[quote=@Mahz]
Here's the rating system summed up in an image:

[img]https://dl.dropboxusercontent.com/spa/quq37nq1583x0lf/9wzt514q.png[/img]

- Without the rating system, would two people have posted? No.
- Did the rating system prevent two amazing posts from being written? No.
- Did it lower the barrier to feedback and enhance [@Captain Jordan]'s post? Yes.
- Did [@TheMaster99] sheepishly like it? Yes.
- Is it kinda funny/fun? Yes.
- Did some people think that revealing user post-count and join-date would lead to peen-measuring contests? Yes.
- Did it lead to peen-measuring contests? No.
- Does anyone care about post count? No.
- Does anyone care about join date? No.
- Will anyone care about aggregate ratings? No. Not until proven otherwise, and I'm always willing to be wrong.

But I'm rarely wrong. :magnum

What I actually do need help with:

- I need people with opinions about the Etherpad integration to give me ideas for how to implement it. What would be the most useful for them? Does anyone have a vision?
- I need people with opinions about the dice integration to also give me ideas. What's the ideal?
[/quote]

Want to like...defies principles. Gahhh!

Anyway, I mentioned being able to create an etherpad as a supplement to a PM conversation. What about a cloned PM feature that would create Etherpads instead of PMs? It would be a much simpler creation interface (simply a textbox with space to add comma-delimited usernames and a button), but the options would have to be expanded to allow new users to be invited later. 

I see it working like invite-only Google Docs:
I send an Etherpad (new, fancier name should be invented) invitation to [@Mahz] and [@TheMaster99]. 
Now Mahz, TheMaster99 and I can write and edit my Etherpad. 
Mahz suggests that [@LegendBegins] be invited. 
Only I can invite LegendBegins, and I decide to do that.
Now Mahz, TheMaster99, LegendBegins and I can edit my Etherpad.
LegendBegins thinks [@Hank] should join us.
I don't invite Hank to the Etherpad. No one else can, either. 
Only Mahz, TheMaster99, LegendBegins and I can edit my Etherpad.
When we are done with the Etherpad, I click the Close/Lock* button.
Now no one can edit the Etherpad, including me.
The contents of the Etherpad are still available to myself, Mahz, TheMaster99 and LegendBegins.

*Now, I haven't dived too much into Etherpad. Is there a way to disable it from further edits? If so, I'd suggest a Close/Lock button that the creator can use when the Etherpad is finished. The other way to do this might be to extract the Etherpad text and chatlog, create a PM with the contents of both and the users on the Etherpad, and destroy the Etherpad instance. 

Just my $0.02 on the matter.