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First of all - Qurator is an excellent service for Steemit users who churn out great content on a regular basis. Its about time that I sing them praises - but not 'just' yet.
If you are a reader who hasn't signed up for Qurator's service - I highly recommend that you do visit @qurator for more information. In spite of the suggestions below - they are doing a good job of providing exposure to users who need it.
It makes more sense to me to provide suggestions for improvement first rather than to dilute praise with pointing out directions for improvement. Which I shall be doing here. ;c)
Disclaimer: I do not presume myself to be as familiar with the background algorithms of Qurator as its organizers are - and so it is entirely possible that elements below might 'not' prove to be optimal ways forward.
That being said, I like to think that I've thought things through in sufficient detail - and expect that that value shall be found below.
Also: The below is 'nearly' based upon the '22% rate' for 'Tier 5' current at the time of writing.
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Refining the Tier Structure
Proposed Full Tier Table
| Member TIER | Vote Weight | Exists? |
|---|---|---|
| TIER 13 | 42% | N |
| TIER 12 | 39% | N |
| TIER 11 | 36% | N |
| TIER 10 | 33% | N |
| TIER 9 | 30% | N |
| TIER 8 | 27% | N |
| TIER 7 | 24% | N |
| TIER 6 | 21% | Y |
| TIER 5 | 18% | Y |
| TIER 4 | 15% | Y |
| TIER 3 | 12% | Y |
| TIER 2 | 09% | Y |
| TIER 1 | 06% | Y |
| TIER 0 | 03% | N |
You will notice that this list of tiers goes above the present ceiling. There is a reason for this and it shall be made more apparent - even as I get to speaking about 'overlapping rewards'.
Signup Process
The current approval + nominal fee model works fine.
There is potential here for a Referral System.
I'll leave this open to peoples' imagination as how it could work.
Member Tiers
Currently memberships occur over either 7-day cycles or 30-day cycles. If Qurator has some automated assistance then it will be a lot less difficult to keep track of all the changes.
Overlapping Rewards
As of at the moment Qurator lists several ways to become eligible to a given tier - but does not seem to extend this lateral flexibility up the ladder.
For instance - Tier 1 currently can be reached by either delegating 100SP or Up-voting 4+ times a week. But doing 'both' is not officially a means of reaching Tier 2.
This is a missed opportunity. As things stand there is no motivation for a user to both up-vote 'and' delegate or lease Steem Power at lower Tiers.
Up-Vote Bonus (7 Days)
| Member TIER | Vote Weight | Action |
|---|---|---|
| TIER +3 | +09% | 9+ Qurator up-votes* in a Week |
| TIER +2 | +06% | 6+ Qurator up-votes* in a Week |
| TIER +1 | +03% | 3+ Qurator up-votes* in a Week |
(* Where 2+/4+/6+ need to be @qurator'posts' not already having paid out)
Qurator releases 7 'Daily Qurator' posts weekly. However Qurator also releases other posts and also provides a stamp of authenticity on posts.
Grace
One unfortunate way in which the tier system currently works, particularly with regards to their up-vote tier memberships, is that users who fail to up-vote (for instance due to the present infamous stability issues that Steemit is going through - or simple oversight), a given user can find their Tier level demoted - even if they subsequently make efforts to correct such.
Source
While understanding that certain posts might have exceeded the 7-day payout period, this is one reason why I open up the field in the previous section about Up-Vote Bonuses.
I also understand that the emphasis upon up-voting 'The Daily Qurator' enhances its visibility. I feel that there is room to expand this to all @qurator posts - while also allowing for a degree of flexibility.
Delegation Bonus (While Active)
| Member TIER | Vote Weight | Action |
|---|---|---|
| TIER +5 | +15% | Delegate 500 SP to @qurator |
| TIER +4 | +12% | Delegate 400 SP to @qurator |
| TIER +3 | +09% | Delegate 300 SP to @qurator |
| TIER +2 | +06% | Delegate 200 SP to @qurator |
| TIER +1 | +03% | Delegate 100 SP to @qurator |
Sponsored Lease Bonus (30 Days)
| Member TIER | Vote Weight | Action |
|---|---|---|
| TIER +5 | +15% | 10 Steem Sponsored Lease to @qurator |
| TIER +4 | +12% | 8 Steem Sponsored Lease to @qurator |
| TIER +3 | +09% | 6 Steem Sponsored Lease to @qurator |
| TIER +2 | +06% | 4 Steem Sponsored Lease to @qurator |
| TIER +1 | +03% | 2 Steem Sponsored Lease to @qurator |
Now I'll be the first to admit that I have little idea how delegating Steem Power or Steem Sponsored Leases work... and all I am doing is creating a situation where a user can pick and choose their preferred configuration of contribution.
Source
Quality Over Quantity Bonus (Dynamic)
| Member TIER | Courtesy Vote Weight | Max Vote Weight | Action Condition |
|---|---|---|---|
| Any TIER | x 3.00 | x 6.00* | Quality-Checked, No post in previous 6 quration days |
| Any TIER | x 2.50 | x 4.00* | Quality-Checked, No post in previous 4 quration days |
| Any TIER | x 1.75 | x 2.25* | Quality-Checked, No post in previous 2 quration days |
(* Maximum 100% Vote Weight)
Qurator's primary benefit is that it up-votes one qurated post for members per day as per that member's TIER. It has three other benefits that I can think of - which are its Discord channel, the stamp of authenticity (which in my opinion needs to become a little smaller), and the possibility of either being resteemed or featured by 'The Daily Qurator'.
When a person doesn't post on a given day - s/he misses out on that day's rewards.
When a person posts multiple times in a given day - only one post is graced by Qurator's blessing.
As such, it would be 'really' nice if, when a user does not post in a given day, there is a good chance that his next post would recognize this - 'especially' if one reason that a post wasn't made was because s/he was working on a particularly good post.
Source
Now I recognize that it would be a little impractical to give this boost to every person who had an off-day. This is why I envision this bonus beginning to be eligible when at least two days of qurator bonus have been missed to not posting. The multipliers reflect this.
To be clear - these bonuses never fully recoup the qurator bonus that 'would' have been due to a given member had they been regular posters - but its still a nice gesture which also encourages a member to give that returning post some special effort.
Well I expect that this will generate some stimulating conversation - and I am keen to hear about how there may be some things that I haven't taken into consideration. :cP
If you found this post interesting and would like to share this with your followers and friends then a resteem is always appreciated.
Also do get in touch with me in comments below. A civil conversation can go a long way.
Sincerely,
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