What are Sparks?

Sparks work a bit like upvotes or likes on other social platforms, but with a much more specific (and important!) purpose on Packback.

Sparks are given to posts which truly “sparked your curiosity”, to show appreciation to the original writer and help the community recognize the most curious posts. Sparks also give professors valuable insight into what their students are most curious about.

How Do I Spark a Post?

To give a Spark to a post, click on the lightbulb icon on the top right-hand corner of the post. When you have successfully added a spark to a post, you'll see the spark count change and the icon will remain illuminated. 

A post with the lightbulb icon on the top right-hand corner and a 2 next to the icon indicating a number of sparks. “This sparked my curiosity” tooltip appears above the icon.

Do I Have a Limited Number of Sparks?

You're given a limited number of "Sparks" each week as your “allowance” because we want to ensure that there is real value behind both giving and receiving a Spark. (Imagine how chaotic the world would be if everyone had unlimited money).

Each week, all members of a community on Packback receive a new “allowance” of Sparks which appear in the Community Stats module (shown above) in the sidebar of the community as “Available Sparks”.

Any unused Sparks “expire” every week on Monday at 2AM CST, and a new allowance is granted. 

How Do Sparks Impact My Grade?

Sparks are a tool for students and professors to show their appreciation for the posts on the platform that sparked their curiosity. You can check with your professor if they want to count this toward your Packback grade.

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