Ideas - *controversial*

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Dear lorren,

You have received an infraction at Habbox Forum.

Reason: Inappropriate Language / Avoiding the filter
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You were warned by me a few days ago about avoiding the filter for this word, if you continue to do so, further action will be taken.


Regards,*Removed*

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this was my mod message from a few months ago XD

(only posted to show you my mod message that i recieve)

System just looks stupid. Maybe even Welcome or something funny like The Habbox Cleaner or something like that would brighten the forum up. Also if someone joins after me telling them in HxHD i always try say hi to them, and its just someone to turn to if they have problems which is great

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Originally Posted by Garion

This is something that will have to be looked into and I would encourage anyone to send any 'unfriendly' PMs to Oli to be dealt with. It was my intention, when I recently wrote a new mod guide, to include PM templates that didn't need to be followed to the letter but would give our moderators an idea of what a friendly PM should look like. If this is still an issue I am sure Oli will look into it.



Members do get a message when they sign up and I do think we discussed changing it to make it more friendly not long ago. I think it comes from "System" or something like that. I'd much rather it came from Forum God or maybe even MattGarner so it looks a lot friendlier and can be replied to. Additionally I think maybe myself, Matt, Roxy, Alkaz, Oli and the Moderators could put in more effort in maybe giving new members visitor messages to make them feel more welcome. Obviously not us all inundating every new member, but if we spot a new member we could give them a VM if someone hasn't already. It's nothing major but could be beneficial.

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Yeah I suggested the visitor message idea in the Leaders Debates but I got flamed by some members for some reason.

I think its vital to get all management posting regularly. Its good to see it has improved though.

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Originally Posted by Garion

Additionally I think maybe myself, Matt, Roxy, Alkaz, Oli and the Moderators could put in more effort in maybe giving new members visitor messages to make them feel more welcome.

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I actually started to do this a week or so ago but haven't had the time due to exams etc since but definitely is something which I do agree we should be doing. It is hardly any effort to leave a visitor message. Also to add to what Saurav said, I think that recently all members of management have been posting a bit more actively around the forum but still could be improved. :)

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Originally Posted by Saurav

Well tbh I had 2 infractions before being permd so I did not have many. I know many of the PM's I have received are serious rather than friendly.

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Well I would encourage any member to report an unfriendly pm as this is not what we are about.

Hi!

Sorry I've left this so late to reply, you just happened to post this on the blue moon which involves me actually leaving my house for a purpose other than college :O

Firstly, I'd like to thank you for writing this up and taking the time to attempt to help Habbox Forum. Feedback is something which we rely heavily on and any feedback is appreciated as it will help us move forward, which is of course what we aim to do.

I'm not going to quote your post and reply to every single bit, I'm simply going to post a response to your ideas.

I'm gonna put the negative stuff at the top so you leave my post on a positive note, the reputation system, the idea about post count not showing and the idea about join date not showing - I think Garion's shot them down pretty well so I'm just going to say that it won't be happening, particularly the not showing part of post count and join date. Reputation is something we may consider but this forum has had so much reputation system reform if our reputation was the economy we'd be in a worst state than this country.

I've read through this whole thread and from it I've decided what I am about to say. Obviously I will have to check with General Management whether I am allowed to conduct such radical changes I do not know.

Firstly, the arcade - I'm willing to give unlimited access to everyone, however restrict tournament permissions within the user-rank system. I am a big fan of the arcade and play it a lot and sometimes I wonder why not that many users are playing too then I remember that we restrict it, and then feel harsh! So yeah, unlimited arcade access to all will be added to the top of my list for updates this week.

On to my bigger decision. The Habbox Star User-Rank system was introduced quite some time ago and really the restrictions have not changed since then.

You are right in saying we need to reward the newer users with more privelidges. I do believe that if for a higher post count you get more privilidges this is an incentive to post, however I don't think it's so much of an incentive to actually have effect on the forum.

