, they might as well keep the code around, as it IS a full-blown achieve system, from what I can tell.
I also added my WoW main and... got the level 80 achieve. So.
We'll see, I guess.
Re: (Score:1)
Re: (Score:2)
Link? or Linken?
Re:Come on (Score:5, Informative)
Re: (Score:2)
I actually don't mind the addition of achievements, were they permanent, but you should adopt a model similar to Valve: create little icons and give them corny names, with the description below. That would at least give a good reason why each achievement item is so damn big on the page.
Re: (Score:3)
Re: (Score:2)
Aww, common. If you're going to do something, do it all the way!
You could have always just sto... er, borrowed icons from Valve itself, or just random clipart. I'm sure no one would sue. :)
Re: (Score:1)
Re: (Score:2)
I bet you'd get quite a few high-quality contributions if you opened it up as a competition.
Re: (Score:2)
Re: (Score:2)
If you want my guess, there is no way to get "The Cheater". You get it by hacking the achievement database. This means Taco gets to have it, along with anybody else who can get into the database, legitimately or otherwise. Whether they'll prosecute everybody with the achievement who doesn't have legitimate access is another question.
Re: (Score:1)
I was surprised at how many achievements I do have! I'm not exactly a prolific poster, but I somehow managed a +5 insightful and a +5 funny in the past.
No UID achievement for me, though.