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The Weekend OT is Full of Instructions (And Points)

On January 13, 2012 at 10:00 pm in Public Service

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Happy Friday night, East Coast P’neers! Welcome to the Friday night OT, P’neers everywhere! Last night’s OT had me literally rolling on the floor, I don’t know why I didn’t think of points and ranks earlier, of course our delightful band of over-achievers love points. Tonight’s OT is still an opportunity to grub up points like Ms. PacMen, but after the cut I’m going to show you some of the other things you can do when you come directly to P-Mag, instead of reading us in your feeders or on the Facebooks. Would Google Sergei or The Zuck ever make you a Glittery Superstar?  

Points, Ranks & Badges

You earn points for the following activities, which are all explained in their own sections.

  • Joining
  • Logging in
  • Leaving a comment on the main blog posts
  • Leaving a status update
  • Commenting on someone else’s status update
  • Creating a group
  • Adding a group avatar
  • Joining a group
  • Creating a forum topic
  • Commenting in the forums
  • Completing a friend request
  • Sending a private message
  • Random acts of point kindness from the admins
  • Writing a blog post
  • Having someone comment on a post you’ve written

I have the magic power to create special point explosion times, where each activity is worth x(normal point value), such as last night’s 5x points party, which I’m continuing into the weekend, because I can’t let POM have all the fun. [You're diabolical. -PoM]

You can also donate points to your fellow members! One important detail: During super point multiplier times, your donation will also be multiplied.  So if you donate 100♥ during a 5x points spree, it will deduct and give 500♥. Plan accordingly. To donate points you can go to the giftee’s profile page, or use the widget in the sidebar. You’ll need to know the username, see the section on public messages below to learn how to find it.

Points lead to our completely ridiculous ranks:

  • N00B1 (0)
  • Nugget (20)
  • Tribble (50)
  • Regular (100)
  • Pomegranate (200)
  • Cerberus (500)
  • Glittery Superstar (1000)
  • Unicorn (2500)
  • Persephoneer General (5000)
  • CJ Cregg (7500)
  • Queen of the Underworld (10,000)
  • River Song (15,000)
  • Donna Noble (22,500)
  • Idris (the TARDIS, not Elba) (30,000)
  • Zombie Vonnegut (50,000)
  • The Wrath of Julia Sugarbaker (75,000)
  • Cheesemonger (100,000)
  • Timelord (150,000)
  • Roller-skating, Rainbow-farting, High Holy Empress of Xanadu (250,000)

Additionally, you can unlock badges for doing most of the things you can earn points for. I’m in the process of making new badges that have some sort of consistency, but the awards categories will stay the same, at least until I figure out how to add more. (Which I will, b/c I love getting my fingers into other people’s code.) To check out what badges you can earn and what you’ve already unlocked, use your BuddyBar (it’s hovering at the top of the page) to go to My Account -> Points -> Awards.  I’m also trying to figure out how to get your badges on the front page of your profile, where everyone can see them for oooohing and ahhhhhing.  For now, they’re tucked deep in your profile.

The Activity Stream/Status Messages

The activity stream has its own tab on all the blog pages. The stream shows everything that’s happening everywhere, including new blog posts, new comments, new friendships and public group/forum activities. You can sort what it shows with a handy drop-down.

At the top of the activity stream, there’s a field where you can enter a status message.

Groups/Forums

Groups and forums are inextricably linked. You can’t participate in a forum topic unless you belong to the group that started the topic, and new topics must be affiliated with a particular group. Fortunately, joining a group is easy, and most of our groups are open to everyone. To join some groups, go to the groups tab and hit “join” on any of the groups that interest you. Group admins (the people who create the groups) can also invite people from their friends list to join.  Starting a new group is also pretty easy, but you do have to have a certain number of points to do so. (It’s not that many, but we were having a big spam problem when the threshold was lower.) Groups all have avatars, if you start or admin a group, you can upload a picture for the group. The avatar will show up next to the related forum topics, and in all the related bits in the activity stream.

Once you’ve joined a group, you can participate in all of its forum topics, and start new topics. From there, it works like any other web forum you’ve belonged to.

Friends

You can send a friendship request to any of your fellow members. If they accept, you get points. You can cancel a friendship after it’s been accepted, but you can’t cancel a request once you’ve sent it. You can invite people in your friends list to join your groups, and you can set up the activity stream to only follow your friends’ activities.

