An update on the Plugin Developer tag system

I'm not sure what this means, but I like progress. Great job!

*sobs quietly in the corner*

Can I at least get a "I am user 42" badge?

Hmm...
Is it likely to be plugin based? or will there be a new set of criteria?

The username just doesnt look the same not in pink...

While I do miss my purple name a bit, this is for the better. While the Plugin Dev system had good intentions, it brought nothing but poor quality plugins to Bukkit. D:

I think this is for the better... until we have a good system which combines the forum system with that of the one bukkitdev uses, we will be probably better off staying with plain names on every user.

Bukkit team always make the right choice.Bukkit is a very ambitious project keep up the good work.

So much win in this one !

That's weird I'm used to find my posts inside my plugin threads by looking for purple color. Now I have hard time finding where my last post was.

Anyway, good to see bukkit progress.

Avatar Time!

It looks so empty! D:

I liked that we stand out with the users CSS, but it is true @WalkerCrouse that the poor quality of plugins with stop.

The shitty plugins aren't going to stop, regardless of having a purple tag or not.

I feel a bit naked, but I guess it better for the quality of plugins!

This.

While I'd like to believe that the tag was the source of the problem, and part of it probably was, I still think that plugin quality will remain about the same. In any case, the tag caused an uneeded division between the community and would often go to some people's heads, so I see no problem with it being removed.

First world problem

"You keep using that word. I do not think it means what you think it means."

I like the progress even though I miss my tag.

@Vhab Inconceivable!

I think removing the tag is a good idea, but I also think that there should be a way to distinguish upstanding developers from other Bukkit users. This would allow people looking for help with their plugins to see who would be a reliable source of input.

This is the main reason why I liked the Plugin Dev. tag. When I needed help with something I hopefully would be able to contact that person directly knowing they should have a decent answer. Asking in the general forums will not always get the help i need and sometimes I get answers that won't even work.

Maybe a helper tag, or something to distinguish between actual plugin makers and normal bukkit accounts?

I'm so glad this is finally gone. Now people can start to look at names to learn who is a valuable member and Dev, rather than just relying on the color of their name.

Why you think that a normal bukkit user wouldn't answer you right? Many people here knows a lot of Plugin Development or other issues and they are not plugin dev's.

I have xenforo I know what it is

@Vhab
From a post in another thread I know what emericask means by CSS, but right now I think it isn't the right word. It's not the correct "layer". He said CSS because it's CSS that added that tag and colors. But in this context it would be more of a user section of a post.
If for example I have a problem with the way a name is displayed in Minecraft, we usually say "it's a permission issue", we don't say "it's java".

@ZachBora Hence my comment
We're getting offtopic though.

↓ If you need help, you should look for this signature floating around. ↓

I've ignored this issue for a while, because I considered it too frivolous to even comment on. I assumed Bukkit would do the responsible thing. Sadly, this seems to not be the case.

It's not so much the removal that bothers me - rather, that everyone thinks removal is the right course of action.

Perhaps there are others, who like me, disagree with this course of events and will speak out after reading my dissent. I can always hope.

What I think a lot of members have forgotten is what the purpose of member tags is. They are a means of identification. "Plugin Developer" is an identifier, signaling that this particular member is likely to have some understanding of bukkit, Java, and can probably help solve basic problems. Basically, a cut above the riff-raff coming in from the Minecraft.net forums.

While this identification was imperfect (not all members with the badge were even remotely proficient) - was this a problem with the badge itself, or the lax standards at which it was given? The lax standards, clearly.

The obvious problem Bukkit faced is that they did/do not have the manpower to accurately review new plugins and decide if the developer was worthy of the badge. So they err'd in the side of leniency, and gave it away more freely than it should have been. Leniency can be forgiven - I too have a life and can not spend unlimited time on bukkit matters.

But we don't live in a world of black and white - there are more than 2 options available to Bukkit. They didn't have to remove the "Plugin Developer" tag. Instead, they should have done the opposite - expanded it.

Imagine a ranking system like this:

• "Amateur Plugin Developer"
• "Plugin Developer"
• "Expert Plugin Developer"

Where the tags would be assigned based on the quality of plugins AND time registered on the forums. This system would need little oversight, and likely could have been mostly automated. There would be no way for Amatuer Plugin Developers to move up in rank unless they have been around for 3 months, so the number of cases to review would remain light.

Once you get above the 3 month registered time, the amount of users who have a badge fall quickly. It's rather easy to sort through the few developers who actually deserve the expert badge.

This could have been a win-win situation. Bukkit could continue their lenient plugin developer badge program, users could continue to identify members more likely to have a clue what they were talking about, and complaints about the badge would cease.

Instead we got this. Still like the change so much guys?

Maybe add a team of plugin reviewer that would give those ranks.

Yeah, you are right, I completely forget about that. If a plugin developer asked me for help with my plugin, I usually skipped asking most basic questions.

But on the other hand, you can still see that person is a developer by looking at signature or BukkitDev link.

Also there were plugin developers that made much worse bug report than normal people (in "i get an error plz fix it" style).

As much as I agree on the ranks... time is NOT something which should be taken into account... there are / were lots of plugin developers which developed one or two plugins but don't have any active ones anymore.

I would rather see something like a peer review and a system where you not only need to write ONE plugin and get the badge but where you get the badge when you can keep that plugin active, enhance it or write more plugins.

Like I said... could be done with peer review...

* create a forum for this
* allow all people to start a thread to nominate a developer (or even only moderators and senior developers)
* allow all people to post FEEDBACK in that thread
* only allow moderators and other senior plugin developers to vote

What would be the requirements which should go into the vote?
Number of plugins
Helpfulness
Enhancements
Code Review (not a indepth, but you can see very fast if people try to become better or are good)

just my 2 lines of code already stated somewhere else.