New ways to earn tokens!
As previously hinted, we've long been planning ways for you to earn tokens on top of the easy, surefire VIP method. Today, those features are here.
Starting right now, you'll be able to earn additional tokens every month for referring your friends to IconBuffet and for hitting certain point thresholds. But the requirements aren't easy -- only certain referrals will earn you tokens, and the point thresholds are seriously steep.
You already know that every friend you get to sign up via your referral link earns you 50 points and 15 stamps. But now, if said friend also upgrades to VIP at any time, you'll earn a permanent, recurring token for that referral. If you're a non-VIP and you refer a friend who goes VIP, your monthly token allotment will go up to 11. Get two friends to go VIP and you've got 12; and so on, up to a max of 10 referral-earned tokens.
But it works the same way if you're a VIP yourself -- the tokens are added right on top of your 30-token monthly allotment. Refer one VIP for 31 tokens, two for 32, and so on up to a max of 10 additional tokens. VIPs can thus earn up to 40 tokens a month through referrals alone.
And that's not all, because your points figure in too. We've been telling you to "think bigger" with regards to points, and some of you are starting to close in on that magical 10,000 point mark. What happens when you hit 10,000? Something good -- you'll get 2 permanent, recurring tokens every month just for hitting that score.
It doesn't stop there. Every additional 10,000 points you earn will net you another 2 tokens. So hit 20,000 points as a non-VIP and you'll be seeing 14 tokens every month. Hit that as a VIP and it's 34. Once again, the tokens are just added on top of your standard allotment.
As with referrals, the maximum additional tokens you can earn in this way is 10.
Of course, this isn't an either-or proposition. You can earn tokens through both VIP referrals and points simultaneously. Get two friends to go VIP and nail 10,000 points? Say hello to 4 bonus tokens every month. Get three friends to upgrade and hit 20,000 points? 7 bonus tokens. It just goes on and on.
All told, a non-VIP now has the capability to earn up to 30 tokens every month, and a VIP can earn up to a whopping 50!
Naturally, we're pretty excited about all this. But even this isn't quite the whole picture. Today also sees the addition of new badges for points and referrals, which you'll already be able to glimpse on certain users' profiles. More importantly, though, certain badges now earn big points that will help you get to those 10,000 point thresholds more quickly. So get referring and get earning, because the game is seriously on.
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fuseunderground on Apr 25, 2007
Cool! Thanks
mhayes on Apr 25, 2007
And the games begin...
Luckybeitia on Apr 25, 2007
Wow
tamashii on Apr 25, 2007
Oh
My
Gawd!!!
lisamac on Apr 25, 2007
ARGH! More iconbuffet goodness! When will I have time to work? Dammit! ;)
lisamac on Apr 25, 2007
Any plans on letting us gift a VIP account?
josh
on Apr 25, 2007
lisamac — VIP gifting is in the works, although technically we can kinda do it now if someone wants to purchase an annual VIP for someone else via PayPal.
tanic5 on Apr 25, 2007
This is perfect. Just one question though, what kind of referrals will earn you points?
fuseunderground on Apr 25, 2007
I really hope there isn't a month when we need 50 tokens to get all the new deliveries, I don't think I'd be able to cope!!
I'd have to go into rehab or something! help!! ;-)
But seriously, I really do think this system will work well, thanks again chefs!
here here!
*standing ovation
Jahnoth
on Apr 25, 2007
*Jahnoth would reply in a very happy manner, but at the moment he is wiping a mouthful of Dr. Pepper off his display...*
iconmaster on Apr 25, 2007
tanic5 -- all referrals earn you points (see Josh's post on how to net those), but only referrals that turn into VIPs earn tokens.
tanic5 on Apr 25, 2007
okay I just read that funny. I fully understand the plan. And I endorse it. I know you were worried I wouldn't, well now you don't have to worry any more.
tamashii on Apr 25, 2007
After recovering from the mild cardio-infarction I just experienced, a couple of questions:
1) As many of us just had a 2-3 badges slapped on us, it is unclear as to the point values of those (if any) once received. Did the recruiter badges give us more points? Did the 5k Jackpot badge? If yes (to either), how many points did we earn for unlocking those badges? I see no reason why this information should be kept secret.
