Do you love your post count?

[cheapprick]

Okay, here's the thing. As most people have agreed, the lounge posts contributing to a person's post count is not a big deal. So when changes are enabled, the lounge posts will cease to affect our post counts.

Following that thought, some people who post a great deal in the lounge, myself included, will lose most of their post count. Probably in the neighborhood of 70-80% for a lot of us.

That's not a big deal, or really any deal to me. Most people here have indicated that post counts are not important. I hope they were being honest. LOL

Given that post counts overall are probably about to drop a large percentage, is it important to keep post counts? Or would this be a good time to just turn off the feature and prevent clever trolls who attempt to blend in a few weeks an opportunity to lay a foundation?

Right now we are leaning toward dropping post counts entirely, because anybody here that wants to fit in has done so on what they have said, not how many times they have posted. No?

[Kooperman]

The post counts mean nothing more than longevity or willingness to respond to almost any thread. I won't miss them at all. Quantity doesn't mean quality.

[collideous]

If that rids the forum of the "Hurray John.Doe! Congrats to your 4,327th post!" threads that litter the lounge, I'm all for nuking the post counts. For that matter, kill the birthdays too. They have no place outside the PM universe.

[tMoD]

After my post count gets savaged, I'll be lucky to have a dozen left. Might as well be zero.

[phalkon30]

I disagree with removing the post counts. When there were trolls inpersonating members here, the only way I could easily tell them apart was post count.

When a new member comes to our forums, they generally look up to people with higher post counts. Who do you want new members looking up to? New members? I think most of the higher post count people here are decent roll models.

I'm all for removing lounge posts from post counts, and mod forums for that matter. I think its going to stir some things up, which will maybe change some oppinions on who actually helps out around here. I'm NOT all for removing though.

Btw, the poll is kinda...confusing.

[wingnut2600]

I don't really care about post count, in fact, I sometimes just post using my alter ego, which has a low post count.

That being said, I think treating the Lounge separately is silly. It is part of the forum. I think that if you rid the lounge of post counts, the reason for having a post count statistic (the reason being to count the amount of posts made in the forum) is taken away.

Treat all the forums the same or just create a new p2p site, similar to FOF, just for the Lounge.

[phalkon30]

Wingnut, here's where I disagree with you on that. I think lounge posts should reflect how much you've HELPED in the forums. Anybody can make a million lounge posts (and nearly have)...

[Krell]

Quantity doesn't mean quality.

Man that's an understatement . . . .

It doesnt mean noobie either. It doesnt mean "this is my 8th freaking alias".

People take you seriously at 576 posts a lot more than they do at 5.

[mojo-ris-in]

My first reaction is to kill the post counts but phalkon makes a good point about imposters impersonating other people and there have been problems with that before. At least with the post count you can tell who is who most times. However, if there was a better way to distinguish people besides post count I'd be more in support of that.

[DudeAsInCool]

[QUOTE]Quantity doesn't mean quality.[QUOTE]

Man that's an understatement . . . . It doesnt mean noobie either. It doesnt mean "this is my 8th freaking alias". People take you seriously at 576 posts a lot more than they do at 5.

Krell is right--once again...

[DainBramaged]

There will always be a way to abuse (I use that term loosely) any system that would attempt to rate the general usefulness of someone's posts.

For example, if you rate a person's helpfulness by having forum readers rate them, you'd have the reputation system like we have now, albeit not working. This can be abused by having someone repeatedly vote for you.

I've seen other forums use experience to gain levels, though this is just another way to cleverly display a post count.

All this being said, there is no easy solution. Phalkon and Krell have made good points. There are also reasons and ways to successfully do away with post counts.

[Malicious Intent]

You can't repeatedly vote for people, I've tried. It says something about voting for other people first, despite the fact that I'm always giving out points. Then I gave up because it was a ll just stupid.

I say getting rid of lounge posts would be helpful for newbies. Then they can tell the difference between those that just lounge post and those that regularly provide help. Why should a newbie look up to me? Because I chatted a lot for my first month here? Discounting them posts would be fine.
In futher arguement to regulars getting looked up to, a newbie could as easily hold the answer as anyone else.

[Psilaxs]

Keep post counts. Whether people want to admit it or not seniority IS important. Though there are some who rack up an insane amount of post in a relitively short period of time, it takes most members a long time to accumulate post numbers. (hell at 2 years I haven't even hit 2 grand yet)

The point I would like to bring up is, whoever is fueling this move about post counts behind the scenes is making more of an ordeal about post count than even the most adamant post counters. if post count is so irellevent then why get rid of it, or dictate how the numbers are applied? Seems silly to me.