Public/Private Messages

To send someone a public message, use “@[username]” in a status message. The username is not always the same as the display name you see by your comments. On everyone’s profile page (click their name to see) it lists what their @mention name is. For example, my display name is “Selena MacIntosh” but my @mention is @Selena.

To send a private message, go to the user’s profile page, and click the “send private message” button. Clicking the “send public message” is a shortcut to the steps I mentioned above.

Have fun, play with all the features and reel in the points! We’ll be posting again on Monday, but a lot of the staff will be around this weekend in the OT.

 

Avatar of [E] Selena MacIntosh

Get to know [E] Selena MacIntosh

Selena MacIntosh has crafted 631 article(s) for Persephone Magazine.

Selena MacIntosh thinks you're perfect, just the way you are. She would also like a Diet Coke.

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334 responses to The Weekend OT is Full of Instructions (And Points)

  1. Avatar Image

    Brownikins said on January 15, 2012 at 3:43 pm

    Decorating question: I don’t know what to do with this space.  It’s a wall with a decorative (??) hole in it, and you can see the wall behind it through that awesome, awesome hole.

    What do I put here?  As you can see, I have attempted to prettify it, but I think it needs something hanging from the top of the hole.  But, I’m not a decorator so I could be wrong.

    Also, painting is not an option.  Darn. 

  2. Avatar Image

    Cesy said on January 15, 2012 at 2:50 pm

    Persephone, we’re going to have to have a chat about you logging me in and out constantly. This has happened on two computers now >:(

    Anyway, I’m back at work. Booo. Oh Monday, you suck.

    • Avatar Image

      [M] QoB said on January 15, 2012 at 3:25 pm

      This never happens to me on my laptop but does on my work computer, where I use the same browser in incognito mode. No idea why, except perhaps the internet elves are messing with me.

    • Avatar Image

      Kiisu said on January 15, 2012 at 4:01 pm

      This was happening to me as well but it seems to have stopped? On my work computer, new articles and comments won’t update until I log in. But my work computer is like Edith Crawley, in that it ruins everything so that may not be an issue for others.

  3. Avatar Image

    batg1rl said on January 15, 2012 at 1:33 pm

    This song is great, I’ve been listening to it on almost-repeat for the last couple hours. Never mind that I discovered it on gossip girl…
    [youtube: ‘Shells of Silver by the Japanese Popstars’ http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0v9SD4IzYzw&w=560&h=315

  4. Avatar Image

    Dr. Song said on January 15, 2012 at 12:40 pm

    Anyone still around? I know it’s early yet in the US, but here in Britain it’s already dark.

  5. Avatar Image

    thelefthandedwife said on January 15, 2012 at 10:55 am

    legit saw a fluff piece on a morning show today that talked about the history of hot chocolate from a blindingly oblivious place of white European supremacy.

    Hot chocolate.

    That takes some talent.

  6. Avatar Image

    milly parkhurst said on January 15, 2012 at 9:00 am

    i picked some bacon up from the grocery store yesterday..haven’t had bacon in FOREVER.

     

     

     

    IT IS MAGICAL.

  7. Avatar Image

    Susan said on January 15, 2012 at 9:00 am

    Laundry question.  When I was growing up, I always separated darks and whites.  I did this in college, too.  I stopped, though, a couple of years ago, and haven’t looked back.  Why am I supposed to do this?  Is it because colors bleed?  Because they really don’t, especially if you are careful about the first couple of washes.

    • Avatar Image

      milly parkhurst said on January 15, 2012 at 9:09 am

      if you wash everything in cold water, i find that the colors don’t bleed.  i normally do my laundry this way (saves money as well as sanity).  however, i do notice that on the rare occasion when i do separate whites and colors, the whites look a little brighter. not by a whole lot, but i did notice it.

    • Avatar Image

      thelefthandedwife said on January 15, 2012 at 10:58 am

      I tend to separate more by type than by color (lingerie/delicates, blouses/shirts/etc)

      the only time I separate for color is when I’ve got something that’s red that I’m washing for the first time, and my jeans always get their own load just because the indigo tends to bleed a little bit, even now. I just don’t have enough clothing to justify separating by color.

    • Avatar Image

      BicuriousShoes said on January 16, 2012 at 6:35 am

      I only separate when I’m washing new dark clothes whose colours will bleed into the whites, or when I’m washing fuzzy white clothes (towels and such) that will leave white fluff all over my darks. Otherwise, life is too short (and I don’t care enough about the brightness of my whites) to separate by colour. Ditto handwashing: I haven’t washed a piece of clothing by hand in eight years. If I know it won’t survive the washing machine, I simply don’t buy it.

