Yeah it sort of gives you something back for your money whilst also helping to donate to the site. I would say the members would hold sway over whether or not something is a contribution to the forums. However if a certain member contributes quite a lot and a member of staff felt like that person deserved a bigger reward then it would be down to the staff to decide on that or what that might be. It could possibly range from being giving a free Gold Membership for say 3 months, 6 months or even a 1 year. To perhaps just a huge increase in experience points for the Arcade. It would be up to them.
The likes that our posts receive would work in conjunction with how much experience we gained. The more likes then the more experience. Maybe the ranks won't work on how many posts a particular user has, but more so on how many likes they gain and how well others have felt they have contributed to the site overall.
Perhaps for whether or not we should use the like feature to determine whether or not someone is contributing or a new feature altogether is something I couldn't really say. Personallly for me though I think it might be a good idea if Steve could perhaps implement the old 'reputation' system again to work alongside this. That way the rep system would determine whether or not that member is a regular contributor with their posts, videos, artwork or donations. And the likes would just work to show if other people like your comments and to gain you XP.
So to summarise. Your likes received gain you XP, perhaps used in the Arcade. And your reputation could gain you new ranks and possible other benefits.
