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I recently had the idea that, well, because this is a Science Fiction and Fantasy site, perhaps it would be fun if members could have a 'rank'! I have just looked through the Starfleet Ranks page on Memory Alpha and correlated some ranks with the privileges. The idea is that once individuals achieve privileges, they are 'promoted' and can change their rank to the next level up.

The way I envisage it is that it would not be something forced on people - I appreciate that not everyone here is a Trekkie, but for those who are interested it might be a bit of fun to call themselves 'Captain [insert-handle-here]'. People would add their rank, only if they wanted to of course, to the 'about me' section for their profile.

This is the rank system that I propose - any discussion would be greatly appreciated!

Now, I appreciate this scheme may be a bit over the top, so we could have this second one instead which is based on milestones and moderation privileges:

Like I say, this is just a thought and would NOT be forced onto people.

Edit

This idea has been rejected by the community: the reasons for this are explained quite clearly in Wad Cheber's answer below. I accept the points made in the accepted answer as perfectly valid reasons not to accept this proposal.

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    I want to be a Jedi Master!
    – Wad Cheber
    Commented Aug 13, 2015 at 3:09
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    Your questions starts with a non sequitur. There's no reason a science fiction or fantasy site has to have ranks, naval or otherwise. I think you meant to say, "because this is a Star Trek site . . .".
    – user14111
    Commented Aug 13, 2015 at 3:56
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    @user14111 you have to admit the Star Trek community is pretty strong on this site
    – Often Right
    Commented Aug 13, 2015 at 4:11
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    It is sad to see a site, nominally for science fiction and fantasy, overrun by the minions of pop culture franchises. It is another sign of the diminished times we are living in.
    – user14111
    Commented Aug 13, 2015 at 4:48
  • @user14111 well I'm dropping the idea now anyway ;)
    – Often Right
    Commented Aug 13, 2015 at 4:49
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    Damn nsoong I'm gonna be a petty office and you'll be a captain. With your 16k and my 3k rep... I'm not taking orders from you no way! Now if I could be a captain for maybe a buck 75, then we're talking. And Richard would be a super admiral, I'm not taking orders from him either, dammit! +1 anyway
    – JMFB
    Commented Aug 13, 2015 at 9:05

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I like the concept, but I don't know how it would work out in execution. For example, I'm not a fan of Star Trek. I would prefer to have a rank associated with Star Wars or The Lord of the Rings. Slytherincess would probably want a rank associated with Harry Potter. Someone else might want a rank associated with Marvel Comics. Another person would want a rank associated with the Terminator franchise.

We'd end up with Maiar, Valar, and Orcs living alongside Wizards and Witches; Jedi and Sith; T-800s and T-1000s; Iron Men, Hulks, and X Men, and so on and so forth.

It would create a huge mess, and it would be totally incomprehensible to new users.

The only way to make it work would be to have people vote for which franchise the titles should be based on, but that would lead to a situation where the people who like the franchise that wins would have titles, but no one else would have one. That means that the site is now catering to fans of a single franchise, which is not a good thing, at least as I see it.

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    You raise quite valid points - the notion is rejected ;)
    – Often Right
    Commented Aug 13, 2015 at 4:17
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    @N_Soong great so now I'm gonna be smeagol and you'll be Gandalf, or I'll be Jar Jar Binks and you'll be Vader, no way. And that goes for you too wad I aint taking orders from nobody, lol. +1 anyway
    – JMFB
    Commented Aug 13, 2015 at 9:08
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    @WadCheber : These are fair points. They bring up an interesting question: how did the chat site become Mos Eisley and not, say, Ten Forward or Quark's (the latter two being Star Trek drinking establishments)?
    – Praxis
    Commented Aug 14, 2015 at 4:25
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    @Praxis Because people voted on it and Mos Eisley won by a narrow majority. I admit that I didn't know about this until you asked about it.
    – Wad Cheber
    Commented Aug 14, 2015 at 4:34

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