  8. Avatar Image

    [M] freckle said on January 15, 2012 at 7:18 am

    My sneezing muscles are really the most random muscles in my body. Days of no sneezing and suddenly five sneezes a minute. I feel like I solely exist out of nose right now.

  9. Avatar Image

    batg1rl said on January 15, 2012 at 2:03 am

    Huzzah! After much lurking, I EXIST.

  10. Avatar Image

    brenbrowning said on January 15, 2012 at 1:34 am

    I’m currently drinking homemade ginger limeade and it is delicious. Also, I worked all day and came home to find that Mr. Browning had cleaned all the things including the mountain of laundry. That was an awesome surprise.

  11. Avatar Image

    Brownikins said on January 14, 2012 at 11:31 pm

    Catastrophe averted!  I got my super-grande-extra-large coffee so I’m good.

    Also, I got a lot of cleaning done today.  Thanks to that coffee.

    I hope everyone else had a nice day!

  12. Avatar Image

    [E] pileofmonkeys said on January 14, 2012 at 8:15 pm

    I got a respectable amount of habitat unfucking done today, but not nearly as much as I would have like. I’m also trying this thing where I actually use the food I have in my house before I buy more, so I made eggplant parm with frozen eggplant cutlets from Trader Joe’s, a jar of sauce that was stashed in the back of the pantry, and some shredded mozzerella that was close to expiring. And fresh parmesan, because I somehow always have fresh parmesan on hand.

    Now I’m making brownie cookies from a box of brownie mix that had taken up residence in the cupboard. Unfucking the pantry!

    • Avatar Image

      [E] pileofmonkeys said on January 14, 2012 at 8:34 pm

      And I seem to have grossly misjudged how much the cookies would spread out while baking. I ended up with an amorphous blob of brownie cookie that I separated into vaguely cookie-shaped pieces. Oops.

      • Avatar Image

        Cesy said on January 14, 2012 at 9:06 pm

        Yikes! Ah well, if they’re tasty they don’t have to be pretty!  I’m very much on the “eat what you have in the house you silly bint” bandwagon too. Today’s breakfast was butterbean dip and carrot sticks, left over from my nibbles last night. I have a real issue with throwing food out, so I’m currently eating all the grapes so they don’t go all mushy in the bottom of my veggie crisper.

  13. Avatar Image

    Cesy said on January 14, 2012 at 7:25 pm

    My sister just text me from Melbourne saying “Having a great time, found the perfect present for you and Mr Cesy, thanks for being so easy to buy for”.

    I’m presuming it’s kitchen gear. Considering her Christmas present to us still hasn’t arrived, I’m putting a date of approximately June for us to receive this present haha. Very chuffed though, totally didn’t expect her to buy us anything over there (she’s over there meeting up with a boy she met earlier in the year. Aaah the things you can do when you work full time and still live at home).

  14. Avatar Image

    bluegrayviolet said on January 14, 2012 at 7:21 pm

    Hi everyone!

    A little about me – I’ve never traveled for pleasure.  As I don’t have kids and am over 30, it is time to change this.  I’d really like to go to Holland, Belgium, and France this coming October for a total of ~10 days, but I have no clue how to begin planning.  Best way to move between the countries?  Any tips or websites you can recommend?  I’d like to stay in a mix of hostels (this means I have to pack very light and hope for luggage storage options, yes?) and hotels.  I’m looking forward to food, beverages, art, gardens, architecture, and public markets.  The more money I can save for food and beverages, the better!!

    Thanks for any advice and happy Saturday night!

    • Avatar Image

      [M] QoB said on January 15, 2012 at 4:54 am

      Best way to move between countries is easily the train, especially in the Netherlands and Belgium. You may be able to get a ten-day pass or something instead of buying all individual tickets.

      In the Netherlands, at least, the bike is Queen – get off the bike paths at all times. It’s worth hiring one for a day just to experience the thrill of power when cars and pedestrians stop for you:) I love Amsterdam and could wander around there for days, but I also have a fondness for Leiden and Utrecht. Buy the frites with fritesaus…mmm…  Also if you drink it’s worth trying jenever (Dutch gin).

