Bambu Lab is making significant changes to the points system on their 3D model site, Makerworld.
The site began as a place for buyers to easily find 3D models to print on their Bambu Lab devices, but also serves as a general repository for the 3D print community as a whole. Thingiverse was the first to implement this concept because their buyers would have had nothing to print otherwise.
Today things are a bit different. While these 3D model repositories still provide content for 3D printer operators, the modern goal of the site is to make the ecosystem “sticky”. MakerWorld is tightly tied to Bambu Lab’s software and hardware. This is intended to make customers stay with Bambu Lab instead of moving to other providers.
One feature that adds to the stickiness is a points system. Points are awarded to designers who provide good 3D models that make the site more attractive, and those points can be redeemed for gift cards usable at the Bambu Lab store, or credits for 3D model purchases.
Points systems are very powerful, as designers want to collect as many points as possible. This keeps them on the site, as intended. It also grows the site and makes it far more active.
But there’s been a problem. While activity has been created on the site, Bambu Lab has now realized that the points are not being allocated properly. It seems there is a growing abuse problem, where some users attempt to game the system in an effort to increase their point totals.
An example of this would be someone creating multiple accounts and liking or downloading their own 3D models repeatedly. That’s essentially fake traffic. Another issue would be someone uploading a stolen 3D model and claiming it as their own.
In a dramatic post, Bambu Lab explains:
“Let’s be honest: the current system has some serious flaws.
Points farming is hurting the ecosystem. We’ve seen download manipulation, group print-trading, and fake engagement. This not only wastes our resources, it hurts creators who play fair and work hard.
High-quality, original models aren’t being rewarded fairly. Creators who invest hours of skill and imagination deserve better than seeing their work valued the same as a quick tweak.
Relying only on download and print counts skews rewards. When points hinge on just those two numbers, fast-print trinkets surface while painstaking, complex builds get left behind.
“So we’re fixing it.”
It sounds as if they intend on providing the same number of total points to the community, but allocating them in a different manner.
They aren’t (yet) explaining how the new points calculation system will work, but their goal is to adjust things to provide more points for models that require significant effort to create, and possibly less for very simple 3D models.
They’re also adding evaluation factors for originality, complexity, presentation quality, and community recognition.
They’re also instituting a new method of punishing those who attempt to cheat the system. Those found afoul of the rules will now lose points, something that hadn’t happened previously.
Something they didn’t mention is the growing presence of crappy AI-generated 3D models on their platform. These are showing up on every platform these days because it’s so easy: generate a 2D image with an AI tool, then convert it into a rough 3D model with another AI tool. The 3D model usually doesn’t match the image at all, and they just clutter up the site.
It may be that the new points system could naturally downgrade these AI-generated 3D models due to their poor quality.
This is a very good move by Bambu Lab, and one that should have been done a while ago. However, solving the situation is quite complex, and it’s likely the company spent considerable time figuring out a new system. I am wondering whether they are using AI tools in their new points system, but we won’t know until they release more information on how it works.
Via MakerWorld
