Boost System-- Frequently Asked Questions

MakerWorld
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Hi MakerWorld community,

Our Boost System has been operational for a few days, and we’re actively gathering feedback to continually improve it and address any concerns. Below are some of the most common questions users have asked about our boost system, and we’ll provide clear answers to each.

  1. Q: What is the difference between ‘Boost Received’ and the ‘Boost Tokens’ in our accounts?

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  • The ‘Boost Token’ you get is intended for you to boost models according to your preference. (labelled in blue)

  • The ‘Boosts Received’ are the boosts you received from other users (labelled in red).

You can redeem your received boosts and convert them into points. 1 boost can be converted into 11 points, which is equivalent to ~1$ gift card pre tax.

  1. Q: Will Boosts expire?

  • ‘Boosts Received’ will not expire.

  • ‘Boost Tokens’ will expire in 14 days from the date of receipt

We’ve introduced this expiration date to encourage users to thoughtfully select models for boosting and to use their tokens promptly.

To accommodate the distribution of boost tokens, we have adjusted the incentive level of the previous download-based system. However, our intention was not to decrease the overall budget. The current decrease in incentives is primarily due to a small fraction of users using their boost tokens. So if you have boost tokens left in your account, show your appreciation by boosting your favorite designs!

We anticipate a transition period as users familiarize themselves with the boost system and begin actively supporting designers. We’ll closely monitor the impact on overall incentives and adjust accordingly to ensure a fair and sustainable system for all users.

  1. Q: Are only BambuLab printer users given Boost Tokens?

No. You can be given Boost Tokens even if you don’t have a BambuLab printer.

To mitigate risks, initially, accounts associated with BambuLab printers will have a higher likelihood of getting Boost Tokens. We’ll further develop our Boost Token Delivery system to accurately allocate tokens to active users, minimizing the chance of distribution to potential bots or spam accounts.

  1. Q: Is it true that 1 boost = 1 dollar gift card?

The conversion rate given is pre-tax, so the actual amounts might differ depending on your local tax regulations. Our intention is to align the value of our boost to approximately $1. Upon receiving a boost, you can convert it for 11 MakerWorld points.

Hopefully our responses are able to address some of your concerns, and we encourage more of you to use your boosts to reward your favorite models and designs!
Please feel free to let us know if you have any further questions or encounter any issues regarding our Boost System in the comments below. We’ll do our best to address them as promptly as possible.

Thanks for your continued support!

The MakerWorld Team

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No way! Who could have possibly seen that coming? /s

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There is no incentive to use the boosts, I bet 95% of users neither known about them and basically why using them? I downloaded and printed the model I liked, I’m happy with it and I don’t bother about boost it. May be adding the boost button in Bambu Studio and HandyApp after a print would help but not so much imho.

Furthermore, you have (finally) open the ability to download models without signup, but then all those downloads are lost you don’t count them and probably the user won’t signup and give the boost. So another thing to take out points from creators.

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Reading all of the messages about the new Boost system here in the Forums, I doubt that this are the most common questions ask.

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I’m always sus as to where they’ve been getting their resources… Because yeah If you even go back to reading the post back in Jan with MW asking us about what we think and what should be done as a reward system not 1 person mentions anything along these lines… Somehow they got the message of “Yes, boost. Boost is it!, we shall add boost!” as the solve all be all option…

I don’t honestly think the teams listen to feedback even when it’s laid out right in front of their eyes, or we blame the language barrier and whatever system they use to translate. It must’ve said we wanted boost versus anything else suggested.

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The feedback is used to collect insights, not to provide solutions. I think boost are fine from the idea, and we probably did not see the final implementation. I really like and value that BambuLab is iterating on their stuff, and they get better at communicating.

From a Developers perspective, they are quite fast on iterating and responding in a reasonable timeframe. I feel bad for the person who needs to read all of junk and tries to create a management summary out of it :joy:.

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[Suggestion #1]

MW needs to reach out to the non-creator users of MW about how to earn and use Boost tokens. A whole outreach program is needed and needs to be sustained for all new BL printer owners and newly registered MW members.

Right now, there’s a big banner on the home page that says 1 Boost = $1 Gift Card, but that means almost nothing to the non-creator site visitors. It looks like an ad for BL’s products. My friend thought it is asking users to buy gift cards to give creators, like some social sites.