      Staying in hostels doesn’t mean you have to pack super-light – just have a padlock for your bigger bag and don’t keep valuables in it. Most hostels have lockers for smaller bags. I would bring a backpack rather than wheeled suitcase, though, it’s easier to move around.

      If you’re going to Paris, my only absolute must-see there is Sainte-Chapelle. I also did a bike tour last time I was there, which was fun, and I got to see a few places I wouldn’t have got to by myself.

       

       

    • Avatar Image

      [M] freckle said on January 15, 2012 at 8:02 am

      And don’t forget Rotterdam in the Netherlands, if you want more modern architecture and less tourists. Take a trip up the Euromast, walk over the Erasmusbrug to the Kop van Zuid (South-Rotterdam) to eat in the Hotel that used to be the starting point of the Holland-America Line. I could give you more detailed tips if you’d decide on Rotterdam.

      As Q says: Belgium and The Netherlands (don’t say Holland! Holland are two ‘states’ and outside those two provinces you won’t make friends calling the country Holland) are best accessed by train. From Amsterdam you can travel in less than two hours to every big city in the West, but take the Intercity, not the ‘Sprinter’.

      The Netherlands has StayOkay hostels, which are cheap and legitimate. Not sure about Belgium.

    • Avatar Image

      ReginaChristina said on January 15, 2012 at 9:48 am

      So find good places to stay, I personally used hostelbookers.com for all of the places I stayed in in Europe. I preferred it to some of the other hostel websites and I found the prices to be consistently lower. I like that you can search for places based on how nice they are, the price and the location and you can read reviews that other travelers have. A word of warning though, Parisian hostels are dumps and expensive, it may be worth looking into a chambre d’hote (a B&B) or a hotel room, ultimately you’ll pay maybe 30 Euro more for a private room a night, but you won’t catch anything. *shudder*

      Train is obscenely easy, and I would look into a Eurail pass, but honestly, I think it is generally cheaper to just buy the tickets as you go unless you are taking high speed trains. I got a Eurail pass when I went to France and it was so much stress just to buy it because they have to be bought through a broker that triples the prices of the train tickets. Go to the station your first day in France and buy the tickets ahead of time if you are taking the high speed trains (because they do book up and are more expensive the closer to the time) and it will be way less stressful for you.

      Ultimately for your trip, RESEARCH and be prepared that SHIT WILL HAPPEN.

      And it is hilarious…. a few weeks later ;D

      Have a wonderful trip. PM me if you want more info!

  15. Avatar Image

    wannabemusicologist said on January 14, 2012 at 7:08 pm

    Has anyone ever done the Jillian Michael’s Yogameltdown DVD? I am a 30 Day Shred Lover, but this felt somehow artificial to me?  I dunno. It was a weird combo of Jillian Michael’s badassness/slightly ridiculous turns of phrase like “Don’t phone it in at the gym” with yoga…. it also didn’t seem instructive enough for someone who has only gone to three yoga classes ever.  I think I have to do it again before I make any decisions about it. It did help me stretch out after a very hard jiu jitsu class on Thurs evening, so that was good!

  16. Avatar Image

    mxandb said on January 14, 2012 at 6:31 pm

    It’s official. I totally cannot flirt.

    Went out last night to an awesome free showcase of like 10 bands playing in a two block radius and there were a ton of dudes. I can be calm and cool when at work, dealing with difficult situations (sometimes, they cry) but put me in front of a cute guy with minimal ugly facial hair and I freeze. :(

    Forever the wing man.

    • Avatar Image

      wannabemusicologist said on January 14, 2012 at 7:02 pm

      I can’t flirt either…. I also am never aware when I am being flirted with. IE) Someone can flirt with me for months and I’ll be all like “what?! I thought we were just friends!” I feel like I missed learning about this in middle school because I was too busy doing science fair stuff and playing the flute.

      • Avatar Image

        mxandb said on January 14, 2012 at 7:08 pm

        Yep. I missed out on it too in high school… (Mathlete…)

        And really, some people just aren’t interesting. I can get easily distracted – especially when drinking – and if the conversation isn’t fun, my mind’s already wandering somewhere else.

        Questions like “Hey, how’s it going?” are going to be replied to with, “Fine.” – Conversation over. Ugh.

      • Avatar Image

        tehwritergrl said on January 14, 2012 at 7:52 pm

        I’m with you on flirting thing, although my problem is more that I can be flirty with random people who I’m not interested but not with the person I like. Plus the fact I didn’t start dating until college (my mom was strict about dating in high school so I gave up)  -__-

        I’m getting better at realizing when a guy may be trying to flirt with me but it’s still hard.

