mathsticks Points

The mathsticks points system is there to help encourage all our users to contribute to the mathsticks site.

When you first register you receive 20 'Welcome Points', and further points are gained by participating in the site:

• 2 points* for each comment you make.
  So, the next time you use one of the mathstick maths resources, tell us about it.Sharing ideas has always been good... now there's even more of a 'point' to it!
• 1 point* for voting on other members comments
• If other members think your comment is useful they may vote for it (give it a 'thumbs up); this will earn you an additional 5 points.
• I also often give away an arbitrary (but useful) number of points for particularly helpful comments.
   
• 10 points* each time you refer a new user to the site.
  Go to your Your Account page, and you will see a short web address (it will look something like: http://www.mathsticks.com/referral/xxxxxxx), give this address to your colleagues, copy it into an email, or add it to Facebook (or whatever)... When your colleague uses this specific address to register with mathsticks, they will earn 10 points for you.
• 10 points* for every new user that you invite to the site and a further 10 points when they accept the invitation! 
  Use the Invite a friend link near the end of the top navigtation bar.

mathstick badges are also displayed on any comments you make - these are related to the number of points you have; see mathstick Members Rank for more details of this.

IMPORTANT POINT

Of course, we can't all just accumulate points pointlessly -- we can spend some of them!

Points are used (deducted) for each file you download; 1 point per file.

Simple maths example:

You join, download five resources, write three comments and refer two friends
(20 points  -  5)  +  6 points  +  20 points      = 41 points

* - Points were increased to this level in October 2011 

FAQs

What's the point of the points?
To encourage active participation (comments and referrals), and to discourage mass downloading of all the resources.

Do the points have any monetary value?
No.

Will there be a prize for the person with the highest number of points?
We gave away some special resources in December 2010... and may do something similar at a later date - keep watching the site!

What if I want to download something but I've run out of points?
You'll have to do something to earn yourself a couple of points... harsh, I know!

Won't people just add nonsense comments just to get lots of points?
Maybe some will - but all comments are moderated and only the meaningful and useful ones will be added to the system (and therefore generate points)

Why doesn't the comment I've written show on the page?
Firstly, thank you for your comment. Secondly, all comments are read and moderated by Admin (see above) before they will be posted... give it a few hours (or, if Admin is busy, a day or two).

I've just downloaded a resource - why hasn't my points total changed?
This is automated so should happen instantly. However, at busy periods the points total on the main web pages will only be updated every few minutes or so. The points on your Your Account page, are updated more frequently - if you want to see the total more quickly you can log out and log back in again... but it's probably easier to wait. ;-)

You can add further questions, or make general comments about this idea, below...