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	Change in the allocation of Community Points From June 10th there will be a change with regards to the distribution of community points. For an “exceptional” rating you will now receive 9 community points instead of the 6 points received so far. “Very Helpful” and “Helpful” ratings will still continue to provide you the same amount of points as previously. And for “Somewhat Helpful” ratings you will now have 3 community points subtracted instead of the 6 points given so far.  A rating of “Not Helpful” will result in the subtraction of 6 points rather than 9 points and for “Off Topic” ratings it will be a subtraction of 9 points instead of 12 points.  We hope these changes will make the rating system a bit more equitable by awarding outstanding ratings additionally with more points, while not having poor ratings deducting too many points. In this way, you are able to assess effective reviewers through good reviews easier and faster. Each user who published reviews between now and 10th June,  will have an increase of his or her community points.

What makes you happy?

Being happy is one of the main goals in our lives. But what does “happiness” mean? In cooperation with Coca-Cola we would like to know exactly what that means to you! Is it money and fame? Or is it more the little daily enjoyments life brings?
We are looking forward to hearing your opinion!

"The summer" is also the subject of our today's interview. To know how Ciao users are doing over this season and which plans they have this summer in relation to ciao, we lead an interview with sunmelian.

About sunmeilan Ciao User since : 05.05.2005 Written Reviews: 1078 Circle of trust : 388 members To know more about sunmeilan, visit her profile

How do you spend the summer and how do you relate it to Ciao?

1. What do you rejoice in the most when summer comes?

I enjoy being able to sit outside in the garden. I work at home, so have the freedom to be able to do so during the summer months - then I thank my lucky stars that I no longer have an office-based job!

2. What are your plans for this summer ?
I work for myself, which means that it is hard to take much time off work. I will spend a couple of weekends in London, staying with friends, and will hopefully visit another friend on the Isle of Wight, but I won't be going anywhere overseas this year. Hopefully, the weather in the UK will remain the way it is at the moment, so I won't miss out on good weather.

3. Because of holidays and the preference for outdoor activities the number of active users on Ciao usually goes down in the summer time. As an active and long standing user, what advise do have for us to prevent this tendency?
Doubling incentives for one of the summer months, probably August is probably a good idea. This seems to work well in general at persuading people to write for the site. However, it does seem that every time there is an incentive like this, the premium fund for the next month is much reduced (I could be wrong, but it certainly seems to be this way). This doesn't seem fair to the regular members who write for Ciao whether there is a promotion on or not. I would like to see regular members receive the recognition they deserve - and perhaps some kind of incentive especially for these members would be the best way to keep the number of active users up during summer time. 

4. And what do you think about our special World Cup bonus this summer?
I have to be honest here. I have earned very little extra money from the bonus. Perhaps other people are doing better. However, I am not complaining too much because any extra money is welcome, however little!

CIAO MEET UP EVENTS

As a consumer platform, Ciao counts with millions of members who don’t only use the website daily to write and comment on reviews, but also to communicate amongst each other and build friendships.
In doing so, it frequently happens that countless members express the desire to meet one another in person or to have a nice evening out among a few members within the Ciao community.
In February 2007, 40 community members from the German Ciao website achieved this initiative for the first time and organized a Ciao meet up in Munich. The success of the event was so big that other members started to organise these events soon after. Nowadays, there is at least one meet up event per month within the German Ciao community.

How does the planning and organisation of a meet up work?

Well, a Ciao member proposes the idea to organize an event and usually sends us an e-mail outlining all the details (city, date, location, time, and program) about the event. Then we upload the event via a link in the community member centre and everyone who is interested can confirm his or her participation through a simple click!
After the event, the organiser is usually inclined to publish a review about the event, which we then insert a short version into the community newsletter.
Ciao “meet-ups” are independent events planned by members without any influence from our side. However, we try to support these meetings by sending ‘surprise’ packages to the organizer for each participant.  Our experience shows: Meet-ups help create or maintain a friendly and positive atmosphere within the community.
Send us an email letting us know what you think about this idea or if you have any suggestions as to how this can be improved let us know. Wouldn’t you be interested in getting to personally know some other Ciao members?

So organise a Ciao Meet up in your city now!

Your Ciao Team