I think we need something a little better then dots as well, they just seem, well, stange. there just not that TWHL yellow theme. proper Icons should be made
I also think that there should be a pip system for members.
you get two pips to start out. one for proper use of the map vault, and one for proper use of the forums. they could be taken away if the mods are getting pissed at them. then, you could get two more, one for exception maps posted in the map vault(like the award), and one for being a person who helped out with the answering of questions and generaly above average forum behavior(like the forum award thingy).
then a fifth pip if your deamed an especially valued member by the mods, or if your a mod.
(i relized the following is confuseing now that ive typed it, and reread it)
and this could be pretty well implimented in code. with a bianary system(the 1 + 2 + 4 + 8 + 16...system), like so:
you have a 1 if your a good forum user (pip in first slot, no pips in second through fifth slot)
you have a 2 if your a good vault user (no pip in slot one, or in slots 3 through 5, but a pip in slot 2)
you have a 3(1 + 2 = 3
) if you are both of the above, and hence have a pips in only slot one and two
but say you have a 1, and a 2, and are a exceptional forum user, you would also have an 8, since 4 would be an exceptional map vault user, and hence would have an 11, and hence a pip, pip, no pip, pip, no pip.
wait, that was confusing even for me. blame it being midnight here.
you could also just have a number of 0-5, for each thingy you get a +1 to that number, and hence a pip(or if your being lazy, you could just use the map vaults star pics