From reading the feedback in this thread, I would like to change the User-Rank system we have.

I would like to change it so we have five main userranks, I personally like the star system but only the coloured ones look good, the bronze ones for instance look disgusting, as you said. So my initial proposal is going to keep the stars however if that's not massively liked then this can be changed.

Five ranks: Gold, Ruby, Sapphire, Emerald & Platinum

Each rank will then have four stages which work similar to the way you progress through each star at the moment however for each extra star within your rank you progress you will be given a reward for achieving this. My proposal is that every time you reach a new star within your rank is that you recieve reputation points

So it'd kinda be like this:

Gold Members:
To be in this userrank you must have between 0 and 1000 posts.
For each extra star you need 250 posts and each time you gain an extra star you get 10 rep points.
Obviously I'm not going to go into detail here with the privilidges the member will get, however to make it relevant to the post, I'm going to say that Gold Members will be permitted to have an avatar of 120x120, something which in the current system you would need 2500 posts for.

Ruby Members:
To be in this user rank you must have between 1001 and 2500 posts.
For each extra star you would need 375 posts each time you gain an extra star you get 15 rep points
This usergroup would be permitted an avatar of 130x130 something which you would currently need 5000 posts for.

Sapphire Members:
To be in this user rank you must have between 2501 and 5000 posts
For each extra star you would need 625 posts each time you gain an extra star you would get 20 rep points.
This usergroup would be permitted an avatar of 140x140 something which you currently need 10000 posts for.

Emerald Members:
To be in this userrank you must have between 5001 and 10000 posts.
For each extra star you would need 1250 posts and would be rewarded with 25 rep points per star
This usergroup would be permitted an avatar of 150x150 something which you currently need 20,000 posts for.

Platinum Members
To be in this userrank you must have between 10,001 and 20,000 posts.
For each extra star you would need 2500 posts and would be rewarded with 30 rep points per star
This usergroup would get a 150x150 avatar and larger signature options in comparison with the Emerald group, this group would also be able to see who gave reputation.

What if we go over 20,000 posts?
If a member was to reach the 20,000 end limit then they would become a Habbox God and be placed into the Habbox God usergroup which will have a bolded coloured name and all VIP features permanently.

Please note this is an idea I've just drawn up here and now for you to discuss, if this was to go ahead (which hopefully it will) it will probably be changed quite a bit to suit your needs.

I hope this response is kinda what you were looking for.

That seems pretty good, Oli. The Habbox God permissions would mean that only one person would get it immediately but quiet a few are just a few hundred posts away so would be interesting to see their response to that proposed change :D

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Originally Posted by lorren

Avatars
Sure OK, they're progressive and it could be argued it's an incentive to post and be active to try and get a bigger avatar. In reality, I don't think that's the case. Small avatars look awful, I can't have an avatar that looks good which is annoying but I can't because the size makes them look ridiculous. I don't see why all users can't have the simple 150x150. People aren't going to stop buying donator or become less active because of an avatar.

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Could have sworn I saw Oli saying he was going to make the default avatar size 100x100 rather than the 90x100 that it has been for some reason, and personally I don't see that as a terrible size. MSN display pictures are smaller than this (96x96 I think although I could be a couple out) and that's not something I ever see people complain about. If it was made easier to progress to whatever the secondary level of membership is with an increase there it would suffice rather than having everyone the same - taking away privileges takes away incentives.

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Originally Posted by lorren

Arcade
Again, why can't this just be open to all users... I feel it would benefit the forum more. If new users, came on, enjoyed the arcade and were given full access maybe they'd come back again just to use the arcade and even if they make 5 or so posts each time they come on it's still a help. I also think the arcade scores should be wiped, make it more active.

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This I agree with (although scores don't need to be wiped - that was done recently anyway) as anyone hanging around the forum, even just for the arcade, is likely to post at some point or another. There's no harm to be had by implementing this.

