You've probably found this page because you're curious about the counter up top.

In short, that little number measures how many postiive seeds have been spent in the community—that is, how many notes of appreciation have been given and how many “I liked it!”s have been voiced. You can see how your own partcipation affects the counter by sowing your own seeds using the buttons and 'give thanks!' boxes on the pages here.

However, it's also part of a more sophisticated feedback system, so if you'd like more information, just read on. Following is our introduction to the seeds:



Our little community has been growing in leaps and bounds over the past few months. We’re growing—and growing up. Obviously we don’t intend to close the doors and keep the site small (we’re here to change the world, after all), so as our numbers grow, we're committed to maintaining the energy and spirit of what's been created here.

When we say ‘we,’ we mean all of us… not just the Team. You play an important role in maintaining the integrity and energy of this space, and your feedback about who you feel has supported you in feeling safe and secure here, about what entries and contributions you value most, and about  which discussions and comments you consider inspiring and empowering and important, is essential to what this site is about.

Most online communities have some means of regulation, whether simple rating systems or seniority-based moderation abilities. This site is different, though, and we wanted a feedback system that was more meaningful—one that valued respect and compassion and gratitude over frequency of use, length of membership, or one's ability to copy-and-paste articles. The (beta? alpha? still in progress?) result of our head-scratching is below.

The Seed System.

The Seed System is an important way to contribute to the sanctity and spirit of what we've grown here. By spending your seeds on virtual notes of appreciation for those who've contributed to your experience here, you'll be empowering them to help organize our shared home. Additionally, you'll help make the 'community picks' page more meaningful, as we'll use that space to showcase what you've consciously marked as a favorite.

The Seed System allows you, and the rest of our community, to:

1) Elevate helpful, thoughtful, positive and inspiring content

2) Recognize those community members who've been most appreciated by others (be it because of their commitment to blogging or their behind-the-scenes emails to those in need of support)

3) Provide a positive and meaningful feedback channel among members and administrators

(This system might sound familiar to some of you. For the most part, it’s been influenced and inspired by the Omidyar Network Feedback System, though some changes were made to accommodate our own unique character and culture, to make the system more applicable to a large network, to reward repeat visitors, and to make abuse of the reputation system more difficult.)

So how does it work? Well, let’s start with the Seeds.

What are Seeds?

Seeds are the basic unit of feedback in the system. You gain seeds by being active on the site—merely logging in ensures you'll always have seeds to give. (However, there's a cap on the number you can accumulate at any time. When your Bank is full, you won't be able to get any more until you make room by spending a few on others.)

These seeds, though, are useless on their own: storing them up them doesn’t serve you in any way. Their only value consists in their being circulated.

How do you circulate them?

You can spend these seeds on other members in the form of positive feedback on blog entries, photos, discussion board posts, comments, mail messages, and member profiles. (You can also spend these seeds on 'negative feedback'–that is, by flagging content you think violates the terms of the site. But hopefullly this won't be necessary.)

Your seeds are stored in your Seed Bank.

What is a Seed Bank?

Each member has a Seed Bank that begins at 25 seeds. Contributions to the community increase a member's Seed Bank. Just about any activity—posting comments, photos, blog entries, discussion posts, events, businesses, bookmarks, books, videos, and so on—grants you seeds. (However, deleting your own content removes seeds. This is to discourage people from posting content solely for the sake of seed accrual. I don’t know. Maybe some of you are into hoarding. :)

The Seed Bank has a cap that varies according to the number of seeds in circulation, by how much positive feedback you've been given, and by how long you've been on the site.

(So if you don't feel like participating (which is fine!) your Bank will fill and, well, that's that.)

How do you give feedback?

You can give feedback by using the 'Give Thanks' on a member's profile and choosing how much positive feedback to send (up to 3 seeds worth, for a maximum of 5).

Feedback can also be given to individual pieces of content (a photo, comment, blog entry, discussion post, and so on). All you need to do is click the “I like it!” button below the entry.

And, in case you see something that really has no place here, you can click the “flag for review” button located next to the “I like it!” one.

To summarize: 

What happens when you give feedback to another member?

When you “Give Thanks,” the following occurs:

– your Seed Bank decreases by the number of seeds you've chosen to spend.

– your friend's Seed Bank increases by 1/2 seed for every seed you've spent.

– your friend's own feedback gains a bit of 'weight' (that is, if they mark a piece of content as valuable, it'll show up a bit higher on the 'hot' pages)

You can give up to 5 seeds worth of positive or negative feedback (total) to any other given member, and you have the ability to award up to 3 at a time on the user feedback widget.

