Reputation system
In order to find reliable players of a comparable level, Whisthub uses a reputation system. Per game type, a player can earn reputation points in various ways, and in some cases reputation can be lost. This means that your reputation for Colour Whist is independent of your reputation in Manille, Wiezen, Barbu King and Hearts. The amount of points a player has collected gives an indication of the reliability and strength of the player.
Only registered players can earn reputation points. Hence, in order to optimize your experience on Whisthub it is recommended to create an account. This is free of charge and without any obligations.
The reputation system is the primary system for ranking players and is very different from a traditional ranking. This page aims to give an overview of how the reputation system works and why it works that way. Not all details are revealed though in order to ensure that the reputation system cannot be abused.
Purpose of the reputation system
Every major community faces the same problems of distinguishing quality from the rest. The aim of the reputation system is therefore to allow reliable players of a comparable level to easily find each other.
There is no doubt that during the time you spend on Whisthub you will come into contact with pleasant players, but unfortunately also players you would rather avoid in the future. This can be for various reasons: unsportive behavior, not adhering to the terms and conditions, early-leaving a room, ...
With the reputation system you have the option to setup a number of requirements when creating a new room and other players must meet those requirements if they want to join the room. That way you can ensure that the quality in the room is guaranteed.
Differences from a traditional ranking
In a traditional ranking, players can often win more points by playing against higher ranked players. Conversely, players can los more points if they play against lower ranked players.
However, the consequence of this is often that higher ranked players no longer want to play against lower ranked players in the fear of losing their ranking. This often causes frustration because the competition becomes more important that way than playing itself. However, lower ranked players are not necessarily much worse of a player. In contrast to, for example, chess, luck still plays a major role in playing cards.
The reputation system therefore values more how players judge each other, rather than what the actual outcome of a game is. That way, real aficionados can play just as well together with beginners. Even if a beginner is not yet playing at the top level, the higher ranked players can encourage the beginners to continue playing by indicating that they were having fun playing with them. They do not run into any risk of losing their reputation.
Note that the players with the highest reputation points are not necessarily the very best players. It is true though that these players have a long history on Whisthub and may have played thousands of games. Without a doubt, their reputation is hence correlated with their playing strength.
The approach used in the reputation system hence shifts the focus of who is actually the best player back to the fun of the game itself, and that's what Whisthub is all about!
Reputation levels
The number of reputation points that a player has earned is divided into 8 levels and each level is represented by a color. The levels operate on a logarithmic scale. This means that more points are always needed to reach the next level than were required to reach the previous level.
All levels and their associated thresholds are shown in the table below. Note that there are no levels above 5000 reputation points. In other words, if you collect 5000 reputation points you belong to the group of the best and most reputable players on Whisthub!
| Reputation | Color |
|---|---|
| 1 | |
| 50 | |
| 100 | |
| 200 | |
| 500 | |
| 1,000 | |
| 2,000 | |
| 5,000 |
Earning reputation
Obviously only registered users can earn reputation points. Each new user starts with 10 reputation points and this number can never drop below 1. However, if you have already earned reputation points in another game, you will start with 10% of this number, limited to 200. In other words, if you have already earned 1200 reputation points in Colour Whist, you start with 120 reputation points in Manille, Wiezen, Barbu King and Hearts.
The primary way of earning reputation points is by receiving votes from other players. Once a room has finished playing, players having a reputation of at least 20 can upvote each other by clicking on the icon .
It is not mandatory to upvote after a room has ended, but it's also in one's advantage. As good and reliable players receive more votes, you will also encounter them more often in the game as your own reputation increases.
Not every vote has the same weight. Votes from players with a higher reputation are valued more. In other words, receiving an upvote from a player with a high reputation will gain you more reputation points than receiving a vote from a player with a lower reputation.
To prevent players forming circles, individual players can only upvote eachother a limited amount of times. The maximum number of upvotes that can be given to another player depends on your own reputation.
In addition to receiving votes from other players, there are a few other ways to earn reputation points:
- Reputation is awarded based on the final standings of a room. Who the reputation is awarded to and how much varies per game.
- Once a player surpasses certain thresholds of total amount of games played - indicated by - reputation is awarded. These thresholds depend on whether a game is played with 52 cards (Colour Whist, Wiezen, Barbu King and Hearts) or 32 cards (Manille).
| 52 cards | 32 cards | Reputation |
|---|---|---|
| 50 | 100 | +10 |
| 500 | 1,000 | +50 |
| 2,000 | 5,000 | +100 |
| 5,000 | 10,000 | +150 |
| 10,000 | 20,000 | +200 |
| 20,000 | 50,000 | +250 |
| 50,000 | 100,000 | +300 |
Losing reputation
It is also possible to lose reputation in order to penalize players that misbehave. The main reason for losing reputation points is by receiving downvotes from other players. Players can downvote each other by clicking after a room has ended.
Only players having a reputation of at least 200 can downvote other players. To prevent abuse, downvoting costs 1 reputation point, until you reach a reputation of 500. As such downvoting is actually a tradeoff tradeoff: "Did this player misbehave so badly that I am willing to sacrifice some of my own reputation for it?" Just as with positive votes, negative votes also weigh more heavily when they come from players with a higher reputation.
In addition to receiving downvotes, reputation points can also be lost by leaving a room before the game has ended, for example by closing the website. Reputation can also be lost when losing internet connection.
Conclusion
The reputation system is not perfect. The purpose and theory behind it are clear, but the proof of the pudding is in the eating. However, when everyone uses the system for which it was designed, this will make playing on Whisthub even more enjoyable than it already is. What are you waiting for!?