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Originally Posted by lorren

Reputation
It's really hard to move up the reputation ladder. It's unlikely any other 'new' user would get that much. I think this should either be scrapped entirely. Reputation doesn't make people stay, or at least it shouldn't but it defo puts people off.

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I am of course going to have a bias on this but really I can't see many of the older and more respected members being too happy at having their hard work erased. A change whereby earlier levels are easier to obtain (ie: 50 points needed to gain the first few rep powers, then 80 per power, 120 per power etc) would be preferential and although this would increase pretty much everyone's rep power, that would then actually make it easier for new members to get more rep and start their own way up - a win for everyone.

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Originally Posted by lorren

Join Date
Thinking behind this is maybe if there wasn't proof they were a new user, they wouldn't feel so new. It's not important at all and I don't think this should be displayed when you post. Or at least have the option, if possible for it not to be displayed on the forum.

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Not really sure if this is necessary, and has been said elsewhere it can still be checked through the member number thingy (the word's gone right out of my head..) but if people really want it then sure, wouldn't bother me personally and don't think it would have much effect on anyone.

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Originally Posted by lorren

Post count
Seeing as the forum has been open so long some people have mammoth post counts. Again, I think if possible people should be allowed to make it so it doesn't display. Maybe even some of the more active users would do it to not look as addicted.

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As far as I'm aware, those with the highest post counts are far more likely to be proud of their contributions than ashamed of looking addicted. This I can see being used more by those with lower post counts in order to hide the fact that they haven't been around long, in fact. Not convinced of this having much of an impact, positive or negative.

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Originally Posted by lorren

User Rank
The bronze stars are disgusting. Can't these just be replaced with userbars "new user" "loyal member" "legendary". Whatever. I just hate the star system and I think having a horrid star under your name would put you off the forum.
A lot of these are related to the fact the forum is so old. People who are new feel intimidated by the older members, even if they aren't threatening. If people were able to hide there own which are insignificant in comparison then maybe they'd be more inclined to post.

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Gonna leave this one alone because it doesn't affect me and that's how I roll.

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Originally Posted by lorren

Anyway, I know these are controversial and I'd be surprised if anyone actually agreed but I think the systems we have at the moment although they work fine they put new members off the forum.

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They aren't terrible ideas but I think the real problem is that we're simply too big for our own boots now. As you've been saying, people don't feel that they can fit in well enough, but this is always the case with new members on large forums. Those who join up and instantly become part of the community are usually those who already knew people here or were names of some sort on the hotel - not a bad thing always, but for the average joe it doesn't bode well no matter how big their avatars or what colour the stars are under their name.

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Originally Posted by dogboy123

People are saying 'but the old users wouldnt like this' or w/e. That annoys me because the old members will stay because they like the forum, we need new members for the forum to grow. It seems pointless people are disagreeing to some of these things to pander to the older members

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Well we are kind of important. Alienating those who've been around a long time in order to try getting newer members to stick around basically amounts to starting a new forum, which is a difficult thing to do without a lot of support.

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Originally Posted by Garion

I'd much rather it came from Forum God or maybe even MattGarner so it looks a lot friendlier and can be replied to. Additionally I think maybe myself, Matt, Roxy, Alkaz, Oli and the Moderators could put in more effort in maybe giving new members visitor messages to make them feel more welcome. Obviously not us all inundating every new member, but if we spot a new member we could give them a VM if someone hasn't already. It's nothing major but could be beneficial.

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I think this is one of the more important issues that's come up recently - if management themselves get involved with newer members (and not just with a pre-set welcome message) then they're more likely to feel a part of the forum than just having a few people trying to raise post count in their welcome thread and then being sent off to play in the sand.

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Originally Posted by Oli

Hi!

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Hi.