When I arrived at Zeropaid it wasn't too long before i posted a "help me" thread, in which Krell (and other Senior members) kindly helped me, I trusted Krell, (and others) for technical help because I SAW their post count, and knew they have been members for a long time.

I'm not sure if i would have trusted technical help from someone with 5 posts, unless it was supported by a senior member.

Lets say lounge posts stop counting towards your post count (Something which I am opposed to) Is there a way to just stop it from adding to your count, while keeping the current total? I think that solution would make the most people happy, myself included.

In closing i would like to say this whole ordeal is just plain silly, if it isn't broke do not fix it. Someone is creating an issue when we have very little problems with members raising concern about post count. Might as well get rid of the buggy "Date joined" function as well.

[isus]

while the post count itself isn't all that important, i don't think we should start seperating the post counts. then we're gonna have people who come in, and in an attempt to raise their post count, toss lounge-type threads in other sections. then mods hafta move them.

and the whole seniority thing is also important.

besides, why does zp run a 'lounge', if it's not going to end up as part of the bbs? i don't care about my post count that much, but we already have so many restrictions, why add another?

[Induna]

Cheap prick, you could hand out gold stars for helpful members to indicate 'high stature'.


Imposters/trolls/flamers/general time wasters would get a mucky star.

[tidal]

i just don't see what the big deal with post counts is in the first place. If people don't like them then don't read them...personally i don't care either way :tilted

[shawners]

KEEP THE POST COUNT!!!. For two reasons, we get to see who contributes mostly to the forums.. AND when people want to join the unofficial zeropaid DC hub, they have to have certain post met.

[cheapprick]

Keep post counts. Whether people want to admit it or not seniority IS important. Though there are some who rack up an insane amount of post in a relatively short period of time, it takes most members a long time to accumulate post numbers. (hell at 2 years I haven't even hit 2 grand yet)

The point I would like to bring up is, whoever is fueling this move about post counts behind the scenes is making more of an ordeal about post count than even the most adamant post counters. if post count is so irrelevant then why get rid of it, or dictate how the numbers are applied? Seems silly to me.

When I arrived at Zeropaid it wasn't too long before i posted a "help me" thread, in which Krell (and other Senior members) kindly helped me, I trusted Krell, (and others) for technical help because I SAW their post count, and knew they have been members for a long time.

I'm not sure if i would have trusted technical help from someone with 5 posts, unless it was supported by a senior member.

Lets say lounge posts stop counting toward your post count (Something which I am opposed to) Is there a way to just stop it from adding to your count, while keeping the current total? I think that solution would make the most people happy, myself included.

In closing i would like to say this whole ordeal is just plain silly, if it isn't broke do not fix it. Someone is creating an issue when we have very little problems with members raising concern about post count. Might as well get rid of the buggy "Date joined" function as well.

I already voted, and I don't care who votes what or else I would have made the vote visible to frustrate the multi-name folk. Having said that, I only quote you because your memory is horrible. LOL

You joined within days of me, (along with a real clump of long-time members such as yoda, Cpu, and wonderboy) and none of us has been a member for 2 years.

Krell joined a few months after us.

I can see value to leaving the non-lounge posts as evidence of usefulness. However, I also know that I can remember some people that have less than 50 posts because they posted stuff that was of interest to me.

edit - I'm not doing shite "behind the scenes" so get over it. The polls is right here. lol

[cjules13]

I say keep the post counts. Like Psilaxs, I believe the senoirity rating holds some value.

And if the lounge posts won't count anymore fine, but why make it retroactive and take away post counts?

Why not make it "from here on out, lounge posts don't count"? At least grandfather people in, nobody likes retroactive changes.

[Wolfie]

I have to agree with post counts being to some extent (of course there will be exceptions) indicate the level of commitment of ppl to the site. I also have seen most senior members having the repuatation thingy off so thier post numbers are by default a semi-indicator of the more experienced ZP people.

However, if adding lounging post to total counts is brought because of the potential spamming issue just do as Psilax said. From a certain point on lounge posts would not be added to total posts anymore. That should solve the problem of ppl spamming in lounge to increase thier post (if that really the issue here for bringing up this topic).

[cheapprick]

To be honest I don't think that's an option Wolfie.

[Malicious Intent]

Don't worry about having to move threads isus - that is for concern of the mods.
I'm hoping that this stopping louge postcount is separate to moving the lounge completely. One I am for, the other I am still against.

