There have been several articles recently that have talked about the slow down in the distribution of points on this website. Of course, we all, being writers, aren't REALLY concerned with points, but apparently we DO like to talk about them. How, when, and why they are doled out to us!
My own points had been accumulating at what appeared to be a much slower rate than normal, but I hadn't thought too much about it until I saw articles by others bemoaning the sorry state of Gather due to the gamers, etc. Now, first off, I have nothing against games, and I allow that Gather being the site that it is, people can write on any topic they so choose. Some of those I find offensive, but I still enjoy a lot of what I read on this site. For the most part, I stick to my connections, as I can depend on them to write and share articles that I enjoy. Sometimes I venture into the realms beyond my connections, and will comment on an interesting article that I find. I may agree or disagree, but I am free to comment, just as the author was free to post the article in the first place.
Now the reason I stated all of the above is because today, I became aware of how many comments I made before I was credited with another point. Yes, I did say POINT! I started the day with 179 points, (I recently requested a Home Depot card) and after posting 15 comments, I was awarded one whole point! I do believe we used to get points much faster. I think when I first joined it was around 1 point per 5 comments!
I won't leave Gather because of this change. I get too much from this site! I have found new friends, I've been exposed to new ideas, I've seen some great photos, and I've found a place to post my own, (however limited) writing, and my own photos, and to receive comments from others. The topics one can discuss on any given day are too numerous for me to try to list, but one thing Gather is NOT, is boring! So lower points or not, I'm here to stay, but I really did like it when those points came faster!!!
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Comments: 29
I hate that they slow stuff down.
Same thing happened on netwinner they slowed down the system recently because too many people were earning points.
BAH HUMBUG GATHER !!
I do think that since the last update, some things in regards to how and when points are awarded have changed. I don't have as many small updates through out the day, but I'm still earning roughly the same amount per day as I was before the update (and in some days, many more).
I do enjoy gather and I have made some wonderful friends here. You are one of them. I will be staying for the wonderful people but the cash is a nice bonus. :)
I don't think I'll ever post enough to earn cash, but you keep right on doing that!! It really IS a nice bonus to get paid for something you like to do anyway!!
Which game playing point whores are stealing.
Will I leave because of this? No, I have fun here sometimes and get to read a lot of interesting and often funny writing.
I have slowed down posting - why earn money for other people when I can get paid for my original work somewhere else?
I think the logic goes like this (someone correct me if I am wrong):
Gather is like a huge pie and income and prizes come from advertisers. If points accumulate too quickly, as they can if there are a lot of comments on a thread, then that person may get more points compared to articles that have fewer comments. It is NOT that the gaming people steal them but that there is only so much money and so many prizes to go around in a given time period.
Whether that logic is TRUE or not is another thing. I wouldn't know. I don't balance the checkbook here :)
Now, we did have someone, who is no longer a member, who posted recipe after recipe, that were all cut and pasted from other websites. That was annoying. When it was pointed out to her by another member, she left Gather.
I think the idea that the "gaming people" were "stealing" points had something to do with the fact that a one sentence game "article" may get a hundred or more one word, or one sentence responses, whereas an article that has been well thought out and researched, may get only a few responses. With the total points available having to be divided among so many, the more games there are, the fewer points to go around there are. At least that is the way I understand what has been said regarding the issue.
Victoria, I love your photo essays! Keep posting them, please!
Sue, I always enjoy your articles! Thanks for commenting here!
A slower gather point system. :( That really sucks!