Elements for ranks doesn't sound like a bad idea, and is certainly less boring than the current inoffensive scheme.

Okay—these are pretty much done at this point. I don't want to add too many more schemes because I doubt anyone will use them, but if you have a really great test-of-time–standing idea it's always welcome.

Also, post here if you have any other comments or questions about the appearance and layout of forum posts. (I have a number of outstanding issues already, such as merging the template with the one used for comments elsewhere on the site, and fixing the post offset when jumping into a long thread with multiple unread posts.)

what did you end up doing with the ranks anyway? they seem to be all over the place

Theme	1 (lowest)	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	10 (highest)
Required Posts	0	32	64	128	256	512	1024	2048	4096	8192
Linguist	foreigner	novice	initiate	conversational	conversant	fluent	native	scribe	poet	wordweaver
Roma	juvenis	eques	tribunus	quaestor	aedile	praetor	consul	censor	dictator	imperator
Aristocrat	serf	peasant	baron	count	marquis	duke	grand duke	prince	king	emperor
Feminine Aristocrat	serf	peasant	baroness	countess	marquise	duchess	grand duchess	princess	queen	empress
Scholar	disinterest	freshman	sophomore	undergraduate	graduand	graduate student	associate professor	professor	professor emeritus	grand academican
Addict	non-user	square	hip	groovy	cool	heavy user	addict	chronic addict	tiger blood	adonis DNA
Thessian	masakía	survatetía	atetía	alípteza	íteta	illúbequía	kelatetía	súquía	sarthía	zellúbequía
Chemistry	lepton	boson	hydrogen	alkali metal	transition metal	crystallogen	pnictogen	chalcogen	halogen	noble gas
Biology	intron	gene	operon	plasmid	pathway	bacterium	archaean	eukaryote	metazoan	vertebrate
Beep Boop	pixel	vector	function	spline	surface	volume	hypervolume	fractal	renderer	raytracer
Ecclesiastical	layman	reader	deacon	priest	monsignor	bishop	archbishop	cardinal	patriarch	pope
Chinese Aristocrat	番	農	長	男	子	侯	伯	公	王	天子

i still think there should be some, perhaps graphical, way of marking the rank number, so we don't have to look up that aedile ~ marquis ~ transition metal

Incidentally I've been considering just such a metric—one that would intuitively relate a sense of the user's overall progress to the next ranking, how much work they did to get to their current ranking, and yet be simple to calculate. I call this invention "post count." The patent application has already been submitted.

(While we're waiting for the patent to be awarded, I've updated Ness's post to include the actual thresholds. There's also another scheme that people with no user profiles are forced to use, based on powers of ten: lurker (0), vagrant (10), outlaw (100), vigilante (1000). Hopefully no one ever gets to "vigilante.")

since the thresholds are not marked anywhere though a post count on its own is relatively useless

quoting Hallow XIII:

since the thresholds are not marked anywhere though a post count on its own is relatively useless

Far from it. It performs the wonderful function of informing us users of how many posts the author has.

The point was that there's no way to see the rank threshholds. When will I become hydrogen? There is no way to see the postcount that that will happen at.

quoting Rhetorica:

Incidentally I've been considering just such a metric—one that would intuitively relate a sense of the user's overall progress to the next ranking, how much work they did to get to their current ranking, and yet be simple to calculate. I call this invention "post count." The patent application has already been submitted.

(While we're waiting for the patent to be awarded, I've updated Ness's post to include the actual thresholds. There's also another scheme that people with no user profiles are forced to use, based on powers of ten: lurker (0), vagrant (10), outlaw (100), vigilante (1000). Hopefully no one ever gets to "vigilante.")

there is a reason why people do not just walk around with their bank balance written on their foreheads u fuk!!!!!!!!!

No, bu many walk around with their credit card balances displayed prominently (clothes/cars/etc).

Added a tool tip to ranks that tells you when the next rank is. Sufficient?

quoting Nessari:

No, bu many walk around with their credit card balances displayed prominently (clothes/cars/etc).

this is exactly my point. wealth + credit is expressed graphically!

quoting Rhetorica:

Added a tool tip to ranks that tells you when the next rank is. Sufficient?

Yes.

oh i get it, the ranks are themed

did i choose a theme? or are they randomly assigned? cause i don't remember doing it.
granted i also don't actually remember choosing my avatar but it sure as shit looks like i did. HAVE ANOTHER ONE, KEREB

You have the default "linguist" theme. You can change it at Settings. I set your avatar to the closest match to your Zeeb one that I could find, because I was sick of staring at so many default avatars!

15. Having an avatar is compulsory.
15.1 If you can't afford an avatar you have various options:
15.1.1 The forum can assign you a random avatar. A group of at least 3 avatarized forum members will select one that suits you well.
15.1.2 You can choose an avatar from our Avatar Directory.
15.1.3 The forum can refer you to an avatar expert who will provide you with 30 minutes of free avatar-election advice. The referral service can be reached at #isharia or the appropiate thread here, in the forum.
15.1.4 The Anthologica Information Centre (Hafnarstræti 96, Akureyri, Iceland) provides current and potential forum members with assistance in completing the personal profile and understanding Anthologica procedures, access to important information and #isharia-related counselling.

In addition to the already-known needed improvements to the Dictionary Export, could you add a dictionary export mode that exports dictionary entries in the order in which they were originally added imported/added? This would be very useful because I would like to be able to make online changes to my dictionary yet would like to keep the structure of my offline copy.

Presently I have to remember all the online changes I have made until I have access to my offline copy, and then try to remember all those changes so I can redo them and overwrite the changes I made before by importing my updated offline copy. This is clearly non-optimal, and it would be better if I could just export my updated dictionary while maintaining the structure of my dictionary as last imported.

quoting Rhetorica:

You have the default "linguist" theme. You can change it at Settings. I set your avatar to the closest match to your Zeeb one that I could find, because I was sick of staring at so many default avatars!

oh thanks! I like it.

15. Having an avatar is compulsory.

no but really though

you should insert a very bright thing in the registration process that says "no avatar no service"