New role discussion: Experts

Question

Hello, TibiaQA community!

The quality and correctness of answers available on TibiaQA is a crucial factor. A knowledge base filled with incorrect information would be of little use to anyone. Therefore, the TibiaQA team is constantly looking for improvements in this area. Today, we'd like to share with you the concept of Experts as a staff role in the TibiaQA team. This is currently still just an idea, and we would love to hear your opinions on the matter.

So, who would be experts?

Experts would be TibiaQA staff members, who have extraordinary knowledge about the game. They would be recruited just like any other staff members.

What would experts do?

Their main task would be to make sure we, as a fansite, provide the best answers possible. This means they would focus on finding answers to unanswered questions, validating already provided answers, voting on answers, or editing existing answers for clarity. They could also be given some additional privileges, like the ability to override the best answer, if they find the current best answer is incorrect or selecting the best answer in questions that don't have one selected.

What would be the requirements?

As mentioned in the role description, they would need to have huge knowledge about the game. We could put some basic checks in place, like minimum one character of level 500+ or at least level 3 tutor, however, there would likely need to be additional checks too.

What would be the benefits?

Similar to other staff members: free premium time, diamond mark for recognition, Omniscient Owl, no ads on TibiaQA

What do you think about this concept? Let us know your thoughts!
The TibiaQA.com team

Comments

i wouldn't say im an expert on tibia, but i can really discuss the lvl 500 part (if ever were a req), i think that having basic/advanced knowledge depends a lot more on your quest log/achievements or whatever else that could demostrate enthutiasm/willing to enjoy/discover/learn about tibia, since lvl 500 is a not so easily achievable thing if you often to solo play, is easier to be bought, and doesn't mean that you actually know about the game or even that you care of it, but mean that you often to go hunt which is the most basic part of tibia, is more a reason to be discouraged that a reason to demostrate knowledge/worthness in my opinion.

About the role itself, i find it enjoyable, there are several users/tibia enjoyers that simply deserve it due their valuable efforts, would also fix the trouble about old questions that never get a best answer or a bad answer chosen, but then bring me back to the criteria to choose who is an "expert" of tibiaqa, i think it should be thought and considered based on their knowledge shown rather than other thing.

---

I am new here but think this is a great idea :D

Answer 1

I love the idea and think it's very much needed to have an improvement on the best answer selection. I have some questions-

1.  It would be awesome if moderators could also lend help in this aspect of TibiaQA if they choose to. I know then it would cross a line into another role and I could see how the two roles need to be separated but I would love myself to have the ability to help if need be so I'm wondering what the stance is on that? Can moderators be experts and also moderators at the same time or would they have to be only 1 role? If this is the case where they can be in both roles, should they be allowed to have the opportunity to also earn additional benefits including another owl?
2.  Of course, not everyone knows everything and sometimes others can know more in one category than another (for example maybe they lack the knowledge of hunting/equipment but have excellent knowledge in achievements) so I'm wondering if experts need to be an expert on every category or can choose to obviously only help with what they know.
3. Should experts be allowed to choose their own answer as the best answer? Or should they let another expert handle the selection. I see no problem with them being allowed to as long as it isn't abused or incorrect obviously.
4. What should we do if we dispute the best answer selection with what the expert picked? Would we post on TibiaQA Meta, send feedback, comment, or should there be a flag of somesort to dispute? Either as the owner as a question or just a bystander.
5. What if we notice a question needs to have a new best answer selection, like the question I asked before would we post on TibiaQA Meta, send feedback, comment, or should their be a flag of somesort?
6. How many experts would be needed or selected to improve TibiaQA? A max of 3 experts?
7. What's the duration if a question becomes outdated simply due to a recent update? For example, when a current best answer was correct but needs to edit the answer simply due to an update how much time would be allowed to go by in order for the expert to choose another best answer? Should they be allowed to remove this answer from the best answer right away until an update is made? Or if another user posts a correct answer the same day of the update should the expert be allowed to change best answer?

Comments

I think it would be best if the two roles - moderators and experts were separate. Nothing is set in stone yet though. Category experts are also not something I had in mind, but it might make sense to recruit players with different interests - e.g. power gaming experts, achievement-focused experts, etc. Specific guidelines for experts are also still up for discussion.

Edits and work of experts could be monitored through the moderation center, similar to how other post edits can currently be tracked there. If it turns out expansion to the moderation center is necessary to follow anything better, we will consider introducing it.

Finally, I feel that we should expand our flagging system so that it allows marking posts that require regular update/maintenance (like the mentioned updates). Currently, flags can only be used for posts that violate our guidelines.

Answer 2

I like it!

Looks like can be a good and useful new ''tool'' to all users.

Do you think on add as requirements certain points on the TibiaQA system?

