I think that is a good idea. Like in England, when you do something really great, you get “knighted” by the queen? We could have special “knights” designated by a special symbol with their name.
The only problem is, what if one of these “knights” flips to the dark side? We would have to unknight them! That would be embarrassing.
Or instead of knighted rewarded. Oh wait 
The point I guess of raising the idea was that guys like Neo who are the heartbeat of this place have the potential to be overlooked based on the criteria provided. Eg: 1 award a month isn’t enough for all the awesome folks on here.
There will be contributions like the primer etc as we move forward that should be rewarded but then the Clydesdales can potentially miss out by doing the gritty dirty stuff day to day.
Just a brain fart on my behalf tbh 
I also believe this could breed tension in the future if some feel unappreciated.
It’s a great idea. We could put a little clydes
dale icon next to the special users.
I’d have to say, I felt this too. Even though I undeservedly have been mentioned a number of times, there are many in the forum who while have little input, their input is ever so deservedly a nomination.
I have never been a fan of these competitions. I feel you would be better to have a “hall of fame” style of thing where a number of people are given the awards each. For instance @happybeing for his tireless, helpful, considerate and insightful help in the forum, @whiteoutmashups for his energetic enthusiasm and get up and go getting things done for SAFE and other members. And I could name a few others and sorry if you were not in the 2 examples I gave.
I agree. So it seems more like you rise in the ranks in a respectful way and earn your place and not competing against your comrades. Hall of fame sounds very nice, though I understand this is well intentioned and a good effort monthly nominations is a fun way to encourage activity and motivate members.
This looks like an Employee of the month award. Many a time i have seen these awards become political and miss the point completely. There should be mention of what community members do and bring to the community as a whole and it is always unfair to recognize individuals when there are efforts by many. Specially in a community like Maidsafe. I do not think if any of the names above had done to be recognized. They did this because they all believe in something when many choose not to. We should allow mention as and when it happens and i think that is much more rewarding rather than try to find out who has contributed the most in a month. The best recognition in my opinion is seeing the community grow and the platform growing and launch getting closer. Nothing will be more rewarding than that. And for a project of such scale and ambition…we have a long way to go and much to do. To all the names mentioned above, you deserve a pat on the back. Not taking anything away from what you have done. And i apologize if this has offended anyone. @riddim @whiteoutmashups @neo @jpl @anon40790172 and never forgetting @David_MacGregor and many more all deserve the highest recognition. Trying to choose anyone above the other is impossible in my opinion.
Thank you @happybeing, I am the correct Kurt and I am also creating the Desktop Wallpapers. [sorry, is that the opposite of being modest?] Also, the Slack Channel, which has been getting pushes from the other Chats.
I very much like the volition and intention behind this idea. Made me feel warm and fuzzy inside and thankful to all these wonderful contributors in this forum. On the other hand I also wonder if there is a better way to reward these people so we do not get into a competition with each other and possible feelings of neglect etc that could follow.
Found this nice article:
Why you shouldn´t have an employee of the month (and alternative employee recognition schemes)
We could have a “prize wheel”!! 
I don’t wanna be the dude who spoke up against this idea as it had a good heart behind it
Just a thought… maybe it should actually be @maidsafe themselves who identify a member each month who helps contribute/further the project at a level well above what is expected?
You remove the competitive peer thing as well as the time spent on the forum/exact nature of the contribution debate that way.
Knowing the down to earth nature of most people here the recipient would 100% be blown away to get that acknowledgement right from the people at the heart of this wonderful project and likely cherish a signed shirt forever probably even more so!
I really can’t see how that idea isn’t a winner tbh…
You may have a point here, and perhaps this idea arose out of MaidSafe wanting to find a way to reward people, but not wanting to be the authority. Having the community involved being so important to them.
Everyone in this topic has made good points IMO, especially me 
.
I liked the idea, especially as it was put forward in a spirit of fun, but I’ve no experience of such a competitive way of doing it.
I can imagine the downsides mentioned are real, and I wouldn’t want that.
I worked at two great tech companies.
The first decided awards in secret. Your boss, or a project manager, would make the case that you had gone way beyond what was to be expected and put that to his boss, and a small number of people would receive a financial bonus - ad hoc, not every month. Those receiving an award were acknowledged in the monthly newsletter, with an explanation of what they’d done, but the amount of the award was secret.
The second didn’t have such a scheme. It had share options, and it had Christmas and summer parties (the first company had those too), which were quite lavish so long as the company could afford it.
I enjoyed working at both very much, and I’ve received one of those awards (in ten years), but I think it would have been fine not to have the awards.
But for some I think, maybe that kind of reward is special and I think @beermenow has hit the nail. Most here would be blown away to be acknowledged by Maidsafe, and David in particular. So there’s a conflict there - David I think would like it best if he wasn’t seen as the man, and crucial, as soon as possible. But maybe doing this behind the scenes, with an announcement, and less of a competitive feel would be best?
Personally I do this because I’m having a ball working on things (helping, discussing, designing, coding) that I both enjoy and feel matters, just might change the world, and might make some money too. Pretty amazing to have all that in one place! 
I think it’s nice, shows that heart is at the centre of David and MaidSafe’s vision that they suggested this, which is one of the things that brought me here and keeps me interested and involved. 
I wonder @SarahPentland and @dugcampbell if we could have an app of the month, or project of the month a bit like rust has crate of the month? Seems more folks are doing more things that are interesting and a monthly focus perhaps in a dev update (first or last of each month) could spotlight some of these.
Great idea - anything we can do to highlight (and point people towards) some of the great work that’s going on across the community I’m definitely in favour of
Love the intention to have community members recognized for their contributions. Although like others have mentioned these types of approaches can encourage personal politics, insidious favoritism and much ego stroking. But gotta start the concept somewhere and iterate. I like the idea on maidsafe formally recognizing community member contributions that go above and beyond, but I see that this happens in many ways anyway. Some badges like “legend” might be cool and can be tied into the forum activities and thus becomes more objective. However going with the flavor of mentioning members who deserve recognition;
@whiteoutmashups for his boundless enthusiasm and continued effort to build momentum on the project
@JPL and @anon40790172 for the primer and many, many posts supporting clarity and understanding to new comers and seasoned members alike
@neo with the mediation, sound reasoning on topics and subtle humor infused posts
@happybeing in bringing wisdom, mostly impartial and concise explanations and continual efforts to the technical foundations and expansion of the project
@Sotros25 for pertinent feedback, sound commentary and ongoing external distribution and promoting of the value of the project
@beermenow for many comments that make me smiles
@goindeep for the great blog posts and consistent contributions to knowledge and entertainment on the forums
So many more to mention, so I will just say I every contributor to the community. Particularly the trolls and FUD instigators who help build resilience and resolve.
I’m glad you mention @JPL and @anon40790172. They are so obvious it’s easy to forget. And I have also enjoyed having @Sotros25 here.
Many of the “nominations” have earned the Discourse Admired tag automatically. Why not just have some kind of celebration when that tag has been applied to a member? Maybe a more in-depth bio? Or display it prominently next to their profile pic?
For what its worth I am in the camp saying in its current state this may cause more harm than good.
Specifically that it is termed a “competition”.
I think all who frequent here have their heart and soul in this project and contribute sincerely and in their own way.
Some people will stand out for different reasons and some will connect better with certain personality types but it is the group effort that makes us great.
The intention is good but perhaps a rethink is required.