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Originally Posted by Oli

Firstly, the arcade - I'm willing to give unlimited access to everyone, however restrict tournament permissions within the user-rank system. I am a big fan of the arcade and play it a lot and sometimes I wonder why not that many users are playing too then I remember that we restrict it, and then feel harsh! So yeah, unlimited arcade access to all will be added to the top of my list for updates this week.

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Makes a lot of sense, as long as it's moderated properly. Seen plenty of hacked scores and nothing gets done about them until a big fuss is kicked up.

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Originally Posted by Oli

Gold Members:
To be in this userrank you must have between 0 and 1000 posts.
For each extra star you need 250 posts and each time you gain an extra star you get 10 rep points.
Obviously I'm not going to go into detail here with the privilidges the member will get, however to make it relevant to the post, I'm going to say that Gold Members will be permitted to have an avatar of 120x120, something which in the current system you would need 2500 posts for.

Ruby Members:
To be in this user rank you must have between 1001 and 2500 posts.
For each extra star you would need 375 posts each time you gain an extra star you get 15 rep points
This usergroup would be permitted an avatar of 130x130 something which you would currently need 5000 posts for.

Sapphire Members:
To be in this user rank you must have between 2501 and 5000 posts
For each extra star you would need 625 posts each time you gain an extra star you would get 20 rep points.
This usergroup would be permitted an avatar of 140x140 something which you currently need 10000 posts for.

Emerald Members:
To be in this userrank you must have between 5001 and 10000 posts.
For each extra star you would need 1250 posts and would be rewarded with 25 rep points per star
This usergroup would be permitted an avatar of 150x150 something which you currently need 20,000 posts for.

Platinum Members
To be in this userrank you must have between 10,001 and 20,000 posts.
For each extra star you would need 2500 posts and would be rewarded with 30 rep points per star
This usergroup would get a 150x150 avatar and larger signature options in comparison with the Emerald group, this group would also be able to see who gave reputation.

What if we go over 20,000 posts?
If a member was to reach the 20,000 end limit then they would become a Habbox God and be placed into the Habbox God usergroup which will have a bolded coloured name and all VIP features permanently.

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Those restrictions etc look fine, but unsure about the rep given for attaining new stars. If it doesn't apply to current members then it would be unfair to those who've already posted loads, and if it does then I can see a large amount of rep suddenly appearing (in BACs, as it were) which has seemingly been something management have wanted to suppress over recent years. If management's ok with that then have a look into my rep idea that's somewhere above in this post :P

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Originally Posted by lorren

Show Hide

Before you read I know some of these are controversial. They're welcome to adjustments. Just saying yes/no isn't really useful. If you don't think we need them then explain why. It's a fact that HxF is no longer the most active Habbo Forum but I think it so easily could be as Habbox is easily the biggest and most influential fansite across Habbo. Even foreign hotels don't have a fansite like this.

It's mainly based around a problem that has been highlighted a good eight or so months ago now and has never really been directly combated effectively, membership retention. We have so many people signing up and then not posting or staying active for long. It has been put down to attitudes of older members, I don't buy this whatsoever. In no way is this forum more exclusive than others that do well.

Put the blab in spoiler, just why I made this thread etc:)

Keeping members at HxF
I think the only reason they don't stay is because it's so hard to become established on here. I look at the members who have posted recently who don't have really high post counts or a join date from years ago and they're mostly users who have come back from a ban.

Everything on this forum is putting new people off:

- Avatars
- Arcade
- Reputation
- Join Date
- Post count
- User rank

Avatars
Sure OK, they're progressive and it could be argued it's an incentive to post and be active to try and get a bigger avatar. In reality, I don't think that's the case. Small avatars look awful, I can't have an avatar that looks good which is annoying but I can't because the size makes them look ridiculous. I don't see why all users can't have the simple 150x150. People aren't going to stop buying donator or become less active because of an avatar.

I agree that small avatars do look horrible and there really isn't much point in having them that size as most of the time, you can't even tell what it is. I do not agree that all users should have 150x150 though as avatar limits is something that increases with each rank which does make users post.

