My example relies on the fact that I have seen threads with very little amounts of replies, but still become a hot topic. Also more curious on the muting system. EX: [quote][b]User A:[/b] Member of Bungie.net for 1 year, has 15 followers = Not that large of a mute hammer/impact of likes [b]User B:[/b] Member of bungie.net for 4 years, has 47 followers = slight larger mute hammer/impact of likes [b]User C:[/b] Member of bungie.net for 8 years, has nearly 200 followers = large mute hammer/impact of likes[/quote] Essentially, every user has an [b]Influence Rating[/b]. An influence rating is a number that is assigned to your profile and it's dynamic, so it can change depending on your actions, almost like the previous "trust points system" in bungie.old. Your Influence rating is increased by: [quote]Making posts Getting "likes" on your threads (especially from people who have a high influence rating) Gaining followers (especially ones that have a high influence rating themselves) Consistently being active Private Group participation Account Age, the longer you stick around the more it increases Other hidden positive factors [/quote] Your Influence rating is decreased by: [quote]Getting muted by other members (hardly any impact if by members with a low Influence rating) Your threads getting disliked Getting banned Becoming inactive over a long period of time (i'm talking months, similar to being an "absent member") Other hidden negative factors [/quote] Here's the kicker. Users with a high Influence Rating themselves have much more impact on these factors for you, than users that have a low Influence Rating. For example, if a user that has 500 followers and has been around 8/9 years "likes" your thread, it would become a hot topic much quick thanks to them, because they have a huge Influence Rating. If that same user follows you, that increases your Influence Rating significantly, because that they still have a high Influence Rating themselves. Here's the other side of the coin, users that have a low Influence Rating don't impact as much. So say a user created an army of alts to follow themselves, it would be a waste of time. All of those accounts have a very low Influence Rating, so you'd have a high follower count on your user profile page, sure, but it doesn't do anything to make your Influence Rating increase. If a user with a low Influence Rating "dislikes" your thread, it's barely going to deduct anything from your rating. It's more beneficial to become followed and get positive remarks by members that have a high Influence Rating themselves, like a Bungie Employee, Forum Ninja or well respected member that has been around a long time. If you're consistently making good posts and generating good discussion, good things will happen. For Likeing threads, does a users with a high Influence Rating impact the amount of "kudos" a thread receives towards being a hot topic? I have seen threads that have 5/6 replies, but are a hot topic. Either tons of people liked the thread, or the users that did, have a high influence rating. But why? It's a system that's developed around positive behavior. If you want to have a bigger influence on threads and people being banned quicker, you have to stick around and make positive contributions yourself for a long time. Keep in mind that your personal mute button would function just as it is right now, if you want to mute a user, that's fine, [i]but this system is going beyond that[/i]. Users that have a high Influence Rating that mute other users would help get them sent to the global muting queue faster, if they are a serious problem. I forgot to mention, it's completely invisible. Nobody knows any of the numbers. You don't know how many like it will take for a thread to become a hot topic, you don't know how many mutes it will take to mute someone. Everything is invisible. Though, usually members that have been around for a while, make consistently good posts and have a large gathering of followers are easy to pick out. Keep in mind, this is all speculation and theory, I don't know if there is a system like this in place at all. I think it would be interesting if there were something like this, but again, the whole idea came from the fact I'm seeing threads with very little replies and are a hot topic. Something else is going on. Don't like it? Fine, I'm just spitballing ideas.