What do they mean?
They mean you're looking at the screen sideways.
Yes, that is totally what they mean :rolleyes:
You get a yellow star at 25, 50, 75, 100, and 200 posts.
At 500 posts, the 5 yellow stars get replaced with a blue star.
You get another blue star at 1000, 1500, 3000, and 5000 posts.
Regional moderator is 1 red star, global moderator is 3 red stars, and admin is 5 red stars.
DOT employee = 1 green star, and agentsteel53 has 2 green stars.
To expand more, because I got curious myself and dug into the SMF docs.
The forum software puts us into membergroups. There are two kinds, the standard group and the post-based group.
(AARoads specific)
The post-based membergroups are:
0 - Trail
25 - Side Road ((https://www.aaroads.com/forum/Themes/Button_Copy/images/star.gif))
50 - Arterial ((https://www.aaroads.com/forum/Themes/Button_Copy/images/star.gif)(https://www.aaroads.com/forum/Themes/Button_Copy/images/star.gif))
75 - Viaduct ((https://www.aaroads.com/forum/Themes/Button_Copy/images/star.gif)(https://www.aaroads.com/forum/Themes/Button_Copy/images/star.gif)(https://www.aaroads.com/forum/Themes/Button_Copy/images/star.gif))
100 - Trafficway ((https://www.aaroads.com/forum/Themes/Button_Copy/images/star.gif)(https://www.aaroads.com/forum/Themes/Button_Copy/images/star.gif)(https://www.aaroads.com/forum/Themes/Button_Copy/images/star.gif)(https://www.aaroads.com/forum/Themes/Button_Copy/images/star.gif))
200 - County Route ((https://www.aaroads.com/forum/Themes/Button_Copy/images/star.gif)(https://www.aaroads.com/forum/Themes/Button_Copy/images/star.gif)(https://www.aaroads.com/forum/Themes/Button_Copy/images/star.gif)(https://www.aaroads.com/forum/Themes/Button_Copy/images/star.gif)(https://www.aaroads.com/forum/Themes/Button_Copy/images/star.gif))
500 - State Highway ((https://www.aaroads.com/forum/Themes/Button_Copy/images/stargmod.gif))
1000 - Expressway ((https://www.aaroads.com/forum/Themes/Button_Copy/images/stargmod.gif)(https://www.aaroads.com/forum/Themes/Button_Copy/images/stargmod.gif))
1500 - Turnpike ((https://www.aaroads.com/forum/Themes/Button_Copy/images/stargmod.gif)(https://www.aaroads.com/forum/Themes/Button_Copy/images/stargmod.gif)(https://www.aaroads.com/forum/Themes/Button_Copy/images/stargmod.gif))
3000 - Freeway ((https://www.aaroads.com/forum/Themes/Button_Copy/images/stargmod.gif)(https://www.aaroads.com/forum/Themes/Button_Copy/images/stargmod.gif)(https://www.aaroads.com/forum/Themes/Button_Copy/images/stargmod.gif)(https://www.aaroads.com/forum/Themes/Button_Copy/images/stargmod.gif))
5000 - Interstate ((https://www.aaroads.com/forum/Themes/Button_Copy/images/stargmod.gif)(https://www.aaroads.com/forum/Themes/Button_Copy/images/stargmod.gif)(https://www.aaroads.com/forum/Themes/Button_Copy/images/stargmod.gif)(https://www.aaroads.com/forum/Themes/Button_Copy/images/stargmod.gif)(https://www.aaroads.com/forum/Themes/Button_Copy/images/stargmod.gif))
And then the standard membergroups:
Member (which the rest of us are in and is unlabeled)
Regional Moderator ((https://www.aaroads.com/forum/Themes/Button_Copy/images/staradmin.gif))
Global Moderator ((https://www.aaroads.com/forum/Themes/Button_Copy/images/staradmin.gif)(https://www.aaroads.com/forum/Themes/Button_Copy/images/staradmin.gif)(https://www.aaroads.com/forum/Themes/Button_Copy/images/staradmin.gif))
Admin ((https://www.aaroads.com/forum/Themes/Button_Copy/images/staradmin.gif)(https://www.aaroads.com/forum/Themes/Button_Copy/images/staradmin.gif)(https://www.aaroads.com/forum/Themes/Button_Copy/images/staradmin.gif)(https://www.aaroads.com/forum/Themes/Button_Copy/images/staradmin.gif)(https://www.aaroads.com/forum/Themes/Button_Copy/images/staradmin.gif))
DOT Employee ((https://www.aaroads.com/forum/Themes/Button_Copy/images/starmod.gif))
Site Contributor* ((https://www.aaroads.com/forum/Themes/Button_Copy/images/starmod.gif)(https://www.aaroads.com/forum/Themes/Button_Copy/images/starmod.gif))
Formerly, there was also State Property ((https://www.aaroads.com/forum/Themes/Button_Copy/images/staradmin.gif)(https://www.aaroads.com/forum/Themes/Button_Copy/images/staradmin.gif)(https://www.aaroads.com/forum/Themes/Button_Copy/images/staradmin.gif)(https://www.aaroads.com/forum/Themes/Button_Copy/images/staradmin.gif))
I only have 101 posts?? I have over 200!
