So here we are, freely provided with this site by FSM for us modelers to hang out at and all you can complain about is someones post count being shown ? I havent been a big fan of FSM in the past but i have changed my mind and i’m back . I noticed that the post count of some of my friends had changed while i was gone , some added a lot and some few . After that initial observation i seldom pay any more attention to the count . I know how my friends acquire there post and thats up to them. The Admins will take care of any problem posts or the abuse of them . I came back here and i enjoy these forums and the people here . It’d take a lot more seriouse offense to me than seeing someones post counts to cause me to leave again .
Let me ask you a serious question then. Would you still respect them if they had no post count total?
If yes, then they don’t need the post count total do they.
My participation here is not dependent on this issue’s resolution.
But I have experienced this exact same ‘issue’ on several forums every bit as ‘mature’ as this one here at Finescale, and it HAS been a thorn that many were happy to ignore till it bit them.
Like the saying says, it’s all fine and good till someone gets hurt.
As you can see from my post-count, I’m a relative newb in these parts.
I like the post count. Like DoogATX says, it’s a quick visual cue for new people to get a “feel” about the people responding to them. If a person sticks around long enough, they can form an actual opinion of the people, exclusive of the post counts.
Two years ago I joined a motorcyclist forum; when I browsed for answers to a particular problem I needed help with, I noticed that there were people who had high post counts and they were generally more forthcoming and helpful in their responses. I found that I came to rely upon these members for getting help with a sometimes obscure question, and I’ve found that this generally applies to most other forums I’ve visited of various nature. “Veteran” members can be counted on to help with understanding the peculiarities of the forum as far as posting. weird quirks, or best ways to post a question or best forums in which to do so.
The sad thing is that on this forum, there seems to be a genuine “rush” to boost post counts by some members who post the most trivial, useless material–whether intentionally or not, in the spirit of “socializing” or not… Honestly, sometimes it seems as if they just can’t help themselves, even after being made aware of it. In this case, the potential and possibility of post counts meaning anything at all is greatly diminished by “one word posts” or “three word posts”. It’s quality over quantity, period.
I personally HAVE used post counts on various forums to identify veteran members who can help with navigating a new forum or may be knowledgeable of people who CAN help answer an oblique question, and by the same token, I have often identified new members who may be unfamiliar with the various personalities and/or proclivities of certain members or unaware of how to best post a question or photos–whatever–and have used that to better determine an appropriate response.
So are they “useless”? NO. Unless they are rendered meaningless by gratuitous posting.
Man,…spend the day away from the office and all [6] breaks loose…posts…really…posts…someone has this forum bent out of shape by something so TRIVIAL as post…I also noticed while reading this thread that the a certain someone who started all this hasnt once, since then, even replied to the thread…I guess its not as seriuos as he made it out to be…or was he just starting a fire and then sitting back and enjoying the scene…theres a criminal term for that…
Lately I have noticed people getting all bent out of shape about all kinds of things except MODELING…so theres siliness you dont like it…ignore it…there are silly tags…so what…dont like them…dont use them…so some people have high posts counts…so what…how does all of this affect your modeling…?? ?? I still dont know…I have always said…Live and let live…its a free forum (but controlled by certain very fair minded Judge,[whstl] )…if dont like what you see you dont get involved…if there are goings on you dont agree with but other are enjoying let them…thats also why threads have a subject line and if its not of your interest no one is forcing you to read it…since people are using child-like analogies I will too…if you dont like the games being played in the playground you dont have it shut down…you either start your own game, join them or if its really that disagreeable find another playground…but i think in the end everyone is happier if they all just learn to play together…
Im sorry Aaron…I just had to vent…but I repeat…wheres the initial poster??? The world wonders…
Oh and I say keep the counts…they do help especially when trying to help newcomers(you can identify them by the low count)…which EVERYONE on the list has done many times on this forum…
I agree Carlos. The flame wars that have gone on in here as of late are getting old. I for one am getting tired of it. Everytime i’ve come on here lately, there’s someone complaining about something that was posted or someone. Personally it makes me not want to come in here at all.
And yes I do post on things other than the “Fun” threads. As I am a slow builder, there aren’t many of my own builds in here right now. I’m not experienced enough to give any sound advice. I do try and help when I can though.
So, is that a “keep 'em” or “toss 'em,” doog? You aren’t gonna avoid coming down on a position are you? [;)]
How about we include the average number of words per post as an additional stat …that way a “newbie” can seek out those who are “serious” vs “non-serious” posters? Sorta be like a “batting average” for all you baseball fans out there.
Also we could look into computer programming that could analyze words in a post and give an average “serious post rating” to each member…maybe on a scale of 1 to 5, with 5 being “Deadly serious” and 1 being “Pure MOJO”…?
So it would look something like this:
Von Joe Blow
Posts: 10,023
Avg # words/pst: 12.5
Seriousness rating: 4.3
I dunno-----I’m diggin’ it—just sayin’…
By the way, where does are most serious offender stand? [;)] Tigerman?
It should be obvious that I would fall in on the side of keeping them so as to permit the potential of others’ using them as I have used them on this and other sites.
However, as I said, the significance of a high post count seems to be losing any relevance to a members’ status as a veteran of any merit or helpfulness when so many of the “funny” (?!) threads get filled up with the most inane and abbreviated drivel.
And sorry, friend, but the rest of your question just seems facetious, so I would decline to respond to it. [:#]
Do you think those members are posting that material to boost their post counts? Or out of socializing and enthusiasm for an inside joke?
I see them as two completely different things. One is that there are actually members out there thinking “need to get to 2,000, need to get to 2,000, need to get to 2,000” and letting that drive their posting behavior.
The other is that the frequency of those quick-fire joke thread posts is clouding the post count. Kind of the way a batter can gin up a .400 batting average, but 75% of his on-bases are bunts.
The first, I think, is misattributing motives and is honestly something I have not witnessed anywhere on this forum. The second is more of a statistics debate about the “purity” of those numbers. To which I would say “so?” - it’s not like the numbers actually mean anything beyond just a very broad indicator anyway. Broad enough that the two main use cases - identifying new members and identifying veterans - aren’t really impacted at all.
Want to really shake things up? I don’t know if this forum software supports it, but others can let members tag a post as “helpful”, “funny”, etc. And then members get little badges for being so helpful, or so funny, or I guess on this forum for building a great build. Personally I think it’s a bit silly, but I can tell you from my days on the other side of forums that members got friggin’ rabid about those things. And given the butthurt that seems to have taken over a larger and larger part of the post activity in the last week or two, that’s really probably the last thing we need.
There have been a few references to the “Most Active users” list displayed on the main forum page,
Keep in mind that this list is not static and does not simply reflect the members with the highest post counts. Members with lower post counts can appear on this list if they have a higher activity than one (or more) of those listed over a certain period of time (24h?)
Also, it may be noted that one can amass a significant post count by simply posting welcome messages to new members and posting “nice work” and “good job” messages on build threads. Having said that, while posts of this kind do not contribute to the knowledge base of the forum, they do provide encouragement and contribute to the friendliness and cameraderie that we find here.