2) Other than seeing a Token/month increase, will we receive a notification as to which one of our referrals upgraded to VIP? (again the whole, “I’d like to know who just signed up using me as a referral.”)
As iconmaster alluded, some members are already getting more tokens per month. So there are those out there that have had their invitees upgrade to VIP. That’s good, because it means the system works retroactively. That’s bad because it means none of the people I have referred have upgraded. Yet, more work for me, hehe.
Elsewhere in Conjecture Land: this whole token upgrade makes me think (with great confidence) that there will be yet another level of icon set. Obviously, I don’t know what it would be called or the specifics behind it, but I believe it will be a very expensive set. Whether it will be available to those that are not VIPs remains to be seen, but I imagine it to be no less than a 30-token set. This will make the set incredibly exclusive, while still eventually obtainable by those who put forth an above average effort in the community.
electricnet
on Apr 25, 2007
You guys rock. Seriously.
iconmaster on Apr 25, 2007
Badge values:
10 referrals - 100 pts
25 referrals - 300 pts
5,000 pts badge - 500 pts
10,000 pts badge - 1000 pts
50,000 pts badge - 5000 pts
100,000 pts badge - 10,000 pts
(Yes, you can earn points for earning points!)
mcd on Apr 25, 2007
holy crap.. just the idea of 100,000 points is insane!
soprano on Apr 25, 2007
Hmm... I invited SuperLlamel (who just became V.I.P.) and my token count remains at 30. *cries*
tamashii on Apr 25, 2007
Thanks for those figures, iconmaster.
“Awesome” is to low-value a word to describe this.
iconmaster on Apr 25, 2007
Oh yeah, important note about referrals -- we only started tracking referrals in detail about two weeks ago. So in your case soprano, while we know your referral count, we don't know the names of everyone you referred and whether they went VIP. Sorry about that.
Any referrals made in the last two weeks and going forward are eligible for the token bonus.
soprano on Apr 25, 2007
:'(
soprano on Apr 25, 2007
Can I get it to count if I get him to say that I referred him?
iconmaster on Apr 25, 2007
That'd get complicated in a hurry. ;)
tamashii on Apr 25, 2007
wait… so none of the referrals I have made prior to two weeks ago will give me the token bonus if they upgrade to VIP?!
grilix on Apr 25, 2007
mmmmmmm... yaaa... :S
thats not easy... :/
iconmaster on Apr 25, 2007
Correct. We just don't have that info in the system. But some of your referrals were made recently enough to be tracked, so there's hope.
tamashii on Apr 25, 2007
any chance you could tell me who they are?
I have no problem doing more recruiting - but I imagine this gives MobiTec the head-scratchies after a number of his referrals possibly not counting.
electricnet
on Apr 25, 2007
After looking at the badge value list:
Since you get a badge for achieving 100,000 points, and that badge gets you 10,000, you actually go directly to 110,000, thereby skipping those inbetween? So in theory, it'd be impossible to have 105,000 points? Sick! :D
myrheille on Apr 25, 2007
Tokens are interesting, but when are we going to be able to earn Tolkiens? Now that would be great. I'd take J.R.R. personally.
iconmaster on Apr 25, 2007
Could be copyright issues there, myrheille, but maybe we could offer a gaggle of these guys.
gswd on Apr 25, 2007
tamashii brought up something that makes me wonder. If there is to be an icon level higher than Diamond, that costs more than the 10 tokens, when that set is being sent, will we have the ability to bank, or rollover, our token balance from month to month? That way a non-vip could get it, just a few months down the line, and forgoing all other icons.
There could be restrictions on the rollovers, like you have to be an active member of the community, such as logging in, posting to the forum, trading the sets you have, etc.
It's just a thought. We have rollover minutes on our cell phones, why not rollover tokens.
