Back in fluidanims, we had a points system called OZ. It was like a virtual money where you could use it to buy some stuff at the site. Back then it was really cool because
when I was a noob, It was one of the ways I could be so active at participating in the site. Weapons/Art shops were way more fun because you actually get paid. Small art/animation/collabs contests were more active too because of the oz. After earning some Oz, you could actually buy some stuff from the shop using what you earned. That was good for a noob like me back then.

I know SP tried to do it and it didn't work out well. I'm not saying I need the oz system back but I'm asking if anyone else miss that feature too?

I don't remember SP ever trying to implement it.

Quote from Exilement

I don't remember SP ever trying to implement it.

Immediately after the merge, there was a points system. But after about 2-3 days it was cut out because it didn't work so well.

Not really, it just encouraged more posts and discouraged editing and deleting posts. I get the point that it helps so-called "shops" to function, but it had in my opinion a generally negative effect on how I and others posted.

Quote from Raptor

Not really, it just encouraged more posts and discouraged editing and deleting posts. I get the point that it helps so-called "shops" to function, but it had in my opinion a generally negative effect on how I and others posted.

I get your point. There would be a lot of new guys posting nonsense/spam everywhere for the sake of little oz. But you can't deny the better use of shops when that system was up though.

For older members of the forum it would look like a bother and negative but for noobs, it would give them more way of doing activity at the forum to be able to get something they want.

Eh, a shop system would benefit those who have been around for longer/post more. Those who are new would have more trouble trying to purchase items. Besides, animators in general shouldn't be over-reliant on shops anyways, they aren't necessary for the sustainability of animating.

To be honest, I was never really a fan of shops in general, so I don't really see substantial benefits of having oz back.

Oh yeah, but I don't remember much - Were we able to use it on real items/ merch?
I think I remember using oz for tutorials, but they were somewhat basic (combos/choreography were a few of them?)

I personally liked it as a motivator to be active and participate in events and such, plus Stone doesn't have to fork out real money :p

Oz was useful on FA for the actual merch store we had. You could use your points in place of actual money so it actually had real value. I like the general idea of a points system because if it's done right it encourages activity and entertains members that care, and doesn't affect those that don't. Unfortunately it's hard to implement "right" in a general sense, it's something that has to be tweaked as you go based on the community. I have sort of loose plans in my head for upgrades to SP and I think this might be one of them, but it will be one of those things we'll talk about a lot before hand.

I'm neither for or against this... But if this becomes a real thing then the Mods will have to stop spam... And Hewitt might like being able to use the ban hammer all the time, key word is might

If this is implemented it will probably increase activity as well for members who don't post much... But again it wouldn't be the same as if they posted because they wanted to comment on a topic but to get these "points"

Those are just a couple things I thought of quickly... I mean others and myself can come up with alot of pros and con's about it if it comes into debate

just throwing out an idea for if this IS ever going to be implemented. If it is going to be given out, it should be given to people who give artistic submissions to the community, not just for posting. Anything like music, film, art, and animation. It would give people more of a motive to do something along these lines if they were on the fence, and to not have people just spam 5 second animations that barely required any work there could be some sort of "bank" who decided what the art is actually worth. And then shops could spring up not getting oz. by bank, but by consumers. Im suggesting just keeping it to art related things just because this is an art-based community, but if anybody else thinks that something they have made or done that doesn't involve art they could bring it up to the bank (which would be run by either mods or active art-section vets) and they have the final verdict on whats it worth if anything. This would also help disconnect the point system from interfering with visitors who just want to talk, because they wouldn't have any incentive to post anymore than they already do. I dunno im just brainstorming here.

Quote from Marshmallow_dude

just throwing out an idea for if this IS ever going to be implemented. If it is going to be given out, it should be given to people who give artistic submissions to the community, not just for posting. Anything like music, film, art, and animation. It would give people more of a motive to do something along these lines if they were on the fence, and to not have people just spam 5 second animations that barely required any work there could be some sort of "bank" who decided what the art is actually worth. And then shops could spring up not getting oz. by bank, but by consumers. Im suggesting just keeping it to art related things just because this is an art-based community, but if anybody else thinks that something they have made or done that doesn't involve art they could bring it up to the bank (which would be run by either mods or active art-section vets) and they have the final verdict on whats it worth if anything. This would also help disconnect the point system from interfering with visitors who just want to talk, because they wouldn't have any incentive to post anymore than they already do. I dunno im just brainstorming here.

yea I agree with that statement. Giving out oz for any kind of post might be a bad idea lol

Seems like the idea is getting there but you will still have problems among the beginners in animation... It will have a negative effect on them if they aren't awarded points for having choppy, still trying but failed animations over and over again... I mean practice does make perfect, but when points are involved it can break someone's spirit if they aren't awarded points after so long... Vise versa same goes for people who do make good animations might slack off a bit to create more animations for points as well thus ruining the quality to gain some more quantity

Quote from Marshmallow_dude

just throwing out an idea for if this IS ever going to be implemented. If it is going to be given out, it should be given to people who give artistic submissions to the community, not just for posting. Anything like music, film, art, and animation. It would give people more of a motive to do something along these lines if they were on the fence, and to not have people just spam 5 second animations that barely required any work there could be some sort of "bank" who decided what the art is actually worth. And then shops could spring up not getting oz. by bank, but by consumers. Im suggesting just keeping it to art related things just because this is an art-based community, but if anybody else thinks that something they have made or done that doesn't involve art they could bring it up to the bank (which would be run by either mods or active art-section vets) and they have the final verdict on whats it worth if anything. This would also help disconnect the point system from interfering with visitors who just want to talk, because they wouldn't have any incentive to post anymore than they already do. I dunno im just brainstorming here.

It sounds to me like we would need that portal we've been waiting years for in order for this system to be fair. I like the idea of being awarded some sort of currency for submitting either an animation or a piece of art to the portal and seeing how well it does based on the reviews. Then again, you would probably need a system closer to Newgrounds where the more experienced members have more voting power when it comes to affecting a submissions actual rating. People could still just spam 5 stars or whatever just to help their friends out, so even where a portal could award a currency system, it would probably be a minimal amount to keep people from trying to boost oz that way. Perhaps global moderators or moderators specifically assigned to such a task could be in charge of distributing oz based on a set of guidelines for the animations. Sure there could still be bias involved but no system is ever perfect.

As far as actual 'shops' go, if the users are able to give oz to other users then that would be up to them to make the donations to whomever is in charge of running that sort of thing. Hell, maybe we can sell things such as larger avatar sizes or pm inboxes to regular users who have been here for quite a while and have collected some currency. That way it would reward people who aren't so into art and animation.

I'm sure there would be a way to track how much of a currency someone has gained monthly, that way we would be able to detect foul play and leave them with -10,000 monies, but this is all in speculation of course.

I personally believe a currency system could be very beneficial to the community, because this website isn't just about us oldfags who have been here forever and still mostly come around just to talk and partake in forum games with other oldfags. I believe it could be a generally good thing if the proper attention is given to the system. Personally, I would rather get a portal before a currency system. Maybe JEFF can finally put in a good word for us ;D

i am ok with any system which rewards postcount

What I do remember
What giving some noob every last .Oz I had for kicks.
I would love a system like that again though to be honest.