About the level 500 requeriments is really useles, when you can buy it. By eg I have level 400 but have more achiemevets than levels 800+ and on this point im only missing the bosses from secret library and soul war, I killed even rares like ancient spaw of morgatha and hard ones like last lore keeper. So the level on these days dont means nothing.

Comments

Good point - character level may not be as useful anymore.
Also, some minimum threshold for reputation points should be in place too - just to make sure whoever applies has some basic understanding of TibiaQA already

Answer 3

"To know" about tibia and To know about tibia are imo 2 similar things that doesn't mean the same, that's why im agreed with some answers that some tangible achievements are needed , yet some of those are simply meaningless in the matter of measuring knowledge, skippable and depends a lot in other matters rather than having knowledge about the game.

Between those meaningless milestones for knowledge, Lvling is probably the most controversial one, because is totally different to achieve 500 with a teamhunt than being a solo player for example, you can achieve lvl 500 without testing or touching 90% of the content of the game (really), as long as you can afford it (and there are some hunts that allow you affording the lvl up with pretty high exp) you can obtain even greater numbers in few time, and still u could know nothing else about the game (and im not going to talk about bought milestones, because almost everything in this game can be bought). In the other hand im agreed that an "Expert" of tibia must have experienced the content that is talking about, that "personal-experience" source is needed when sorting information, and were wonderful if for example that same player had a really high level character too, but i don't think it were needed, helpful? provide extra assurance? yes, but not a keypoint, so as long as someone have the minimun needed lvl to reach everywhere in tibia, imo that character must be considered worthy, that's why i consider that lvl 300 should be the only required parameter regarding level, while a higher than 600 character could be added it should be optional.

That said, a lvl 300 by itself is a weak character, an average milestone achievable by anyone in few time, but if we are talking about an Expert, that lvl 300 should actually have milestones worthy of its position right? and here is where start the requirements that i feel neccessary to call someone an Expert:
 

• It must have been in tibia: If you really know about X spot in tibia, with your skills and knowledge should be able to reach it, and more important, prove that you have been there, so you will need to have unlocked all the measuring tibia quest, no excuse, isn't even a hard quest now with the help of tibiamaps.io and other players, so prove that you have been there.
   
• It must have deal with the high-end content: This one is simple, being in gnomprona isn't the same that fighting in gnomprona, so to proof that you have deal with the foe u should have at least some entries completely unlocked in the higher contents of tibia, 1 entry per content of the following should be ok: Soul war, library, gnomprona.
   
• it must have completed variety of difficult content: That character must have fought not only the strongest enemies but he must have tasted several contents, so must have completed the following quest: forgotten knowledge, Heart of destruction, order of the lion, secret library, adventures of galthen, ferumbras ascendant, within the tides, soul war, primal ordeal, too hot to handle, kilmaresh quest,  and some minor as an ancient feud, wz.
  In most of those quest completing it could only mean to have the right to fight the final boss, in others is to do the last known mission.
   
• It certainly should know how to achieve the stuff: achiemevents are in-game milestones that can be obtained after doing remarkable actions, a minimun of achievements up to discussion is neccessary to help know that you actually play with acknoledgement of tibian goals and that if is neccessary u will resort to reliable sources of information to obtain that knowledge, maybe some specific achievements could be important too.
   
• It should have dealt with various kind bosses: lever bosses beside the last hunts on tibia are the only content that require mechanics and knowledge about specific situations/behaviours that could struggle you, with this in mind at least 5 lever bosses (archfoe with lever) entry must be achieved, moreover having knowledge of and dealing with the deadliest or rarest bosses in tibia is something really worth of acknoledgement, so having at least 5 Nemesis entry (whichever that weren't from the same content) is a must too.
   
• Finally, it should be able to proofs and give use of its knowledge to help others: if for example we say that this player knows what is needed to get lvl 300 in a month, he should be able to show it up to players so they could benefit of his own knowledge, resorting to videos/guides made by others is okay but having personal content that could be proven as worthy should provide extra points.

For me, this is what a Expert of tibia should have to consider it reliable, specially if we can separate it into areas of knowledge:

If someone is focused in lets say boss hunter category, it should have a minimun of knowledge of all the other contents and of course he wouldn't need for example bestiary entries for soulwar, but which kind of boss hunter were him if he has no access to soul war bosses/gnomprona bosses?

A Power gaming fanatic could really not be focused into quest, and some respawns could be simply bad developed for lvl up, but what's the point of power gaming a character if isn't able to have entries for the last contents of tibia? what's he achieving? how reliable is the info provided if he haven't touched other contents?

Someone who try to call himself an expert of tibia but haven't unlocked every area of tibia? haven't deal with the deadliest mobs? bosses? has he at least achieved something meaningful for tibia? nope, nothing he just lvl uped with friends... and he have more knowledge than that lvl 300 who have completed every end game quest, unlocked the deadliest entries, found and unlocked the most rarest and hardest bosses and got several achievements all that without mentioning the hardest ones and other renownable stuff as his video on youtube about how to PG from 0 to 300 with no wallet aid? only because is 800, 1000, 1500, 2000? i don't think so.

