Revamped User Titles

[Ackbach]

In case you hadn't noticed, we have changed the user titles on MHB. The old system was rather a hodge-podge of themes; so we have unified the theme to the guild system (technically, Craftsman and Grandmaster aren't usually their own ranks in a guild system, but work with us here). It works as follows:

MHB Apprentice: 0-99 posts
MHB Craftsman: 100-499 posts
MHB Journeyman: 500-999 posts
MHB Master: 1000-4999 posts
MHB Grandmaster: 5000-Infinity posts

So, this is just an informational post to let you know how it all works.

 

[caffeinemachine]

In case you hadn't noticed, we have changed the user titles on MHB. The old system was rather a hodge-podge of themes; so we have unified the theme to the guild system (technically, Craftsman and Grandmaster aren't usually their own ranks in a guild system, but work with us here). It works as follows:

MHB Apprentice: 0-99 posts
MHB Craftsman: 100-499 posts
MHB Journeyman: 500-999 posts
MHB Master: 1000-4999 posts
MHB Grandmaster: 5000-Infinity posts

So, this is just an informational post to let you know how it all works.

I like all of them except for 'MHB Journeyman'.
One title I can suggest is 'MHB Math sage' or just 'MHB Sage'.

Just my opinion.

 

[Opalg]

I like all of them except for 'MHB Journeyman'.
One title I can suggest is 'MHB Math sage' or just 'MHB Sage'.

Just my opinion.

I think caffeinemachine has a good point there. It seems very odd for a journeyman to rank higher than a craftsman. A journeyman was someone employed by the day (journée in french; and of course a 'journey' was originally the distance that one could travel in a day), whereas a craftsman was someone who had mastered a craft. On the other hand, I'm not sure that 'sage' really fits into this hierarchy of skills. I would prefer just to swap 'craftsman' and 'journeyman'.

 

[Ackbach]

I think caffeinemachine has a good point there. It seems very odd for a journeyman to rank higher than a craftsman. A journeyman was someone employed by the day (journée in french; and of course a 'journey' was originally the distance that one could travel in a day), whereas a craftsman was someone who had mastered a craft. On the other hand, I'm not sure that 'sage' really fits into this hierarchy of skills. I would prefer just to swap 'craftsman' and 'journeyman'.

Hmm. Well, according to the wiki on guilds:

Not all city economies were controlled by guilds; some cities were "free". Where guilds were in control, they shaped labour, production and trade; they had strong controls over instructional capital, and the modern concepts of a lifetime progression of apprentice to craftsman, journeyman, and eventually to widely-recognized master and grandmaster began to emerge. In order to become a Master, a Journeyman would have to go on a 3 year voyage called Journeyman years. This was also known as the Waltz and is the origin of the Australian song Waltzing Matilda. The practice of the Journeyman years still exists in Germany.

If you follow the link to craftsman, it redirects to "artisan", and has the following:

During the Middle Ages, the term "artisan" was applied to those who made things or provided services. It did not apply to unskilled labourers. Artisans were divided into two distinct groups: those who operated their own businesses and those who did not. Those who owned their businesses were called masters, while the latter were the journeymen and apprentices. One misunderstanding many people have about this social group is that they picture them as "workers" in the modern sense: employed by someone. The most influential group among the artisans were the masters, the business owners. The owners enjoyed a higher social status in their communities.

These quotes seem to make the rank of craftsman ambiguous in terms of ranking. Neither of the wikis seem to imply that a craftsman or artisan was one who "mastered" the craft - merely one who "practiced" the craft. A "man of the craft", so to speak. In addition, the journeyman had definitely achieved no small skill in the craft; in Germany, the journeyman was supposed to (and still does) travel and learn from other masters.

I could go either way - I'm not married to one particular way.

 

[Jameson]

It seems both titles really aren't clearly above or below each other so, assuming that's true, we should probably come up with two new titles to replace them with so the hierarchy is immediately clear.

 

[ZaidAlyafey]

I don't like this way of ranking as it gives no real indication of the levels of the members . I think it should not involve only number of posts but also I would advise Thanks to be included in the process.

 

[Jameson]

I don't like this way of ranking as it gives no real indication of the levels of the members . I think it should not involve only number of posts but also I would advise Thanks to be included in the process.

These aren't really considered ranks, they are titles. These are our ranks. All members start off in the usergroup or rank of "registered member". Then members can be promoted to a MHB Math Helper or staff position, which is a true change of rank. It would be nice to somehow incorporate the number of thanks into titles but that isn't really feasible for us to do. I frequent many non-math forums and they all employ a system of user titles changing after X posts so I think it's fine to continue.

 

[ZaidAlyafey]

Ok , then I should know why do have to have these titles ? . If they are just changing when the number of posts exceeds a certain amount then I think there is no need for them.
It is not that if other sites have these then we have to imitate , is it?

 

[Opalg]

These quotes seem to make the rank of craftsman ambiguous in terms of ranking. Neither of the wikis seem to imply that a craftsman or artisan was one who "mastered" the craft - merely one who "practiced" the craft. A "man of the craft", so to speak. In addition, the journeyman had definitely achieved no small skill in the craft; in Germany, the journeyman was supposed to (and still does) travel and learn from other masters.

Fair enough – I was going by the everyday meaning of the words rather than the historical Guild connotations. My dictionary gives a journeyman as someone who is competent at a trade, and a craftsman as someone who is skilled at a trade. To me, "skill" sounds better than mere "competence". But I don't want to make difficulties about this. I'm quite happy to let these categories stand as they are.