Quote from: JoePCool14 on February 18, 2014, 10:04:13 PM
I only have 101 posts?? I have over 200!
It is not a contest.
So here's a question: why is regional mod one bronze star but global mod then three? Is there some theoretical intermediate status which would have two bronze stars that this forum does not use?
And another: we know there is a post-based rank beyond "Interstate" but the only person who has it is a site contributor and thus does not have post-based stars. If someone were to reach that rank without earning any bronze or green star status, what would their stars look like? Still just five blue stars? One star of some other color?
Quote from: sammi on February 18, 2014, 09:45:51 PM
To expand more, because I got curious myself and dug into the SMF docs.
This sort of thing has been around for awhile now. I believe the old Invision Power Board 1.3 (you know, the old Invisionfree software if you were around for that sort of thing), PHPBB
2, vBulletin 3.0+, Ikonboard, etc. all had member ranks.
It's just a bulletin board feature, to group members based on how much they post. Or in special cases, they are used to denote the position of power the user has. But a lot of the times, instead of stars, images are used that are designed especially for that position.
Speaking of which, I made a few ranking images for the higher-ups on AARoads. If any of the staff wants to see them and possibly apply them to the forum (because stars are boring) just send me a PM.
Quote from: Alps on February 18, 2014, 10:07:38 PM
Quote from: JoePCool14 on February 18, 2014, 10:04:13 PM
I only have 101 posts?? I have over 200!
It is not a contest.
Oh sure it is. And right now, Jake is winning. He likes the forum way, way too much. :bigass:
Quote from: JoePCool14 on February 18, 2014, 10:04:13 PM
I only have 101 posts?? I have over 200!
This is # 3744 for me :p
These post counts also correspond with the color of your name on the "currently online" and "online today" lists on the main page.
Quality beats quantity any day of the week. Except in Alanland.
Quote from: Duke87 on February 18, 2014, 11:42:35 PM
So here's a question: why is regional mod one bronze star but global mod then three? Is there some theoretical intermediate status which would have two bronze stars that this forum does not use?
And another: we know there is a post-based rank beyond "Interstate" but the only person who has it is a site contributor and thus does not have post-based stars. If someone were to reach that rank without earning any bronze or green star status, what would their stars look like? Still just five blue stars? One star of some other color?
We could assign any number of any color of stars. So we just decided that there was no need for a 2-bronze or 4-bronze status. Similarly, there's nothing above 2 green stars.
As for the latter question, I would snarkily say "find out!", but here's a hint: The color doesn't change for the next rank, but the number does.
Here's another hint: That's not the last rank.
Quote from: Molandfreak on February 18, 2014, 10:00:19 PM
Formerly, there was also State Property ((https://www.aaroads.com/forum/Themes/Button_Copy/images/staradmin.gif)(https://www.aaroads.com/forum/Themes/Button_Copy/images/staradmin.gif)(https://www.aaroads.com/forum/Themes/Button_Copy/images/staradmin.gif)(https://www.aaroads.com/forum/Themes/Button_Copy/images/staradmin.gif))
Theoretically, this one should be reinstated and applied to me for the next 4 months...
