Therefore, I propose that in Moodle Version 2.0 or if possible 1.3, that the Humour Level Indicator (currently hidden) be moved to upper right corner of each site and course. The moving level bar configuration can be shown in the Settings page so teachers can set appropriate levels of fun for their site. For example, I usually set the green range to about 1.4~1.8 humourous comments per day. Needless to say, I am a bit of a dour person. Those of you will higher levels of intolerance to seriousity can set your requirements to over 2 or even 3 per day.
If you aren't familiar with this feature yet, it works quite simply. After turning on the humour rating checkbox in the Forums tool (not available as yet in Journels), the HLI is updated by smile.php which simply adds a integer to the humour_count table. Then according to the number of rated humourous comments per day, the bar in the HLI ranges from red (overseriousness), yellow (irritation), to green (chuckles). Bryan once proposed we add a bright purple (hilarity) level but Martin squashed that, probably cause he was trying to get through an irksome beta testing period.
In Moodle 2.1, we will further develop this feature--perhaps adding a Humour Quality Indicator (HQI). Thus Martin's puns, for example, could be given a minus value no matter how "funny" he considers them. However, I would vote against the proposal for a individualized humour indicator (IHI) to colorize the face icons according to funniness, otherwise Ger would always look embarrassingly red.