[Psilaxs]

I already voted, and I don't care who votes what or else I would have made the vote visible to frustrate the multi-name folk. Having said that, I only quote you because your memory is horrible. LOL

You joined within days of me, (along with a real clump of long-time members such as yoda, Cpu, and wonderboy) and none of us has been a member for 2 years.

Krell joined a few months after us.

I can see value to leaving the non-lounge posts as evidence of usefulness. However, I also know that I can remember some people that have less than 50 posts because they posted stuff that was of interest to me.

edit - I'm not doing shite "behind the scenes" so get over it. The polls is right here. lol

I NEVER SAID you were. how the hell did you come to that conclusion? Damn, do you think I have something against you? You know me well enough (I would assume), if I thought it was you I would SAY so.

(ok, a member of 1 year 5 months, long enough) Reason I believed Krell to be a Member longer than myself was because 1: I did not become very active until about 4-5 months after joining. 2: I viewed them as being members longer then myself because they were active before me. 3: I thought the date joined was buggered up.

*Edit* and yes, Someone IS doing something, because this came out of nowhere.

[vipp]

The reason I like to see the post counts, is when someone posts something that doesn't make sense to me, I like to look to see if they are a noobie or not. So I say keep them.

[tackdaddy]

i say keep post counts,it helps use tell who posts on here or if someone is a noob.i have been on here for 2 years and only have a little over 300 posts so the count does'nt matter much to me but i say KEEP POST COUNTS.

[cheapprick]

I know what you mean Psilaxs, and you're partly right.

That suspicion of a person you have is the person who first pointed out that once the move to not including lounge posts is made, people's post counts would drop like a stone.

[method77]

KEEP THE POST COUNT!!!. For two reasons, we get to see who contributes mostly to the forums.. AND when people want to join the unofficial zeropaid DC hub, they have to have certain post met.there is no ZP hub and even if it was, post count would not get you in

[Potato]

I didn't think the hub that is no longer related to zp required a post count.

Post counts are partially relevent... just about every point that's been brought up makes sense. I just don't really see why something that isn't a big problem should be changed. The stuff with fake people and newbs makes sense (when the fake people came along we could look at post count or joined date and see who was the real one if we couldn't tell on our own).

It'd be interesting to see what everyone's post counts would be. Mine would be damn low, that's for sure. That's only because I don't know anything helpful really. But I try. And I like zp, so I stay and make lame posts like this!

[aqlo]

cheapprick I read this question over fairly carefully before answering. Some of the people responding may be under the mistaken impression that they are voting on whether post count in the lounges should count or not. As I read it this is not even an option, the posts in the lounges and presumably all the Zeropaid "community" forums will no longer contribute to the post count, there isn't any choice about it. This seems like a reasonable compromise so long as recent posts to the lounges are still represented on the front page.

That being the case I tend to believe that the real post count in the actual filesharing forums should still be displayed, because of all the reasons cited so far and particularly because of the difficulty inexperienced people may have in distinguishing imposters and fake experts without them.

But how many of my assumptions are correct? In the last poll I watched what people were saying and they overwhelmingly voted to leave things alone, specifically to leave all the recent posts on the front page and not just the ones favored by 17% of the forum. It was my understanding that the real reason these posts couldn't be part of the new "Reformed" front page was because they would be moved to a separate location. That is still what you are describing here, so I have to ask: Will the lounge posts in fact be suppressed from the front page after all?

An answer to this question will be pretty relevant because it controls my next post, my vote, and such further action as I may choose to ever take in regard to this forum whatsoever.

[Foreverboard]

In closing i would like to say this whole ordeal is just plain silly, if it isn't broke do not fix it. Someone is creating an issue when we have very little problems with members raising concern about post count. Might as well get rid of the buggy "Date joined" function as well.

I want to agree with this statement. If no one cares about post counts then why is this an issue. Also i want to say that no matter if you make it so the "lounge" has no post counts it dosent stop people from spamming other spots that do have post counts to get thier posts up.

[cheapprick]

The lounge posts won't be touched.
They will remain on the front page.
So the front page will reflect debate and discussion threads.

The messages forum will sit inside the lounge, and to honest there is debate about whether or not the threads (Happy Birthday, post count & spam) it's intended for need to be on the front page. Personally again I don't really care, I'm sort of wishing the whole restructuring was in hell and I'm just trying to speed it in one direction or another to get past it.

[RACKnRAIL]

I disagree with removing the post counts. When there were trolls inpersonating members here, the only way I could easily tell them apart was post count.