Something related, for those who really want to be competitive, you can always compare your time spent on this forum to those of other users. Thankfully, you have to dig a little for it. I'm actually alarmed by my own number (which I try to minimize, but sometimes I forget to jump off the forum before going to bed), which suggests I need to get a life :(
Quote from: oscar on February 19, 2014, 05:58:40 PM
Something related, for those who really want to be competitive, you can always compare your time spent on this forum to those of other users. Thankfully, you have to dig a little for it. I'm actually alarmed by my own number (which I try to minimize, but sometimes I forget to jump off the forum before going to bed), which suggests I need to get a life :(
9d 5h 28m at the time of this post. I have a feeling that this is a little high...
Quote from: Zeffy on February 19, 2014, 06:32:33 PM
Quote from: oscar on February 19, 2014, 05:58:40 PM
Something related, for those who really want to be competitive, you can always compare your time spent on this forum to those of other users. Thankfully, you have to dig a little for it. I'm actually alarmed by my own number (which I try to minimize, but sometimes I forget to jump off the forum before going to bed), which suggests I need to get a life :(
9d 5h 28m at the time of this post. I have a feeling that this is a little high...
Considering I'm at 33 days with over 7x your # of posts - and I read EVERY post just about every day - maybe.
It can't be an exact number, since the forum software has no way of knowing how much time you actually spend reading, when you take breaks, etc.
PS: 77 days here.
The time recorded function times out eventually, so if you leave the forum on for 12 hours and do nothing, it does not register 12 hours of time logged on.
How the hell that MightyAce guy had his time so high is beyond me though.
Quote from: NE2 on February 19, 2014, 07:01:17 PM
It can't be an exact number, since the forum software has no way of knowing how much time you actually spend reading, when you take breaks, etc.
PS: 77 days here.
It apparently can tell when you've switched to some other website, or shut down your browser or computer (even without logging out). Right?
77 days, 8900+ posts. You're a more efficient poster than I am. Steve does even better, almost as many posts in less than half the time (and as an admin, he reads most every post, which I definitely don't). Good for you both.
I believe the cutoff is 15 minutes.
Any special star (or whatever) for reaching a certain number of posts in Alanland ??
:wow:
Or maybe a star is or isn't awarded ?
:eyebrow:
Quote from: 1 on February 19, 2014, 10:04:19 PM
I believe the cutoff is 15 minutes.
Yep, 15 minutes.
Furthermore, if you stay on a single page for more than 15 minutes, it does not give you 15 minutes of logged in time. It gives you 0 minutes of logged in time. You go over the limit, you lose it all.
Quote from: Alps on February 19, 2014, 06:40:38 PM
Considering I'm at 33 days with over 7x your # of posts - and I read EVERY post just about every day - maybe.
This almost doesn't make sense: I'm at 32-33 days, with one-fifth of the posts and two years less time since registration. I've likely read 20% of the forum's total posts...if even that much. I don't doubt my own number, but I guess it's not perfect, or you're one helluva quick reader. That, and I Google half of what I'm reading if I don't geddit.
(Maybe I'm inadvertently spending 10-14 minutes per page between doing other tasks and/or distractions...)
41 days, 3 hours, 12 minutes as of this for me, but I tend to read much more than I post.
Apparently, I must be really tired during the 4am & 5am hours. If I have posted during those hours, it's been so few the bar graph doesn't register anything.
Oddly enough, I have a minor spike at 3am. Must be sleep walking.
Quote from: hbelkins on February 19, 2014, 02:04:43 PM
Quality beats quantity any day of the week. Except in Alanland.
In WWII the phrase was "Quantity has a quality all it's own!". That was in reference to the massive production numbers rang up by the US and USSR.
Besides, I needed another excuse to post to get to the Blue Star Highway category...LOL!
Rick
40 days, 9 hours, 23 minutes for me. I don't even have 400 posts in all that time logged in. I most certainly read more than I write. I'd have more posts, but I admit that my knowledge is lacking compared to many on here. Other times, another member had already posted what I would have said; leaving me no reason to say the same exact thing.
Quote from: signalman on February 20, 2014, 03:40:07 PM
40 days, 9 hours, 23 minutes for me. I don't even have 400 posts in all that time logged in. I most certainly read more than I write. I'd have more posts, but I admit that my knowledge is lacking compared to many on here. Other times, another member had already posted what I would have said; leaving me no reason to say the same exact thing.
