POLL Hide post counts or not?

[Gaard]

Discussion can be found here. I guess we should find out if it's something that's wanted by the members here before making a suggestion to Ezone, as per Zuni's request. Anand has been made aware of the discussion so maybe he'll stop by and give his take on it. After all, he has the final say, right? Also, remember that the poll is strictly for or against hiding the post counts (in the profile seems logical, but anywhere as long as it's not out in the open) and not for leashing certain types of posts or posters.

If you vote could you please post a reason for why you voted the way you did...especially if you voted 'NO'. I haven't seen a reason given for not doing this yet.

Some of you, no doubt, will be wondering why I'm dragging this on.I just think it's important that nonsubscribers be helped out as much as possible and not just swept under the rug. And if this would help, no matter how much, with the bandwidth problem (which is the main reason for the slowness here) shouldn't this suggestion be considered?

 

[Challenger]

I voted no because when in the FS/FT forum I like to see how long a person has been registered here.

 

[olds]

<< I voted no because when in the FS/FT forum I like to see how long a person has been registered here. >>


That info would be available in their profile.
I voted yes for the obvious nef reasons.

 

[JC]

...you already know how I feel about this

and when I want to buy or sell, I use HeatWare for my guide, post count has nothing to do with a trader's reputation.

JC

 

[ILikeSprite]

yes

 

[minendo]

Link

Here is a reason to not hide post counts. There will always be trolls that can come in and impersonate names. The only way I (and others) could tell that the posters were not really ffmcobalt and Baffled2 was by post count and joined date. I really do not want to have check a profile everytime I speak with a member to make sure that the joined date is correct. The troll that "spoofed" these accounts even filled out the profile information exaclty the same. Only post count and joined date were incorrect.

Just something to consider.

 

[JC]

Of course, the 'Junior Member' was a tipoff too...

 

[minendo]

<< Of course, the 'Junior Member' was a tipoff too... >>


This is true. I think what cause me to notice it most of all since I rarely notice member status is the post count. Of course as I said, it is something to take into consideration.

 

[Gaard]

A lot of 'no' votes but only 2 people bothered to explain why they voted that way. I'm going to assume that means that the majority of the 'no' votes are from people who voted that way simply because they want others to view their post count. I guess it's time to drop the subject and admit defeat because it seems the voice of the nefs is louder than the voice of non-nefs. :disgust:

 

[MrBond]

What about not displaying post count, and instead, only displaying the join date?

Of course, it's not the actual numbers that drives people to neffing, it's the user levels. And there's no way those are going anywhere.

 

[DaiShan]

Originally posted by: Gaard
A lot of 'no' votes but only 2 people bothered to explain why they voted that way. I'm going to assume that means that the majority of the 'no' votes are from people who voted that way simply because they want others to view their post count. I guess it's time to drop the subject and admit defeat because it seems the voice of the nefs is louder than the voice of non-nefs. :disgust:

Actually, I have yet to hear any compelling aruguments to hide post count. When you want to alter the status quo, you have the burden of proof. The only real argument that I have heard for hiding post count is the case of the nefs, apparently many of you think it is more rapant than it really is, I occasionally see some threads in OT that look like they were started with the idea in mind that they could increase their post count, but normally these threads turn into discussions, which is what ATOT is all about, the description of OT is a "pub" or meeting place to discuss everything off topic. (well, maybe not everything) The only threads that I see that are blatant nefs with the sole purpose of increasing post counts have a nice big padlock next to them that screams "look at what happens when you nef." That said, I would like to hear from the mods on this issue as they are the ones that have to lock up posts like that, if they feel that hiding post count would ease their job, or help anandtech, then I MAY change my mind, but as it is I voted no.

 

[GoodRevrnd]

If we hide the post count, can we still show the joined date? I always use HeatWare to do a final determination on FS/FT, but the joined/postcount is a good way to quickly guage someone.

 

[Red Dawn]

If we hide the post count, can we still show the joined date? I always use HeatWare to do a final determination on FS/FT, but the joined/postcount is a good way to quickly guage someone.

No it isn't. Butt Rubs like gopunk have 13,000 posts but I wouldn't consider him a good trader or a good member, just a bloody Neff!

 

[minendo]

No it isn't. Butt Rubs like gopunk have 13,000 posts but I wouldn't consider him a good trader or a good member, just a bloody Neff!

I agree Red, but there are regulars over in For Sale/Trade that are quickly noticed by joined date/post count. Members like gopunk rarely (if ever) leave OT and would be singled out as a new trader immediately by the For Sale/Trade members.

 

[Confused]

I like to keep track of how many posts i am doing, which actually slows me down with posts and bumps if i see that i've posted 100 times in say the past week, then i think "i'm posting too much!" then back off for a while!

It would stop a lot of the nefs and lower bandwidth use, but i still voted No.

Confused

 

[yakko]

I don't care one way or the other but you didn't have that as an option so I voted no.

 

[mastertech01]

Members like gopunk rarely (if ever) leave OT and would be singled out as a new trader immediately by the For Sale/Trade members.

By the regulars, but some newbies may think he is a trader forum God of some type.. IMHO

 

[minendo]

By the regulars, but some newbies may think he is a trader forum God of some type.. IMHO

Very good point. As I have said before there is always another side to the discussion.

 

[Zim Hosein]

I don't care one way or the other but you didn't have that as an option so I voted no.

