Thread: Remove Post Counts

Why is it that people feel the need to wear their post counts?

To me, it seems to promote a “status-based” sort of community more than anything else, which in my opinion is something that takes away from the forum. Sure, most of us would agree that it’s more or less insignificant, and that it may not even be worth debating over (or so it seems). Nevertheless, whether or not you want to admit it, people still have a tendency of seeing one’s post count as an indicator of that person’s “place” within the community, even if in an unspoken manner. After all, if that number was truly as insignificant as we all say it is, why is it that posts in the Senseless Banter forum do not count towards one’s displayed post count, eh?

The question isn’t whether or that little number is seen and/or used as a status symbol by forum goers, the question is if that is something we should be perpetuating here at Dream Views? Most of us probably think such a thing is silly, and maybe even worth criticizing me for since its such a trivial concern…but of those people, especially those of you with relatively high post counts, who of you would actually erase/reset that number if you were given the option? Who of you could honestly say you be indifferent if one day your post count was just gone and you couldn’t get it back?

Not many I’m betting. This is why I am proposing that an individual’s post count be relocated within that person’s profile, and not right under their avatar like some sort of merit badge. Or, at the very least, there should be an option allowing you the option of whether or not you want your post count displayed (as it is with your age and such). In fact, Id find it interesting just to see who would actually choose to display their post count…

Even right now as you read this very message, I’m betting some of you are looking at my post count and formulating judgments about me, and perhaps even about why I’m writing this (ex. “only 100 posts huh? He’s just a n00b/ just jealous). But perhaps if you knew that, in the past, I had abandoned my SN of 3 years and a 4600+ post count simply because of the way I feel about this issue, you would understand just how serious I am about this.

So what do you all think? I know I’m going run into a bit of resistance over this, especially of those with “impressive” post counts. I must admit that I am curious as to how they are going to explain themselves. If my experience has taught me anything, these people will play down the importance of the post count, while simultaneously advocating we keep it for some “unrelated” reason.

I don’t know, too many forum goers are just too caught up with their post count, which has a way of making other people caught up in it as well (like myself). And even though you tend to get the whole “it’s not really important” from those who happen to have large post counts, it seems that these people are the most attached to that number. It’s like the larger the number, the more it becomes a part of “them”. And a lot of time they don’t even realize how attached to that number they really are until it becomes jeopardized. I was once a friend with a person like this at the forum I used to go to before this one. He was, no doubt, the most prominent and respected person at the website, even more so that the owner. He had been there since the very beginning. He also had the largest post count, close to 9000 if I remember correctly. And as I said before, he was a good friend of mine. He was smart, nice, funny as hell, wise, all of that good stuff. Well, one day something happened with his account and it was just gone. He had to make a second account. Surprisingly and unfortunately this caused him a great deal of grief, not having this number under his name. He pleaded with the owner until it was restored, and it made me question everything I knew about him. How could a person of his caliber be so…shallow? Nothing about him seemed to fit the profile of someone who was concerned with how many posts he had,he himself had criticized its imporance on several occasions. And keep in mind his posts weren’t restored, seeing as they were still there under his old SN, which now had the custom title of “guest”…it was just the number he was concerned about.

(sorry a bit of track)


Proposition: Relocate post count to user profile and/or create an option for displaying post count.

Reasoning: As it is set up now, it promotes discrimination, immaturity, and a false sense of superiority/inferiority. Plus, I see no good reason to keep it as it is besides apathy over this issue, which is all the more reason to stop reinforcing the significance of the post count anyway.