kathiria82 It bothers me when people just want their stuff rated highly for no reason. It's just frustrating to see things constantly rated at a 1. There is nothing wrong with rating a 5 just to boost the ratings but I do get that people are just rating highly because the initial rating was 1. I also hate when people add stuff just to get a medal instead of just adding because they want to. Some people on here are so competitive for no reason as if Fanpop were paying us to add or earn medals. I have been adding since day 1 and I have earned ALL my medals. It's funny how people earn them in 1 week when it has taken me nearly 6 months to earn mine. I hope I don't offend the Fanpop four when I say that the medal system has been completely abused and I'm starting to feel like it doesn't even matter.

ineedcoffee I just don't get what is so important about these medals?

DrDevience The medal system is most definitely being abused. Especially with images. I know it would be work, but someone needs to screen people's submission when the system says a medal is earned... generic images are useless if not marked properly and should not count.

DrDevience Snerkie - I hear ya man... every website I have ever been a part of has devolved into 'gangs' who start off being very well intentioned but quickly become mafia hitmen. I've seen it a zillion times and it always plays out the same. I join them to keep an eye on them ;)

dave Great post Snerkie, I've had my reservations for allowing some of these clubs to exist because we don't want the site to devolve into cliques like a high school or anything. That being said, I do enjoy seeing the unity and camaraderie in some of those spots. A lot of them are some of our favorite users like detective Devience over here. :) I know that groups like the ATSOF really love and are devoted to Fanpop and are simply trying to protect this place they call home. Although it's probably best not to inflate content with ratings just because a troll hit it, if they rate it fairly based on what it deserves, then it should be fine. What we do really appreciate is when they bring these trolls to our attention because we actually go and investigate and punish those trolls accordingly (although rating something a 1 isn't a violation, creating multiple users to do so is). But I think the heart of your message rings very true. The goal of Fanpop was for fans to have fun discovering new content about the things they care about and discuss their passions with one another while making new friends. The medals were meant to be a sign of a users enthusiasm and devotion to a topic they love and wasn't meant for people to game. Folks like you, Kathiria82, DrDevience and many other users earn medals because you add content not for the medals but because you just wanted to share great videos, links, picks, images, etc with other fellow fans. That's how it should be. There's always going to be some bad apples in the bunch, but because the community of Fanpop and folks like those in the ATSOF are so protective, hopefully we can weed them out together. You keep doing your thing Snerkie, that's why we all think you're so awesome. Now where are those new banners?! ;)

germany123 i support the ATSOF though i am technically not a member...i dont get the whole medal-hysteria and i dont rate stuff if i dont look at it(I DID rate this)- and never react to posts that tell me to rate something when i dont even know the actor or show. apart from the rating, the props and the medals- isnt fanpop actually a site to share intrests and discover new things..?i love to look at comments people made on content because they give me new ideas or make me laugh! sure, rating is helpful to find good links..but fanpop- to me- is more about the communications aspect. ive looked at peoples profiles to look at their favorites or the spots they are fans of- but ive never bothered to look at someones profile to check their medals!

HannaK I think that Fanpop is just fun, sure, I enjoy it when I get medals but that's not why I make picks are leave comments, just enjoy Fanpop!

harold Great article. I am similarly tired of all this, but I'm also tired of all the articles beseeching people to behave one way or another on the site, not because I don't like those articles, but because I feel that they often distract from the topic of the spots in which they're posted. I created the [url=http://www.fanpop.com/spots/fanpop-etiquette]Fanpop Etiquette[/url] spot to be a place to post such stuff, as they're usually recommendations on how to use the site or how to behave on it. Hopefully it will start getting used and less the complaining on other spots, and not become a club itself.

emirc2363 I agree with you so very much. I can't stand when someone rates things as a 1 just because they want to, but I don't appreciate when others rate it a 5 if it isn't deserving. Now about the clubs, I also agree. I don't think fanpop is about exclusive clubs, it's about common interests and enjoying them with other people. People shouldn't be leave people out for no reason. Great article!

amazondebs i am a member of ASTOF but thats mainly for comment trolls which can spoil fanpop for some people but i completley agree with the medal system being abused! it does annoy me when a image of mine has been viewed loads of times but never rated however it annoys me even more when someone has reported their stuff as trolled or not rated and so it gets rated 5 like 15 times this happened to a lot of stuff on one spot that i hate rated a 2 myself because it had only one keyword which was the spot name and was all similar stuff to something someone else has posted and with them ratings alone they probably got a medal for that spot *continues to grumble*

germany123 yeah i dont agree with that method actually ..go and rate something just to get the average up..thats why im not a member. but those comment trolls. meh!!! nasty!