What yakko said

 

[Hossenfeffer]

I'd like to see some information available in a mouse-over of the user's avatar:

Post count, Location (user-entered location wouldn't work --> too much potential for abuse), and... oh hell, I don't know, maybe post average per day. That way, the post info is freely available but might discourage some folks that just want to up their count.

 

[Red Dawn]

he is a trader forum God of some type

Hey they all want to be like Mike BTW, Mike's my real name!!!

 

[bizmark]

Maybe as a better option for the FS/FT members, there would be an ebay-style "rating" that's designated just for FS/FT? Just thinking about it, it would be hard to implement in such a way as to avoid abuse and make sure that it's used only when a trade has occurred, but I still think that another system parallel to postcount/user-rating/time-registered needs to be set up, specifically for FS/FT. Heatware is obviously designed for this purpose, as are ebay-user ratings. Maybe a member should be required to sign-up with heatware before they're allowed to post in FS/FT?

The only reason why I'm saying this is that it seems to me you'd have to be pretty stupid to trade with somebody based solely on their AT postcount or time registered. Heatware and/or positive ebay feedback should be taken into account. In the end, it's each individual's responsibilty not only to sell their stuff, but to discriminate, if necessary, between buyers. Nobody's under any obligation to sell stuff the first guy who wants to buy it, esp. if they're brand new and have no heat/ebay. In fact, you'd be stupid to do so. The same way with buying - if a guy says he wants to sell something, and he has no heat/ebay, and you send him cash and he screws you over -- that's your own damn fault IMO. You should've been more careful.

On another note: In order to see postcount become something actually meaningful, I think that some system needs to be put into place by which posts are 'judged' by the software as worthy or not. If it's one line, then nothing gets added to postcount. If it's more than one line, then add to postcount. That way, people like me who often feel the need to reply with a simple "" or whatnot, and people who bump their own threads, won't feel bad about posting something so un-worthwhile and having it count the same as a freaking dissertation that somebody else wrote.

People who are obvious neffers and keep making pointless posts over one line long just for the sake of postcount could then be more easily disciplined (Yes, I do think that PERMANENT BANS for chronic nefs are not out of line), because it would become quite a bit more obvious that they're just neffing for postcount. And people like me, who think that postcount should actually MEAN something (i.e. it should be an indicator of an individual's contributions to the forum), would be satisfied because we could post bumps and smilies all day long without feeling bad about it.

It seems to me that the only people who would be opposed to this plan are people who are overly concerned about their postcount, to the point that it's detrimental to the forums. With this plan, everybody wins. People can keep one-line-neffing all they want -- it just won't count for anything. Then, people won't be bitching and moaning about nefs, because they can't be adding to their postcount. And those who never nef won't feel like the neffers are stealing their status.

 

[etech]

Yakko is lying and is one of the worst nefs this board has.. He cares very much about post count. He rarely posts anything of substance yet he is managing to rack up around one hundred posts a day.

I still say to take the top ten list of posters off of the today page. Maybe then the nefs wouldn?t care so much about their post count. Just hiding the post count won?t help as long as they can swell their little chests with pride that they are on the top ten poster list.

It that doesn?t work, go back to banning the nefs for awhile. It worked in the old days and could still work.

It's 10:53 pm CST and yakko's post count is 19,847. Does anyone want to place bets on how many hours or minutes it will be till he hits 20,000? It's all about post count for some.

 

[Hossenfeffer]

Maybe as a better option for the FS/FT members, there would be an ebay-style "rating" that's designated just for FS/FT?

Would need a change to the FuseTalk software (translation: it won't be happening). We've got heatware. Use it wisely, and you (and the rest of us alike) will see its value increase. There is a lot of burden placed on the individual users to use common sense. We've got the tools, just so many fail to consistently use them. All sorts of conventions that people can choose (or be forced) to adopt (some already have) such as: Heatware links in their sig that show the number of positive, neutral, negative evals, Locations in their sig, etc.

The signature has tremendous potential if the traders come together and use it.

In order to see postcount become something actually meaningful, I think that some system needs to be put into place by which posts are 'judged' by the software as worthy or not.

Semi-interesting idea, but again, it would mean a change in the Fusetalk software. Not to mention the extra load that "might" be placed on the servers to adequately screen one-line posts.

it's not the actual numbers that drives people to neffing, it's the user levels

For the most part, this is true, though the other potential milestones: each 100 before 1000, each 500 per 1000, each 1000 before 5000, 5000, 10000, etc. I don't mind being able to see the actual post count, just make it a "bit" of a step to see it (a la a mouse-over). The info's there, just not as flagrant

 

[aphex]

Originally posted by: etech
Yakko is lying and is one of the worst nefs this board has.. He cares very much about post count. He rarely posts anything of substance yet he is managing to rack up around one hundred posts a day.

I still say to take the top ten list of posters off of the today page. Maybe then the nefs wouldn?t care so much about their post count. Just hiding the post count won?t help as long as they can swell their little chests with pride that they are on the top ten poster list.

It that doesn?t work, go back to banning the nefs for awhile. It worked in the old days and could still work.

It's 10:53 pm CST and yakko's post count is 19,847. Does anyone want to place bets on how many hours or minutes it will be till he hits 20,000? It's all about post count for some.

Please stop with the personal attacks. Aside from being rude, it will not help your cause.