ryanelkins

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91.
by ryanelkins 16y ago
I don't really like badges the way the article's system is designed (this coming form a guy whose startup is about helping sites gives users points and badges). A big part of the kickback that I see from people on here has to do with turnin
92.
by ryanelkins 16y ago
The 35-year old cut-off could be considered gender-specific. The problem with this is that there is no 35 year old cutoff. Why does YCombinator have a high percentage of people in their 20s? People in their 20s are just more likely to be
93.
by ryanelkins 16y ago
I don't think any of the reasons mentioned here for keeping women out is gender specific. It's more hacker vs "idea person" or how I prefer to think of it, those who can code vs those who can't code. This is more about "Y Combinator for n
94.
by ryanelkins 16y ago
Have you seen Ribbon Hero from Microsoft Labs? It actually does add points and achievements to Office. It's actually pretty cool. Their focus is on making learning how to use Office more fun. They run you through "challenges" that ask you
95.
by ryanelkins 16y ago
I agree, but it's the term thats taken hold recently. When we started we had no idea what to call it. In reality, it's not even game mechanics - more like meta game mechanics. Game mechanics are generally more like "action points" or "tile
96.
by ryanelkins 16y ago
There are some good points here - and this is coming from a founder of game mechanics platform (iactionable.com). Like any piece of a design, you can't just throw it in blindly, you have to approach it with a well thought out plan and goals
97.
Why You Should Not Integrate Game Mechanics Into Your Service(gauravonomics.com)
15 points by ryanelkins 16y ago|10 comments
98.
by ryanelkins 16y ago
Perhaps they figured that having X number of people dislike you was better than having those same people never know who you are. I still think the whole "dying platform" thing was taken a bit far. The implication when I read it was that som
99.
by ryanelkins 16y ago
I see this as part of the reaction to the "don't make you user's think" design that has permeated the last 5 years or so on the web. Game mechanics are an interesting way to have more complex applications that don't scare users off and eve
100.
by ryanelkins 16y ago
While I'm also not too fond of the deception - especially when you come back later to the same people and admit it was a ruse of sorts, he did seem to get good results and publicity. These posts have definitely garnered far more attention t
101.
by ryanelkins 16y ago
The difference is intent. Mines are placed with the intention of killing or maiming. Bears are not placed in zoos with the intent to kill trespassers. If animals were used for that intent it would still run afoul of human rights. You realiz
102.
by ryanelkins 16y ago
The Great Wall of China would be a better example. It's even twice as long as the fence that would be needed to cover the US-Mexico border. As effective as your idea is for trying to kill or maim people who break the law in an attempt to pr
103.
by ryanelkins 16y ago
There is a difference between "securing a border" and "building a 2,000 mile long fence". A fence by itself does pretty much nothing but slow people down slightly. I made no suggestions about the US military's capabilities - although the fa
104.
by ryanelkins 16y ago
I think the point is that no one is going to take their jobs. This is brutally hard work for anyone that has never tried it. It is probably more physically demanding than anything most Americans have ever done. I know it would be one of the
105.
by ryanelkins 16y ago
Seriously? A border fence? I didn't think many people actually took that serious as a deterrent. Have you seen the Penn and Teller show where they pay (legally questionable) immigrants to build a length of fence using the same specs as the
106.
by ryanelkins 16y ago
I've found this to be very helpful - I've received more than a few emails through my HN profile from people interested in what I am working on - often from people who did not publicly comment on anything I was doing at all. There have also
107.
When Game Mechanics Go Bad(xoxco.com)
2 points by ryanelkins 16y ago|0 comments
108.
Thomas Jefferson originally called American citizens 'subjects'(nydailynews.com)
1 points by ryanelkins 16y ago|0 comments
109.
by ryanelkins 16y ago
I do think the aggregated profile is important, but I don't think a universal reputation system type of score will work. Primarily because reputation is earned within a context. The web is just too big to provide that context. This is a poi
110.
by ryanelkins 16y ago
This is the basic service we are building right now. The interesting part for me was the revenue model the author mentioned, where the whole thing is paid for by advertisers. We have currently been exploring primarily driving revenue by cha
111.
The Rise of the "Game Mechanic in a Box"(readwriteweb.com)
2 points by ryanelkins 16y ago|1 comments
112.
Source of the famous “Now you have two problems” quote (2006)(regex.info)
1 points by ryanelkins 16y ago|0 comments
113.
Why are we typing passwords twice?(unwrongest.com)
1 points by ryanelkins 16y ago|0 comments
114.
Game Mechanics at Work and Play(competingonexecution.com)
1 points by ryanelkins 16y ago|0 comments
115.
Why We Check In: The Reasons People Use Location-Based Social Networks(readwriteweb.com)
1 points by ryanelkins 16y ago|0 comments
116.
Nobody is Thinking About Your Product(usersknow.blogspot.com)
7 points by ryanelkins 16y ago|0 comments
117.
by ryanelkins 16y ago
I hear it in my head as Post-er-us, probably because of it's connection to blog posts. Nice to hear how it's actually pronounced though. It's hard for some of us that only read about these names sometimes. Reminds me of when I did debate in
118.
by ryanelkins 16y ago
I think the main thing would be to build a community where people feel some need to belong. I don't know if Amazon really does this, and what you're seeing in terms of number of reviews on their site is probably just another reflection of t
119.
by ryanelkins 16y ago
As for the game mechanics, I would imagine that the low frequency of visits really was the major factor in the apathy towards them. Our startup (IActionable) is creating a game-mechanics as a service system and one thing we noticed is that
120.
by ryanelkins 16y ago
But why is being parochial in an MS world a bad thing? People are upset not because that point was made but how that point was made. I'm a MS developer and although I do know other languages I don't necessarily see it as a big advantage. It

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