Don't worry, compared to some people on here I'm downright stupid with my knowledge on roads. Trying to change that though. Slowly...
Oops, this means I've spent approximately 8% of the last five years refreshing the forum
According to the graph, most of my posting happens in the 6 PM to 11 PM hours... of course I could have told you that. Earlier I'm at work during the week (I never go on this site at work), later I'm likely asleep.
Most of my posting gets done between 2 PM and 10 PM.
Looks like I have a more even temporal-distribution of posts compared to those who have mentioned it (and probably more than most forum members), including several posts during the 11pm-6am timeframe. I can thank #LifeAtSea for that. My top hour appears to be 7am.
Looks like my top hour is 11 AM and 12 PM. Makes sense, since that is when I usually wake up on the weekdays.
Also, 60% of my posts are in the Road Related Illustrations board (688). That's... kind of ridiculous. Then it's 14% in Traffic Control, and another 9.5% in General Highway Talk (164 and 110 respectively).
One member on the top 10 most time spent list has never posted! :wow:
My top time is 11am/12pm, probably due to my habit in college (and during my internship) of reading/posting while I eat lunch.
Actually, I'm eating lunch now. The more things change, the more they stay the same.
Quote from: Molandfreak on February 23, 2014, 01:41:15 PM
One member on the top 10 most time spent list has never posted! :wow:
Yeah, sup homie? Show yourself.
Quote from: Molandfreak on February 23, 2014, 01:41:15 PM
One member on the top 10 most time spent list has never posted! :wow:
I bet that guy only ever signed up for Alanland. :pan:
Total time spent: 20 days ~15 hours as of this post. I'm most active between 6 pm and 12 am, which is my usual free time except on Thursdays (when I have class until 9 pm). I'm also generally in chat between 8 pm and 11 pm, again except on Thursdays. My posts are mostly in Road-related Illustrations, because I like (and sort-of specialize in) making signs. My knowledge of other roadgeek topics is lacking though. :/
And this post bumps me into (https://www.aaroads.com/forum/Themes/Button_Copy/images/stargmod.gif).
Congrats Sammi! :D
To be honest, I've never truly given that a look myself. Let me see what it says for me now. I will edit this shortly...
Hmmm...it's only my 491st post? Darn! Time to get crackin'! :-/
Looks like I've got several hundred to go before I hit Freeway...
Quote from: hbelkins on February 19, 2014, 02:04:43 PM
Quality beats quantity any day of the week. Except in Alanland.
So true
Quote from: corco on February 23, 2014, 07:58:45 PM
Quote from: Molandfreak on February 23, 2014, 01:41:15 PM
One member on the top 10 most time spent list has never posted! :wow:
Yeah, sup homie? Show yourself.
holy crap it's the NSA.
Quote from: Molandfreak on February 24, 2014, 04:45:09 PM
Quote from: corco on February 23, 2014, 07:58:45 PM
Quote from: Molandfreak on February 23, 2014, 01:41:15 PM
One member on the top 10 most time spent list has never posted! :wow:
Yeah, sup homie? Show yourself.
holy crap it's the NSA.
Just because you're paranoid doesn't mean they aren't out to get you.
Quote from: Duke87 on February 19, 2014, 11:12:24 PM
Quote from: 1 on February 19, 2014, 10:04:19 PM
I believe the cutoff is 15 minutes.
Yep, 15 minutes.
Furthermore, if you stay on a single page for more than 15 minutes, it does not give you 15 minutes of logged in time. It gives you 0 minutes of logged in time. You go over the limit, you lose it all.
That is correct.
My most active hours are 2 to 5 PM ET/8 to 11 PM CET. Only the 408th post here...
Oh look, new banners for this!
Nice job whoever did it. Although seeing an Oklahoma turnpike shield under my name is a bit weird seeing as I have never driven on one and have only been to that state once. :P
Quote from: Duke87 on May 05, 2014, 11:03:35 PM
Oh look, new banners for this!
Nice job whoever did it. Although seeing an Oklahoma turnpike shield under my name is a bit weird seeing as I have never driven on one and have only been to that state once. :P
https://www.aaroads.com/forum/index.php?topic=12287.0 ;)