As an OutSystems MVP and active Forums & Ideas moderator, I publicly voiced my disappointment over the persistent manipulation of the community ranking system by some of the most active members, over the last years. Despite raising concerns about patterns of low-quality replies, artificial upvoting, and targeted downvoting, all validated by OutSystems’ DevRel team, in, my opinion no real corrective actions were taken, nor a clear message was given to the community apart from my own posts. As a result, I decided to step away from moderating the Forums and Ideas pages until further notice.
In an earlier, more comprehensive post, I reflected on the motivations behind such behaviour, ranging from ego and prestige to career advancement, and emphasized how it undermines the trust, quality, and spirit of the community. I advocated for ethical contributions, meaningful engagement, and transparency, warning that continued abuse would lead to reputational harm and possible disciplinary action from OutSystems.
While OutSystems does actively engage with those suspected or confirmed of manipulating rankings or violating the community Code of Conduct, I fundamentally disagree with what I see as an overly soft approach. In my view, individuals who gain their status through dishonest practices should lose their ranking positions. Unfortunately, in past confirmed cases, this has not consistently happened. That sends the wrong message: it’s demotivating to those who genuinely contribute and, frankly, I find it disrespectful to the values the community is meant to stand for.
I remain an active MVP and will continue contributing to the OutSystems ecosystem through other meaningful channels—such as the talking to OutSystems directly on relevant topics on MVP Slack channel, participate in events, and platform advocacy and finally start writing OutSystems related articles. But I believe the current environment of the Forums and Ideas pages has become increasingly dysfunctional and unhealthy. I don't want to spend my spare free time, moderating bad behaviour. It no longer aligns with the collaborative and respectful culture I stand for, and I choose not to be part of it in its current state.
For those interested, here is the original post from November 2023:
OutSystems ranking manipulation, who are you fooling, the community or yourself?
- Daniel