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Hmmm. I don't like this idea. This is from a totally selfish perspective, but I really don't want to suggest or approve members for something like this. There is potential for abuse on our end (the ninjas), since some of us would likely promote our friends without giving it a second thought. That may not be a bad thing exactly, but I still have a problem with it. I usually try to be objective, but I'd have a hard time doing it if this were implemented. Even if we did not approve people for this, we'd likely have to be relied on to suggest who should be rewarded, and the same problem exists in my mind.
I really don't want people breathing down my neck in order to be approved for "senior status" anyway. Be they friends or strangers, I would CONSTANTLY get PMs asking if I could add them or how one is added to that user group. I don't know about you, but I get enough straight PMs reporting things, just chitchatting, or asking how one does this or that. I really don't need the added distraction. I'm here to moderate and interact with the forums, nothing more. I've been having a hard enough time logging in lately, but if I had 20 more PMs a day asking about the senior status thing, I'd probably end up logging in even less. Again that's not exactly a bad thing, but I have my own selfish problems with it.
Giving people incentive to behave is usually a good thing, but there could be bad consequences. I always try to look at the pros and cons, and I then make my decision from there.
PRO: Special titles etc. give members incentive to behave.
PRO:People with special titles etc. can assist in keeping an eye on the forums, and continue to report violations to the ninjas.
CONS: There really is a capacity for abuse here. I honestly wonder if I'm talking to different people sometimes. I know that most of you are indeed different people, but that worry is still there. Alts are a MASSIVE problem on this site, and I simply can't bring myself to trust most of the people I see on this site.
CON: Sometimes elitism is a valid point to bring up. Elitism exists, and we have all experienced it in some way. This feature would at least cause cries of elitism were it to be implemented. If those accusations were untrue, no big deal. If they were true, I think we have a problem. How then do we deal with this problem? And on that note, how would they be selected in the first place? As I said earlier, I'd like to recuse myself from the selection process, if it were to work like the model I imagine it would have to use.
CON: What aside from a special title and possibly a custom avatar would "Senior members" or what have you get? A report feature? I think giving everyone a report feature would be a much better decision than giving it to only a select few. If everyone can report things (with a potential failsafe which would punish those who abuse it) we'd get a lot more done than if only a "trusted" few had it. Anything else?
With that, and the selfish reasons I mentioned earlier, I see no need for this to be implemented. If someone can come up with something solid which would answer some of those questions, I might reconsider. Until then, I'll adhere to the "if it ain't broke, don't fix it" doctrine.