Arcade
Again, why can't this just be open to all users... I feel it would benefit the forum more. If new users, came on, enjoyed the arcade and were given full access maybe they'd come back again just to use the arcade and even if they make 5 or so posts each time they come on it's still a help. I also think the arcade scores should be wiped, make it more active.

Completely agree that it should be open to all users. Do not agree that the arcade should be wiped, it's not really fair on people who have worked hard on getting high scores.

Reputation
It's really hard to move up the reputation ladder. It's unlikely any other 'new' user would get that much. I think this should either be scrapped entirely. Reputation doesn't make people stay, or at least it shouldn't but it defo puts people off.

Completely disagree on it being scrapped entirely. I know when I started I loved getting rewarded for making good posts and threads. It actually made me want to post more, it was kind of a confidence boost really.

Join Date
Thinking behind this is maybe if there wasn't proof they were a new user, they wouldn't feel so new. It's not important at all and I don't think this should be displayed when you post. Or at least have the option, if possible for it not to be displayed on the forum.

I really don't see the join date as an issue tbh. Everyone started somewhere, everyone was once new to this forum.

Post count
Seeing as the forum has been open so long some people have mammoth post counts. Again, I think if possible people should be allowed to make it so it doesn't display. Maybe even some of the more active users would do it to not look as addicted.

I think post count is something people are quite proud of really, especially the older members. Like with the join date, I don't think this is a huge issue and if anything seeing the high post counts should make members want to post more so they can get that high.

User Rank
The bronze stars are disgusting. Can't these just be replaced with userbars "new user" "loyal member" "legendary". Whatever. I just hate the star system and I think having a horrid star under your name would put you off the forum.
A lot of these are related to the fact the forum is so old. People who are new feel intimidated by the older members, even if they aren't threatening. If people were able to hide there own which are insignificant in comparison then maybe they'd be more inclined to post.

I do like the stars but they are very outdated and I think they need to be spruced up a little bit. In response to the second part of your post, everyone started somewhere, even the older members were once new and as long as they enjoy posting around the forum they really shouldn't let this affect them.

Anyway, I know these are controversial and I'd be surprised if anyone actually agreed but I think the systems we have at the moment although they work fine they put new members off the forum. If these were changed, I genuinely believe we could attract new people and make them stay. With the merge coming more people will be visiting and if we can make them stay, you'll be laughing!

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My thoughts in bold and purrrrrrple. I know some of what I said, well pretty much all has been echoed in this thread a few times but I thought I'd put forward my thoughts aswell.

From personal experience, I was never bothered by the rank system when I first came to the forum. I just posted for the love of it and not to get higher. I only started to get more interested in the rank system as I spent more time on the forum, probably because it took me a while to understand it but y'know :P

Not everyone is going to be like that and I'm sure a lot of new members might need that extra push to make them post. Especially if they are new to forums.

+rep for taking the time to do this and giving interesting suggestions :)

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Originally Posted by Oli

From reading the feedback in this thread, I would like to change the User-Rank system we have.

I would like to change it so we have five main userranks, I personally like the star system but only the coloured ones look good, the bronze ones for instance look disgusting, as you said. So my initial proposal is going to keep the stars however if that's not massively liked then this can be changed.

Five ranks: Gold, Ruby, Sapphire, Emerald & Platinum

Each rank will then have four stages which work similar to the way you progress through each star at the moment however for each extra star within your rank you progress you will be given a reward for achieving this. My proposal is that every time you reach a new star within your rank is that you recieve reputation points

So it'd kinda be like this:

Gold Members:
To be in this userrank you must have between 0 and 1000 posts.
For each extra star you need 250 posts and each time you gain an extra star you get 10 rep points.
Obviously I'm not going to go into detail here with the privilidges the member will get, however to make it relevant to the post, I'm going to say that Gold Members will be permitted to have an avatar of 120x120, something which in the current system you would need 2500 posts for.