JoshuaJarman on Apr 25, 2007
I'm voting for an underground/black token market with shady dealers. Pssssssttt...hey buddy, wanna token? Real cheap......
tamashii on Apr 25, 2007
@gswd: that is why my theory included the statement that the set would likely be (no less than) 30 Tokens. If a non-VIP member is super active and recruits like a mad man, he would have have the 30 tokens to get the set. Low-activity VIPers would still get the set with their full load of Tokens while the really high-end rollers of the community would have nothing to worry about month-to-month.
miklb
on Apr 25, 2007
sweet. I got an extra token already.
dishg on Apr 25, 2007
Oh boy... I've only been away for 4 hours and all this commotion in IB land... good news indeed =)
soprano on Apr 25, 2007
I know it would be complicated, but let's make it happen (testifying that someone invited you).
socrates on Apr 25, 2007
ha ha ha ... and i was excited about hitting 1K today... heh back to work ;)
mik on Apr 25, 2007
I was pretty happy about cracking 1000 a few days ago too. 5000 is too far off to be in my sights for a while.
250 (I think) points was the first threshold for unlocking a feature, is there anything confirmed (or rumored) for point levels between 250 and 5,000?
tamashii on Apr 25, 2007
@mik: none has been mentioned. I really like that aspect of the ’Buffet - unlocking features based on your points. I got really excited about the 250-point feature.
drustar on Apr 25, 2007
I referred a bunch of people! Can those count still? :)
lparziale on Apr 25, 2007
Please feel free to sign up for my FREE (no tokens required) point threshold meltdown hotline. We will counsel individuals on pertinent issues, like how to manage point building while maintaining employment, how to stay married and still receive high level badges and finally, a night class for non-sleepers on how to just say no and turn OFF the computer.
Welcome to the new and improved, insanely addictive ICON BUFFET!
Bravo Chefs!
sakimichi on Apr 25, 2007
Gonna invite some friends XD
Betty on Apr 25, 2007
confession: I'm afraid to reveal the extent of my IB addiction by inviting friends.
spiffinghat on Apr 26, 2007
Oh this is exciting.
smfh25 on Apr 26, 2007
I'm crying over here none of my friends are techies, designers or really into the web..... I am still at 0 points!!
raj47i on Apr 26, 2007
good idea guys
wmostrey on Apr 26, 2007
I like the idea of permanent and recurring :) Great work guys!
justG
on Apr 26, 2007
All this is very cool, thanks Chefs.
iconmaster on Apr 26, 2007
250 (I think) points was the first threshold for unlocking a feature, is there anything confirmed (or rumored) for point levels between 250 and 5,000?
Maybe...
lparziale on Apr 26, 2007
Tease!
tamashii on Apr 26, 2007
LOL@iconmaster. Of course there are going to be more unlocked point-based features. “Maybe…” King of Tease, I say. KING OF TEASE!
WilAlambre on Apr 27, 2007
Suggestion: a free token on our birthday?
WebSiteGuru on Apr 27, 2007
OMG! Just slap me in the head and wake me up. WOW! I better start refering and BLAH! BLAH! BLAH! Stop blabering. :D REFER! REFER! REFER!
iqon on Apr 27, 2007
So if I refer 10 people and each of them refer 10 people do I get an AMWAY badge?
WebSiteGuru on Apr 27, 2007
LMAOL! Now that's is funny iqon. :D
aaroncampbell on Apr 27, 2007
LMAOL? Is that "Laugh My A__ Off Laughing"
Denise on May 03, 2007
I love this site!
sbarfuss on May 03, 2007
Dido what Denise said...
EmmanuelD on May 16, 2007
There's.... there's a 100,000 point badge?
iconmaster on May 16, 2007
Oh yes.
Jen on May 16, 2007
x.x
thedudedean on May 29, 2007
STATION.
jlucasreyes on Jun 01, 2007
@.@
ACiDbaby on Jun 01, 2007
For some reason I don't seem to be earning any Points. I *know* I've sent many deliveries to people, but it doesn't reflect at all in my stats. :(
justG
on Jun 01, 2007
@ACiDbaby: Has it been at least seven days since you sent your deliveries? Are you certain they've been accepted by the recipients? Have you tried logging out and back in?
elnitido52 on Oct 31, 2007
This is good news for so many people new people on IB that I have brought it back to them...Happy Halloween...