incentives to help the sl community

i was thinking that people aren't rewarded for doing self-less things. and that is just about how it should be, people should not expect a reward for doing something self-less, because - well - it wouldn't be self-less.

but it would be nice to reward these people, nonetheless. they are the people who make sl as community better with each passing day.

and it would be nice if these rewards actually meant something. so...

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i was thinking that once a week residents could get to award someone with a bonus. not out of their own money, but something like a stipend bonus but that instead people got to award.

details:
- once a week a resident would be given a "sl benefactor award"
- this award would only be worth anything if it were given away, - it would only benefit the person recieving it.
- is would show up in a weeks time in the recipient's balance. (to help deal with attempts to game the system.)
- each resident could give this award to any other resident only once.
- the giver of the award would be required to write at least 100 characters saying why this person deserved the award. (with checks to make sure it's real words)
- each individual resident award would be worth l$100 + l$(N * number of weeks a resident has existed). this money would come from LL.
- without public fanfare the top 10 (or 100 or 1000) people receiving the most such awards in a month's time would recieve 1/10th (or 1/100th or 1/1000th) of the money they were awarded during the month.
- all recipients of awards would recieve in their stipend 1/40th (or 1/400th or 1/4000th) (some fraction to keep this from getting completely out of hand) of the total awards they have received over the life of their account as a weekly stipend bonus.
- i suppose the max stipend bonus should be maxed out.

* * *

while i like this idea, one of the important things is to figure out of it can be gamed. poking holes in this idea is worth would be a worthwhile exercise.

i like the idea;
but i fear it will be gamed like the rating system.

/agree with Strife.

You pretty much stated it best in your first paragraph, His Grace. Though there's certainly rewards like respect, business partners, friends, etc, that come about from self-less acts.

-Hiro Pendragon