What happens when a you give feedback on a piece of content?

Content that gains a whole pile of “I likes!” becomes more prominent in the 'hot' search results, so that others can easily see where the most valuable community content lies.

When you give a feedback on a piece of content (e.g. a blog post), the following occurs:

– the feedback score on that item increases (or decreases with negative feedback)

– your Seed Bank decreases by one seed

– if the item's total feedback score drops really low, the content is hidden from non-members and “folded” (hidden by default) to the title, expanding only when a member clicks on it (and yes, it takes far, far more than one member's input to 'fold up' an entry; also, this is meant to be a means of allowing a members to post questionable content without getting banned outright… as those who elect to click on the header will know what they're getting into).

Note that members can give up to 5 seeds worth of feedback to any given piece of content. Once the limit for that content is reached, the feedback link for that entry disappears.


What activity constitutes positive feedback?

Well, this is partially determined by you. If you need a reminder, though, read on.

This community comprises an online oasis where, when you join, you agree to respect each other and conduct yourself as you would upon entering a yoga studio, or a meditation room, or a temple. By joining, you’ve committed to inspiring and empowering those around them to live at their highest potential, while holding yourself to these same standards.

So, activities such as sharing informative, insightful and inspiring content—as blog posts, comments, discussions, photos, videos, books, events, email messages, and rich and honest profiles— as well as setting good examples inside and outside the community will generally receive positive feedback from other members. Acting in a way that's respectful and supportive–even if your opinions are unusual, or out there, or unpopular–ought help, too. This community tends to value difference and bravery in expressing other points of view.

What activity might result in negative feedback?

With any luck, this won't be much of an issue and negative feedback will be reserved only for extreme cases, like spamming, abusive behavior and harrassment, offensive material (in the form of photos or videos), or generally disrespectful or cruel behavior.

I'm still confused. How does 'thanking people' with seeds help the community?

The amount of 'thanks' you've been given affects the weight of your feedback. Members who've been appreciated have a bit more 'weight' when it comes to giving feedback–so if you've been given an abundance of 'thank you's'  you'll be able to give more in return. (Gratitude begets gratitude!) Conversely, if a member has posted content that's been flagged, her (or his) feedback won't be weighted quite as strongly.

In short, this just means that acting respectfully, honoring the views of others, and being brave, authentic, and compassionate as you express yourself will mean you'll be able to give even more.

In summary, here are the important things to remember about the system.

1) Active members gain seeds in their Seed Bank.

2) These seeds can be spent as feedback on other members and content on the site.

3) You can 'Give Thanks!' to others by using the box on their profile.

4) Content with enough negative feedback will be made viewable only when you click on the header (tip to those of you who like the 'juicy stuff'–this'll make it obvious where the potentially offensive content resides ;).

5) Content with high positive feedback is promoted on the 'what's hot' page.

6) The feedback from members who've been granted appreciation by the community will be weighted a bit more heavily.

7) The community regulates itself with the use of the Seed System

Easy enough, hm?

And so with that, we place the power of the system in your hands! Use it well, Grasshoppers. Get out there and spread the love. : )

One final note. The success or failure of this process depends entirely on the intent with which its used, so if you give and ‘take’ seeds with the intention of love and pride in the community, this site, and the energy emanating from it, will reflect that.

Not that we’re worried. We think it’s going to be good.


~ Siona on behalf of the Team

P.S. If you have any questions or feedback on the Seed System, feel free to post them on the Seed System discussion board. Thanks!

P.P.S. There are a few 'seed myths' going around that bear a little added emphasis.

First off, there are no 'bad seeds.' Seeds are a neutral bit of 'currency' that you can spend on 'Thank Yous' and on the 'I liked it!' and 'Flag for reviews' buttons. (Hopefully the reason for the banks and the 'weighting' has been made clear in the text above; again, it's more nuanced and–we hope–more supportive of respectful and compassionate means of expression than a simpler, seeds-free, flagging or rating system.)

Secondly, it's not designed to discourage dissent or squelch the vibrancy of the site—no posts will be erased as a result of flagging nor will unpopular opinions be muted. Flagging merely means that potentially offensive (or mature) content a will require an extra step be taken to be viewed.

Finally, it's not designed to be popularity contest–no more so than the number of views a profile or blog has. The 'I liked it!' merely helps make the existing 'what's hot' page more meaningful and based on something more conscious than number of comments or hits.