Even if they click through, I doubt they’ll spend 5 mins reading the page, as it’s geared towards creators.

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[Suggestion #2]

Now that MW is allowing downloads without login, you should also allow creators to mark each of their uploaded models between ‘Allow any visitor to download’ and ‘Allow MW members to download only’.

Here I’m assuming MW is applying different spambot filtering levels between the two groups, since such information is not released afaik by MW, only anecdotal posts by creators.

This gives the choice back to creators. Those who wish to share what they’ve created regardless, and those who wish to be rewarded for their efforts albeit much reduced now. Creators can of course choose to offer a mix between the two options for their library of models.

It is also fairer to creators who originally uploaded their points under the prior reward scheme, which is primarily based on captured download and print counts.

Last, having some models ‘MW members download only’ also incentivize visitors to register and login at MW.

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Fully agreed. However, educating users is likely futile without tangible benefits for them. While it may raise general awareness, the system lacks incentives for continuous support towards creators. We’ve observed this phenomenon in rating systems, where only about 10% of users actively participate, often motivated by rewards. Expecting spontaneous interaction without incentives seems unrealistic. This mirrors the dynamics of the ‘Dictator Game,’ an economic behavioral experiment where individuals decide on money allocation without personal connection. Without a direct link between users and creators, altruistic actions are unlikely.

This response speak volumes. Rather than discussing how or if they intend to address this challenge, they simply advise a small, enthusiastic creator base to utilize their tokens. Not sure for whom this Q&A is for tbh.

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Boost could have been done as part of an improved ratings system. Now creators have to hope for good ratings AND hope for Boost tokens AND hope for downloads to be counted. A bit overwhelming I must say lol.

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most users dont use those tokens and dont care about going to click on a button to give a like or a boost… just the same as most people dont care about giving a like on facebook and they just keep scrolling down, I dont think this is the way to go for creators as most people wont even give them boosts. Like everyone said… downloads came down to a point that most makers dont even want to put efforts into this website anymore as its not rewarding as it used to be. Thank you

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Reading through most of the +450 comments on your previews post, these are not the most common questions raised by users.

Anyways… You gotta stop unregistered users from being able to download our models.
This alone is a very big red flag for me personally - and I really have to consider if I’m willing to upload anymore if this is not being fixed.
And I don’t think I’m the only one with this concern.

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Instead of lecturing them to distribute their boosts more often, you could actually just give out more boosts or make the individual boost more valuable.

A factor between 3 and 4 would correspond to your stated idea of ​​"no decrease in incentives", I guess.

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still only a few portion of users will use their boost… and only a small amount of users will give out boosts to actual models that need the boosts. as I now see people get boosts on models that I created but they just copied and made a slight different change, weirdly my model got over 5k in 2 months and now 0 downloads as people are pushing models with boosts, models that were not even popular in the first place but because of the boost they are ? that doesnt make any sense to me, specially for all the hard work we did put into those models, its just like if they didnt have any recognitions and didnt care about giving credits anymore to it, I know that they want more users and more people to upload on their platform but this is not going to help at all

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Just got another boost for the week and still have 5… smh

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This is who I’ve thought to of deserved a boost so far. Showcasing talent, ingenuity and dedication. Nothing short of top notch designs that deserve to be recognized for their hard work.

Like I said 5 more and expiring in 9 days. .

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How are you getting so many boosters? :thinking:

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I got 2 for each printer I have registered to THIS account…
not to mention I guess we get one every week for being “active” on MW. Doesn’t really matter though because I’m being completely honest with it and only towards models i’ve printed.

Not merely handing them out to generate some economy within MakerWorld.

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Have the same “problem”. I spend 5 tokens but have one left and don’t know what model I should give it. I don’t use many downloaded models, I’m manly here to publish models I made. And I also don’t want to give the boost to just any model. So perhaps it will expire …

Bambu now have linked the FAQ on the MW start page. I think they should learn to differ between “Users” and “Creators”. They all the time talk about, like you would for a Creator. Also the FAQ is nearly completely meant for Creators. Users may have completely different questions and need more introduction and guidance. I think this is not helpful at all how they did this.

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Would you please clarify if dowloads without an account using captcha count towards download metrics? If not is there plans to implent a reward to the creator for these downloads.

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