DID lurve mean something, at some point?

The idea is that the amount of lurve on a question/answer or user indicates the relative value of it. This never works, because people use different criteria for awarding it.

An excuse for online landmark rites of passage parties? 5k, 10k, etc…

@YARNLADY Well, sure but I actually meant maybe something like you had to achieve x amount before you were allowed to y?

@papayalily I never heard of anything like that, but I don’t know what happened before my time.

As far as I know, lurve has always just been about appreciation.

@YARNLADY: How is it that your conclusion is that it never works? The value of an answer is assigned by the community, the reason could be humor, helpfulness, wit, etc… it was valued for a reason. The lurve was not meant to be given as a standard of expertise expressed or knowledge conveyed alone. It’s more an indicator of appreciation – for whatever reason the giver so chooses. I suppose it ‘doesn’t work’ by your standards because the value you see is in the most informative, correct and practical answer. But its a whimsical feature, it doesn’t have to be serious.

@papayalily: As long as I’ve been here (Since April 2008), lurve is about sharing the love and appreciation. No more, no less. It cannot be bought, traded or used to gain access to anything. It’s just a little note to the responding party that they are appreciated.

The only change that I can see is how much quicker people rack-up the lurve now. When the community was smaller it was a lot harder.

@psychocandy Way harder! It kind of blows my mind now.

@psychocandy: Really? I haven’t seen a change. Possibly due to my lowered activity. I’ve been hovering in the 16–18,000s for like all of last year.

People make it to 10K in a few months now. Remember when we were all maxed out on each other. There is a thread somewhere about it.

It was never a big deal but it used to mean something to me. But that was long ago before any of you were born.

@psychocandy it took me almost exactly a year to make 10k.

@asmonet the lurve appreciation often shows appreciation of the user, and is not actually connected to the answer at all. Whimsical is a good description, but that has zero meaning.

@psychocandy I’ve been a jelly since July 25th, 2009. Granted I’ve had a few hurdles that left me absent through out the term, but nonetheless it’s quite a long time and I have still to make it into the 10k Mansion.

Sorry @papayalily I didn’t have an answer to the actual question. I thought @asmonet nailed it pretty well as in, Lurve being awarded to humorous, on point, well thought out (and ect) answers.

@Axemusica You are not a regular user. If you were, you would notice the shift. I’ve been here since June 9th, 2008, a year longer than you.

for me Lurve indicates ones dedication to the community…

Agree with @augustlan !

There were never any rewards for the attainment of lurve – it is just a flukey fun indicator of the value of an answer. Since everyone appareantly is maxed out on me, I seem to be shooting blanks much of the time not that I mind or anything.

If new people are racking up lurve faster, perhaps they write more appealing answers. Or maybe there are just more people around, so more people can max out than used to be able to.

On the other hand, with more new people and more people around, that should benefit everyone, not just noobs. Maybe the new people get addicted faster. Maybe they spend more time per day. Maybe they’re more articulate or smarter or wittier.

Lurve doesn’t mean anything in the real world, but it could mean a lot in our inner worlds. Some people value it a lot. Others, not so much.

Lurve has always meant something. But what it has meant is different for each person. You can interpret it however you want. You can think of it as a measure of progress here. You can think of it as a way to compare people. You can think of it as a way to judge how good people think someone’s answers are.

You could turn it around, and think of it as a measure of obsession with fluther. Or obsession with lurve.

Lurve has always meant something. Whether or not there’s a consensus on what that something is, I have no idea, but I doubt there is a consensus. Clearly the founders thought it meant something because they went to great pains to keep people from gaming it.

Personally, I choose to see it as appreciation for an answer. Either the answer provided information, or really good information, or helped someone in some way, or was funny or entertaining in some way. Maybe it is acknowledgement of a friend. Lurve can rack up on a question or answer even if it doesn’t add to your score, so maybe it is a way of distinguishing how others feel about the various answers to the question. Maybe someone won’t read an answer unless it has 5 GA’s. I don’t know.

There’s a lot written here. It’s impossible to read it all, or even a significant portion of it. Maybe people use GA’s or lurve as a way to filter through the material and find the things they want to read more efficiently.

Whatever it is, worrying about how others see lurve isn’t likely to achieve any satisfying results. Too many people. Too many different ways of looking at things. You might as well try sinking a supertanker with pebbles for all the good it will do.

What about this? I’ve gotten 11 GA’s and 1 GQ this morning (practicing for 1/11/11?) and my lurve total has not increased a bit. Does that make the GA’s and GQ’s worthless? Not to me.

First time I heard the word “lurve” was in 1977 Woody Allen film “Annie Hall.” Alvie and Annie are walking along the East river at night, his arm around her shoulders, and she asks if he loves her. He replies that he more than loves her… he luffs her, he lurves her. (I know the feeling.)

I’ve been here for over a year and I’m just now approaching 5K. I’m kind of excited about it because it shows I’ve been here for a while.