    • Avatar Image

      Chrissie said on January 14, 2012 at 11:33 pm

      One of the keys to flirting is being able to engage the other person and show you’re interested/you care. So asking them “hey what band are you here to see?” or ask more detailed questions on what they do for work/school can elicit a more interesting conversation. You don’t have to go immediately to the flirting zone (personally I find that really awkward).

    • Avatar Image

      batg1rl said on January 15, 2012 at 2:16 am

      Me too! If a man waxed poetic on my feminine charms, my (completely mindless) response would probably be: “Oh, cool…”

      My ballsy efforts at initiating romantic contact, by the by, have all been wasted on gay men. Very attractive ones…but ‘not interested’ would be an understatement.

      Let’s be matching wingmen. Together, shall make a bird-man (who has two wings, get it? </awful late-night humor>).

  17. Avatar Image

    Bangs with Glasses said on January 14, 2012 at 6:00 pm

    So last night I mentioned I was getting my hair shorter than I’ve ever had it before. Just to update: holy crap. I LOVE it! :D

    I didn’t get a pixie cut, but they still had to use the clippers in the back.

  18. Avatar Image

    Cesy said on January 14, 2012 at 5:43 pm

    There’s a new Kiwi movie that I’m dying to see, and it’s not out at my local cinema yet! Disappointing. I was going to see it by myself this afternoon, give me something to do.

  19. Avatar Image

    Kiisu said on January 14, 2012 at 5:12 pm

    Have any of you lovely Persephoneers had The Cold That Would Not Die? If so, how did you deal with it? I have been sick on and off since mid December. I’ll start to feel like a human again and then once the weekend rolls around it comes back and bites me in the ass. I’ve been to the doctor and he says it’s viral and there’s nothing to do but wait it out. The newest symptom is goopey, runny eyes. I feel so trapped by my body right now, especially since it has been gorgeous and sunny where I live. I want to DO things! Anyhow, thanks for letting me whine. Sage advice or commiseration from fellow Sicks are both very welcome!

    • Avatar Image

      Cesy said on January 14, 2012 at 5:19 pm

      Sounds like your sinuses could do with some talking to! Have you tried a Neti-Pot to clean them out, or an anti-histamine to dry them out?

      • Avatar Image

        Kiisu said on January 14, 2012 at 5:26 pm

        Strangely, my nose feels fairly clear (it’s mostly been a throat and cough type bug) but the Neti-Pot is an excellent idea! It has helped my itchy eyes in the past. Thank you! To the Neti!

        • Avatar Image

          Cesy said on January 14, 2012 at 5:37 pm

          No worries, I hope you feel better!

          • Avatar Image

            [E]SaraB said on January 15, 2012 at 10:09 am

            Throat and cough might still be coming from the nose, as in the dreaded post-nasal drip. Neti pot can totally help. If it seems to be lingering in your chest, try sleeping with a humidifier to loosen things up and get it out.

  20. Avatar Image

    [M] freckle said on January 14, 2012 at 3:58 pm

    I guess the reason why I write my ‘own’ work ten times as slowly as my ff is because I like to have the feeling of spending more time on it, right? Not because putting your own ideas on paper is more scarier than borrowing worlds and characters .. sigh. This is my Saturday night.

    • Avatar Image

      dellbot said on January 14, 2012 at 6:22 pm

      There is definitely the fear thing but I think too part of the issue of doing your own work is that you aren’t using fully developed characters. Good writing will show who the characters are and the action will be believable according to those characters, but if you don’t know those characters that well yet, you might have to spend more time thinking about the believability of their responses, or even what exactly it is they would do.

      So yeah, scary, but also if you are thorough I think it just takes time. I’m with you on the Saturday night writing thing! I have to get pages to my mentor this week and I’ve been putting it off for those exact fear reasons, but now that I’m getting into the nitty gritty it’s actually kind of fun. Like, what would so-and-so do here? Is this where we find out he’s actually a thief? Are they going to kiss? No way she wouldn’t put up with that, etc. FUN!

      • Avatar Image

        [M] freckle said on January 15, 2012 at 8:04 am

        I know. As with almost everything: getting into it is the hard part. And if I’m finally ‘in’, it’s usual bed time and I still end the day on one paragraph.

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