ButlerHoops.com has recently launched some new forum features and I wanted to create a post to briefly explain what is going on. In a nutshell, here are the new features: - Members gain points for participating on the website. The most common ways to earn points are to log in daily and post. You can also gain bonus points for creating popular threads (based on number of replies they receive) and referring members to sign up. In the future you will be able to award reputation to members for quality post, which will also earn points. Members are assigned a forum level based on the points they have earned, which is shown by the bars under everyones username in their posts. - Members can gamble with these posts by betting on Big East games. These can be found on the vBookie link at the top of the page (this is the default name, it may change if I can think of something better to call it). If you aren't familiar with gambling (which is everyone, right ), I recommend reading this post which contains a brief explanation of how it works. - In the near future points will be redeemable for rewards. This will include virtual forum features, such as a glowing title under your user name, as well as ButlerHoops.com merchandise. This has not yet been created so I do not have a full list of items. Remember this is a small budget website, so merchandise that cost us money will take a while to earn. Important note: In order to ensure that the additional activity these features create are quality activity, I'm going to be me more aggressive in assigning minor infractions for posts that I feel bring down the quality of the board. These infractions will result in a loss of points. Major infractions will still lead temporary suspensions or bans from the board. If you have any questions or feedback just post here.
There aren't going to be any long term bets available, so that would rule out most recruiting wagers. For those recruits who set an announcement date I might make it available. I'll look at it and make a decision when an appropriate time comes. I'll probably decide against it if it's someone who is strongly considering Butler.
I've now added a link to the market which can be found at the top of the page. Some of the cheaper items are silly things like being able to change the color of your username or add a glow effect to it. If you look to the left you can see my username is now blue with a white glow effect and my title is white with a blue glow effect. You can also now get t-shirts/sweatshirts with points earned on the forum (they can also be purchased as well if you need more points). I've added a new shirts design per request from people wanting a more traditional shirt with lettering on the chest instead of the back. The first one was originally designed for myself to wear to games, where more fans see my back than they do my front.