Ruby Members:
To be in this user rank you must have between 1001 and 2500 posts.
For each extra star you would need 375 posts each time you gain an extra star you get 15 rep points
This usergroup would be permitted an avatar of 130x130 something which you would currently need 5000 posts for.

Sapphire Members:
To be in this user rank you must have between 2501 and 5000 posts
For each extra star you would need 625 posts each time you gain an extra star you would get 20 rep points.
This usergroup would be permitted an avatar of 140x140 something which you currently need 10000 posts for.

Emerald Members:
To be in this userrank you must have between 5001 and 10000 posts.
For each extra star you would need 1250 posts and would be rewarded with 25 rep points per star
This usergroup would be permitted an avatar of 150x150 something which you currently need 20,000 posts for.

Platinum Members
To be in this userrank you must have between 10,001 and 20,000 posts.
For each extra star you would need 2500 posts and would be rewarded with 30 rep points per star
This usergroup would get a 150x150 avatar and larger signature options in comparison with the Emerald group, this group would also be able to see who gave reputation.

What if we go over 20,000 posts?
If a member was to reach the 20,000 end limit then they would become a Habbox God and be placed into the Habbox God usergroup which will have a bolded coloured name and all VIP features permanently.

Please note this is an idea I've just drawn up here and now for you to discuss, if this was to go ahead (which hopefully it will) it will probably be changed quite a bit to suit your needs.

I hope this response is kinda what you were looking for.

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Sorry to completely ignore the first part of your post Oli but I really love this idea. It sounds 10 times better and seems a lot more simplified and cleaned up compared to the current system, there really is too many ranks. Also started on a "Gold" sounds better than starting on a "Bronze".

Much better avatar size for newer members to start off with and I love the "Habbox God" usergroup aswell. That's a great way to reward the older members who clearly have a lot of dedication to the forum.

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Originally Posted by Oli

Gold Members:
To be in this userrank you must have between 0 and 1000 posts.
For each extra star you need 250 posts and each time you gain an extra star you get 10 rep points.
Obviously I'm not going to go into detail here with the privilidges the member will get, however to make it relevant to the post, I'm going to say that Gold Members will be permitted to have an avatar of 120x120, something which in the current system you would need 2500 posts for.

Ruby Members:
To be in this user rank you must have between 1001 and 2500 posts.
For each extra star you would need 375 posts each time you gain an extra star you get 15 rep points
This usergroup would be permitted an avatar of 130x130 something which you would currently need 5000 posts for.

Sapphire Members:
To be in this user rank you must have between 2501 and 5000 posts
For each extra star you would need 625 posts each time you gain an extra star you would get 20 rep points.
This usergroup would be permitted an avatar of 140x140 something which you currently need 10000 posts for.

Emerald Members:
To be in this userrank you must have between 5001 and 10000 posts.
For each extra star you would need 1250 posts and would be rewarded with 25 rep points per star
This usergroup would be permitted an avatar of 150x150 something which you currently need 20,000 posts for.

Platinum Members
To be in this userrank you must have between 10,001 and 20,000 posts.
For each extra star you would need 2500 posts and would be rewarded with 30 rep points per star
This usergroup would get a 150x150 avatar and larger signature options in comparison with the Emerald group, this group would also be able to see who gave reputation.

What if we go over 20,000 posts?
If a member was to reach the 20,000 end limit then they would become a Habbox God and be placed into the Habbox God usergroup which will have a bolded coloured name and all VIP features permanently.

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The 'Habbox God' idea needs tweaking. A permanent bolded colour name isnt a good idea. Its one of the reasons why people buy VIP. Also don't give them all the VIP features. Some people enter some competitions to try and win VIP.
If they already have a coloured name and all VIP features permanently, why would they pay to buy donor? Why would try bother with the competitions offering VIP?
Offer some VIP features but not all.