"number of posts" emphasises quantity not quality

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charbono

The Fly
Joined
Jul 31, 2000
Messages
47
Location
Adelaide, South Australia
Is it really a good idea to show the number of posts a user has made? Isn't "The Fool" or "The Fly" etc enough??

Stating the number of posts a user has made next to their name merely encourages 'competition' and emphasises quantity rather than quality....

It is possible to switch this useless function off and simply list the user's number of posts in their profile, as demonstrated at http://www.eatsound.com/forums/cgi-bin/Ultimate.cgi?action=intro


So how does everybody else feel?
 
i agree charbono... i've never seen a bbs that lists the number of posts that one makes next to your name, and can't really see the reasoning or logic behind it. it does seem to encourage volume over substance. the main problem in my opinion is that it creates a kind of competitive atmosphere, and honestly has conversely made my feel a little reluctant and discouraged to post. :(

you wouldn't know it by my "fool" status or my "number" listed to the left here, but i've been logging onto this board since it opened. i for one would really appreciate it if were disabled.
 
I agree with you guys that, theoretically, listing the number of posts creates pressure to post more than normally. The thing is, there isn't any evidence that this is the case. The vast majority of posts are quite substantive, either as comments/suggestions/questions about U2 or as conversations between forum members. I really don't think that people care about who posts the mosts.

If you guys know otherwise, I'd love to hear it.

And in defense of listing the number of posts, by glancing at the number and dates of posts you can get a good sense of how active a person is on a forum. That can help in a couple of situations:

* A new member could see who to ask questions to -- Ishkash and I are around a LOT more than some other members.

* A older member could tell whether an off-topic or inciteful post was made by someone who really aught to know better.

* And everyone can tell when somebody just joined, so he/she can be welcomed into the community.

IMHO (as a forum member, not a moderator), I don't see it as a problem, and I'm pretty certain the moderators can keep such competition in check without dropping the "number of posts."

And if it does become a real problem, we can reevaluate the issue.

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- Achtung Bubba
 
I agree it can be very helpful to know whether someo-one is or isn't really active in this forum. Sometimes (when I'm having a really bad day) I can get very irritated when I see some-one starting a topic I've already seen once or twice before. First thing I do is to check whether the person is relatvely new to this forum. I mean, you can't blame some-one for something he could hardly have known about.

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Salome
Shake it, shake it, shake it
 
I'm just adding this one because I want to increase my number of posts
biggrin.gif


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Salome
Shake it, shake it, shake it

[This message has been edited by Salome (edited 08-08-2000).]
 
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