Who wants to congratulate Skeeter on seeing the Light!

When they post questions like what is something in your kitchen that starts with "c", and I see they are a level 37 I see they aren't here to help anyone just pat themselves on the back like some level grinder from War Craft.

It depends on who is being congratulated. Some people make steady contributions, and I have no problem chiming in when those questions come up. Some people I just don't know. And I'll generally not bother to get bothered about the social congratulations or point-grabbing, I think I understand the motives and nature of that and it doesn't bother me.

I agree wholeheartedly, skeeter. I don't give points for no reason. I don't do anything to help those folks get ahead anymore. I will point them if I answer their question, though. It just seems the classy thing to do.

I guess what may seem a stupid question for one amy seem clever or important to another. Is the child in a family who is not an athlete less important than the one who is a hockey star?

I don't congratulate AB-ers anymore. I agree with you, they do ask stupid questions to get the points.

I now place absolutely no value on points. I can't even remember the last time I answered a congratulatory question, because I've realised there just isn't any need for congratulations. Anybody can get points. Anybody can spend hours on the computer and ask millions of questions just for the sake of it. I sound totally miserable, don't I? I don't mind if people ask them or anything, I just don't think I feel the need to answer. I'm just in a bad mood, I'm revising and I don't care what powers the prime minister has, and when the welfare state was introduced, I really don't. That has nothing to do with anything. Whatever.

I see AB as a site of diversity. Some folks have serious questions to which they'd like to have serious responses. Some just like to "play" for fun. Some feel they are in a sort of competitive game with self, and points gained, like yards in a football game, give them a sense of satisfaction. Some want to start an argument, provoke and aggravate. ALL are a reflection on people in life, itself. If anyone of the above, or others, annoy you, just move on. You're under no obligation to anyone in here, but let everybody have their own fun, for that's all AB is, as far as I'm concerned...fun.

I think you raise an interesting point. At first I was reading the question as not seeing a reason to congratulate any ABers. But there is certainly a difference between those who make the site a better place to be and make valuable contributions versus those of the mind numbing, ridiculous question asking variety. I respect their right to be here but I certainly see no reason for congratulating them.

I can relate to how you feel and for the most part I can agree with you. I have never been huge on the concept of doing the congrats question unless they were on my friends list and gained sage and above on the every tenth level. I think because so many felt left out on very low levels they kind of went overboard and tainted the category. I kid you not I like be congratulated when I hit a new milestone and I like congratulating those that reached them too but it has gotten old and dated and lost it's meaning. One of the things that made it seem so phony is the fact when I first started not many could give full points and now so many can that the points sky rocket and yes I agree it looks like point farming. I do wish AB still allowed the question but removed the points for those questions so maybe it would go back to how it use to be.

If I congratulate them, it is in one of their own questions or answers. To contribute to a thread, often started by someone that does not even know the person, simply someone that wants the points, is, to me, stupid. There are some members - some of which are high-level - that watch the leaderboards for people to level, then congratulate them. That has no valid reason other than points. A person who deserves congratulations should be congratulated by their friends. And the ones that post their own congratulation threads (I've reached level 7, can I get a congratulations?) are stupid.

they may be stupid questions to you but not to them.We are all different and we all ask different questions wheather you think they are stupid or not

Back when Answerbag was brand spanking new, there weren't any points. You had a score that was a ratio of your ratings vs. the number of answers. Questions weren't rated. A newbie with 5 answers all rated 100% was at the top of the leaderboard, whereas an old-timer with hundreds of answers with an average rating of 50% was near the bottom. Of course, that worked well when Answerbag was intended to be a serious knowledge base and was just a site run by Joel for the fun of it. Now that it's evolved into a commercial social chat site, the quantity of Qs and As matter more to the ad revenue than the quality.

AB serves a different purpose for different people. For some, it's a strict question and answer site where they're looking to help people. For some others, it may be a social networking site where they go to meet people and connect with friends. For the rest, it may be something else or maybe a combination of helping and social networking. The purpose that AB serves may or may not change, and everyone needs a break from their areas of expertise every now and then. For instance, someone who is a computer technician who repairs computers on a daily basis probably would not want to log on to AB and help others repair their computers. Not because they're greedy, but because that's all they've been doing the entire day. They may welcome some of the off-the-wall questions that help them relax and wind down the day. This is the general rule I use for deciding whether to congratulate someone. If I feel that the person's questions are pointless, then I can avoid those questions, not interact with the person, and not congratulate them later. Obviously, if I don't interact with them, I wouldn't know who they were, and hence there would be no reason for me to say congratulations. However, if I frequently answer the person's questions (however pointless others may think those questions are), and as a result interact with them a lot, become friends, or whatever, I would congratulate the person on leveling up. If I thought their questions were good enough to answer, then it served a purpose for me at the time. ADDED: Oh, yeah, and they have to be Level 50 or higher for me to congratulate them.