Post count question...

[Charger_Fan]

I know I've wondered this before, but my search results came back zero on this subject...so maybe I haven't brought it up here before?
Anyway, I've noticed some members (some newbies in particular), who's post counts don't really seem to match their actual posts. This guy sticks out in my mind (probably mostly due to the avatar ). http://www.dodgecharger.com/forum/index.php?action=profile;u=2802  Right now, his post count is at 5. Four of which are in this thread alone; http://www.dodgecharger.com/forum/index.php/topic,13030.30.html ...but if you check his latest posts in his profile, he's posted 14 times.

I also notice it often in the for sale ads, where some folks show single digit numbers, or even zero...in a thread where they've posted multiple times. Of course, this is only trivial & certainly isn't terribly important in the grand scheme of things, but I was just wondering.

[Troy]

I think you're just going insane.

Actually, I turned off post counting in the classifieds sections because all those threads get deleted over time. I figured that I would rather answer questions like "why isn't my post count increasing" instead of "why does my post count go up and down at random". Another partial reason is that on the old site we'd have some people with a few hundred posts in the jokes or classifieds sections but very few in the tech sections. Unfortunately this can be confusing/misleading for newer members looking for advice as they tend to judge the quality of information based on the post count of the person offering the answer.

Troy

[Charger_Fan]

That makes sense.
I didn't really think it was a glitch or anything, but thought I'd say something anyway...you know, just to bump my post count one more.

I think you're just going insane.

If you were the only one to tell me that, I'd think you might be onto something.

[69_500]

Which personally I think its a good thing.

Does this mean that post in the lighter side section don't add to the post count right?

As I remember a few people who posted a lot in that section, but then never really had anything to say in the general section. But when they did say something people would take it as true due to their high post count.

So to me its a good thing to not have those sections racking it up.

Ever given it much thought to not adding to the post count in the off topic section Troy?

[Troy]

Which personally I think its a good thing.

Does this mean that post in the lighter side section don't add to the post count right?

As I remember a few people who posted a lot in that section, but then never really had anything to say in the general section. But when they did say something people would take it as true due to their high post count.

So to me its a good thing to not have those sections racking it up.

Ever given it much thought to not adding to the post count in the off topic section Troy?

Yes. Yes. I'm also considering subtracting 2 posts from every person who posts an eBay link...

Troy

[Lowprofile]

Which personally I think its a good thing.

Does this mean that post in the lighter side section don't add to the post count right?

As I remember a few people who posted a lot in that section, but then never really had anything to say in the general section. But when they did say something people would take it as true due to their high post count.

So to me its a good thing to not have those sections racking it up.

Ever given it much thought to not adding to the post count in the off topic section Troy?

So, does that mean that people who post more in the tech side of this board are more valuable members than those who don't? I didn't realize that some of the people who choose to be here because of not only the cars, but the brotherhood, the sense of comunity, and the friendships they have started are looked down on by the "elitist" of this community. If it makes anyone feel better, you can delete my post counts at any time........I would not want to be responsible for giving any member false or mis-leading information. 

[Troy]

As I stated, the boards that don't add to a member's post count are boards that get "pruned" regularly. When threads are deleted in those sections posts are subtracted from the members posting in the threads so their post count ends up the same either way. Have I thought about expanding it to other sections. Yes. I stated the reason why also - it's the new members who aren't intimately familiar with the community that may be confused or possibly mislead by a post. Trust me, if post count were the sole indicator of a valuable member then the system would be truly flawed (just take a look at the top of the list!) but that doesn't mean that people don't look to it for guidance. Would the registration date be a better indicator? How about time online? Posts per day? Attitude? It's not up to me to determine which indicators what other people look at - only to make best information available. The software can actually track "karma" which allows members to rate each other based on their sense of community. That leaves a lot of room for abuse if you ask me but it might be worth a try. Post counts are sort of universal in the online forum world so that seems to be the first thing people notice.

Other thoughts:
Remember that posts in the tech sections aren't always answers.

I see that Moparts has hidden the post count so that it can only be seen in a person's profile. 

We won't have the post count problem with the Classifieds for long.

Troy

[69_500]

I wasn't intending to come accross as someone who was trying to be an eliteist. I've by far that. I'm just average Danny who loves these cars. I do know that when I first started posting on the old board though I looked to those who had been around longer, for asnwers on some questions. I can tell you this, if I had a technical question I'd still go to Chryco for the answer first.

By the karma rating are you talking about somewhat like how moparstyle does their reputation points? I don't understand those, but some how people vote or something. I haven't quite figured it out over there. I've noticed some people are a 1 where as some are as high as 15. Not sure what is good or not good.

[Ghoste]

We had the karma thing on the 66-67 forum and it was greatly abused... and soon abandoned.

[Troy]

Ah, as I expected. It's kinda like seller ratings and eBay feedback - too much room for manipulation (which is why I didn't bother turning it on).

Troy

[69_500]

Is it possible to have a negative number for the "karma" rating?

[Ghoste]

It was on the 66-67 forum.