Answer 4

I think its hard to filter between players who are actual giganerd experts

On the server I play there are many players who 'think they know everything',

but only a handful (4-5) who I know are genuinely correct about nearly everything they talk about.

It takes a mix of experience playing the game, critical thinking, and being able to admit when you've been wrong about something (when new information surfaces).

I think rewarding these types of people is great, but I think finding them and vetting them correctly is going to be hard.

Answer 5

Since the issue of the required 500 lvl is controversial, I would like to defend this idea.

I want to note that with the current opportunities that Tibia gives us, level 500 can be achieved easily starting from scratch in a year (players who love pg would say 2 months), and considering that the top levels in the game have already exceeded 2,000 this is no extraordinary lvl. It's hard to even call it a "mid-lvl".

Content introduced by CipSoft is increasingly adjusted to higher lvls, where 500 level is still not enough and often without a specially organized service we will not be able to cope with new quests and monsters. How then can you be an expert without being able to personally test half of the new content? Such a low-level player with a typical RPG attitude to the game may be an expert in a particular field. On the other hand, he will immediately fall down on the most general knowledge related to PG, and new content. Perhaps experts in various fields would be a good solution here? In this case, experts associated with, for example, house decorations, world events, or Tibia lore could be exempted from this requirement.

TibiaQA is a fansite designed for every Tibia player, so the knowledge presented here should not be limited to a low lvl perspective. Unfortunately, some answers (even awarded), while seemingly comprehensive, are often written by people with a level of 200-300, making them not only incomplete but from the perspective of a higher lvl person, simply wrong and misleading. I believe that on TibiaQA there is a lack of knowledge from the point of view of higher lvls, especially in the topics of equipment selection, hunts, and generally about PG.

@Trululu Gumdrops

You refer to the number of achievements - I would like to point out that Tibia is not a game about getting achievements. It's just a fraction that a minority is interested in. I have over 100 points more without being an achievement hunter - perhaps my lvl and wider capabilities have an impact here?

Comments

Tibia is the game you want it to be. The point with the achievements is  that allows you to do and learn about things in the game that most of players don't know or just dnt care (Nonsense like preparing a cake or doing X little-known mission because it doesn't give a good reward) and as I say on this point all is affordable with cash, level, achievements, skills...

---

Of course, I understand that these days levels, achievements, and many other things can simply be bought with cash in this game, but I don't want to go too far off-topic, because that's not what I wrote about. Just because I can buy myself a 1500 lvl tomorrow doesn't mean that someone who manually achieved 400 lvl knows enough about this game to be an expert. This lvl is not needed as long as the expert roles would be defined, such as achievement expert, or decoration expert. But I wouldn't want the game to be taught by a person with 3x lower lvl than me, who hasn't even done the quest he's commenting on or has never hunted on the places I hunt on.

---

that's why we have wikis and streamers that handle content for the most of us... if your train of thoughts were right then for example anyone who is 500 and haven't managed to do soul war/gnomprona content due solo player should also be exempted?

many lvl 300 have done soul war and even have gone gnomprona, since atm there's not quest with lvl restrictement higher than that  then a lvl 300 could go everywhere in tibia with a good team, while a lvl 600 even a lvl 800 could struggle with most of the high lvl content since not having enough friends/guild/trying to be solo player.

in the other hand we have lvl 800+ who simply have no knowledge of the game but about specific stuff (say war and specific hunts that he has gone).

a point that were important then should be to take into account end-game quests/end game content.

If someone managed to do soul war /gnomprona EVEN if was in a service that person should know about the mechanics of the place and how to play in it, don't u think?

---

It seems to me that a person cast in the role of a general expert should be able to independently verify such knowledge. I've been a TibiaQA user for a really long time, and I've witnessed situations where answers backed by WIKI-type sources were simply wrong, and the role of an expert is to also verify knowledge from such sources and not rely on them. Moreover according to TibiaQA policy, is not an official source of information, (since it is also created by players and also contains mistakes or omissions).  Streamers you mentioned are not always a good source of knowledge either. Watching some quite popular on Twitch ones, I have the impression that they could successfully title their tutorials "How not to play a particular profession".
I guess I have to emphasize again that my opinion applies to the case where the role of an expert would be very general and cover a broad topic. Then the example you gave of a 300 lvl player, despite the quest service specially prepared for him, would still be deficient in many other issues, such as hunting experience, power gaming, and many more! ;)

I think my opinion is followed by a bit of a rational approach and (perhaps because I run a couple of fansites myself) a slightly formal point of view. As I wrote above, a low-level player can be great in some narrow categories and that would be much more constructive for the site. There are few players who can be experts in any field, even at the 1500+ level. In my opinion, it is best to define the different categories and ranges of knowledge and only then match the requirements to them.