Why is the leveling system on here so... Odd?

Question

It's very strange to me that while I am very much a newbie and beginner, I am just 2 levels below a lot of professional or amazing hobbyist developers on this app. It seems like the highest someone can realistically go level wise is 22.
While, of course, levels aren't everything, it seems very inconsistent and inflated once you hit 16 and people who should be at like level 50 are stuck at that benchmark. I feel like if you want to have a level system, should it not be more balanced rather than something that becomes much too hard to pay attention to anymore once a certain one is reached?
Also, let me know if this is a question that is not suited for this section, but I was hoping to get the attention of some mentors or mods who knows what's happening behind the scenes.

Answer 1

We briefly discussed sololearn-levels in the comments of another code (a few months ago).
If levels and xp were related linearly, it would be
a) too easy to level up and inflate levels
b) or too difficult to level up which would discourage beginners.
Quoting myself from the mentioned comment: "I think it is rather a reasonable choice so not to devalue levels by inflation. It's like in most video games, I guess: start easy and with many rewards to entrain, then make it harder to keep ambition."
As I tried to visualize in this code, it is not a simple linear relationship but roughly an exponential one. The later could be regarded as in favor of my "motivation"-hypothesis.
https://code.sololearn.com/cicce0OtoYiO/?ref=app

Answer 2

If it was easy to get, would people want it? Would it have "prestige" if almost everyone had it?
Consider trading card games: Would the super-sparkling Pikachu be considered "cool" or "special" if every collector had it?
And beyond that:
People who stick around long enough to reach level 17 or higher cannot be enticed by "worthless" things like XP or levels...They stay for the challenges, for the forum, for the community or whatever – but not for meaningless, virtual metrics.

Answer 3

Lisa Oh, to be honest, I forget that most people like things that not most people have.
I guess I was just looking at it less of a prestige thing and more of like.... A skill level thing. Like I don't be believe that I am anywhere near the level of programming-competency that you have.... Yet I'm only 2 levels down. That's not even me being modest or humble, it's just the truth. You have an almost 2 year streak on this app and I've only learned about programming as a whole since October. I still can barely tell the difference between Java and Javascript. 🤣
And with the introduction of the Leaderboard thing, it really does seem like SL is leaning towards prestige of sorts, but instead of addressing it with leveling.... They just made a whole new feature which is one of the things that prompted my question as well.

Answer 4

Yes, the number of XP or the level aren't quite an indicator of expertise. If anything, they indicate for how long we have been hanging out here. XD

Answer 5

Justice
I am a bit late for this discussion but would like to share my thoughts.
By the time a newbie learner reaches level 16, he/she/one has completed most of the courses Sololearn has to offer.
As such, they either move on to the next learning platform, or hang about to help others, play challenges, get involved in the social aspect.
So there is no real benefit to be above level 16, unless it is to be in the top 1%.
Also, I have noted that XP does not really reflect the competency of the person, it's more of a marketing tool to keep people invested.

Answer 6

Rik Wittkopp Hello. My points on the post no longer matter due to the changes in the leveling system so unfortunately your lateness also means that it doesn't matter. I'm very doubtful newbies (including myself) will be reaching level 16 anytime soon with the fact that they're changed how XP is earned and ranking.
Like as you can see, Lisa lost her platinum badge because she doesn't have 100,000XP which the developers changed without telling anyone. Not to mention, challenge XP is near nonexistent as well as the fact that commenting no longer gives XP as well.
So this conversation is now quite outdated with the new update I'm afraid. ☹️

Answer 7

Justice
And we didn't make any XP either.
😫😫🥺 -> 🤣😂

Answer 8

Rik Wittkopp Not even a little bit. 😞 And even when I complete certain tasks, I don't get the full XP. Like when I completed a 50XP project, I only got 15XP. They might be lowering the XP gained from courses as well which sucks. But oh, well. Nothing we can do about it. 🤷🏾‍♀️

Answer 9

A lesson I learnt when young, (the dinosaurs were dying out at the time) - If you can't control the scenario, then don't stress about the outcome.
We are here to learn coding, XP is just a marketing tool to get us invested.

Answer 10

Rik Wittkopp Most definitely, but I think that it's going to be even harder now to keep newbies invested. I would say just rid of the XP system altogether at this point if they are really trying to make us focus solely on coding.
Cause I thought their main point was to gamify learning, but if they're trying to be Dark Souls and make it ridiculously hard to level up, then majority of people aren't going to stay for that part. Can't have your cake and eat it too. And really, they should just be more transparent about things and how to earn XP if they really wanna keep it and make so many changes.
But what do I know, I'm just the newbie. 🤣

Answer 11

You a smart newbie, and your views are valid.
The lack of communication & planning of this rollout is killing Sololearn

Answer 12

Lisa I was trying to find a thread that addressed it before I posted my own question but couldn't find anything!
That Level 16 to Level 18 is such a crazy jump. Does it not really devalue the whole system if they're not making it easy for people who are actually putting forth effort into the app such as yourself? While it's great to not completely outcast the newbies per say, are they not giving enough rewards to people who actually are sticking around?

Answer 13

That's actually fair. 😆 Though I still consider you "Level 16+"-ers quite skilled.