When a new member comes to our forums, they generally look up to people with higher post counts. Who do you want new members looking up to? New members? I think most of the higher post count people here are decent roll models.

I'm all for removing lounge posts from post counts, and mod forums for that matter. I think its going to stir some things up, which will maybe change some oppinions on who actually helps out around here. I'm NOT all for removing though.

Btw, the poll is kinda...confusing.

I personally don't care about my post count. It just means some people have more time to post or they have been here a long time (seniority, so to speak), but phalkon has made a good point about impersonators/trolls. IMHO...I agree with, if it ain't broken...then why fix it?

[aqlo]

Thanks CP, I really appreciate the attention you are devoting to this.

I vote to keep the real post counts then, I could care less about mine but the other posters have a lot of good valid reasons. The ones that really touch me relate to being able to distinguish out imposters, fake experts, and other posers.

[Induna]

Are we still banging on about Lounge posts being displayed on the front page?

Christ, couldn't you come to a compromise? Make two 'recent posts' boxes. Keep the existing one for p2p related matters and make a new recent posts box for lounge/irrelevent posts underneath, or further down on the left side of the front page.

Then the focus on the front page would still be on P2P and the 'loungers' would still get there 'fix'.

[Crazy Horse]

I agree with Krell and others. Post counts do serve a purpose and therefore should be kept. I have a strong feeling though all this is going to matter not. The "power" that be is going to do what the hell he wants anyways- and I'm not talking about Jorge or Chris necessarily.

[origin]

I would like to keep them, it is not because it is a sign of popularity or importance on the forum. It is because (like krell said) that it in a way displays your knowledge here at zp how long you have been around etc. So in a way it is a great way to measure the experience of a user on the forum. If only the lounge posts won't count I could live with it but not ridding the total forum of all post counts.

l8

[Kooperman]

I agree with Krell and others. Post counts do serve a purpose and therefore should be kept. I have a strong feeling though all this is going to matter not. The "power" that be is going to do what the hell he wants anyways- and I'm not talking about Jorge or Chris necessarily.
Sometimes the power builds up to a point in which it gets so strong it starts burning up all the lines which had been so carefully built by others. Maybe too many negative charges are created by this power, causing a massive outage.
Hopefully in that situation there aren't any major fires caused by sparks and shorts, but too many times that's part of the package.

[Psilaxs]

I agree with Krell and others. Post counts do serve a purpose and therefore should be kept. I have a strong feeling though all this is going to matter not. The "power" that be is going to do what the hell he wants anyways- and I'm not talking about Jorge or Chris necessarily.

I almost posted something along those lines. It really dosn't matter what we want per se' what ever will be done, will be done. From everything that i can tell, most of the moderators have very little pull in what actually happens, they are here to police the forums, not to help implement change: or to balance weight between what the users want and the FEW 'select' want.

[ASUmusicMAN]

I still consider myself a newbie (but am learning more and more) and I find the post counts extremely helpful. If i'm reading a thread about some great new prog it really helps if you see that if the person...um...promoting it only has that one post. I don't judge them or anything, but it alerts your spam detector to at least be on the lookout. Also, as said before if someone is looking for advice, or someone senior to look up to, the post counts are of great value.

[Sephiroth]

Are we still banging on about Lounge posts being displayed on the front page?

Christ, couldn't you come to a compromise? Make two 'recent posts' boxes. Keep the existing one for p2p related matters and make a new recent posts box for lounge/irrelevent posts underneath, or further down on the left side of the front page.

Then the focus on the front page would still be on P2P and the 'loungers' would still get there 'fix'.

No. The two recent posts is not a very good idea because its this idea of just creating more forums or sections that got things into the mess that they are today. Only one forum would be excluded and that would be the messages forum.

There is the crib crazy horse, and if you have a problem with me or this then why dont you take it up there? i asked for comments days ago and so far only one moderator has yet to add any input in finishing this up and it wasnt you.

Post counts are not a good measure of a member because they do not measure character or quality of a person's post. The issue here is not whether or not to not count post counts in the equilivent of the zeropaid insight section today which no one has objected to before and it was always in the plan, it is about if its just worth ditching them entirely since everyone will lose alot on their post count anyways.

[Crazy Horse]

From everything that i can tell, most of the moderators have very little pull in what actually happens, they are here to police the forums, not to help implement change: or to balance weight between what the users want and the FEW 'select' want.This statement is SOOOOOO true. It's also fewer than few.....like one.

[Sephiroth]

*Edit* and yes, Someone IS doing something, because this came out of nowhere.

First this was one of the issues that have yet to be cleared up and hence is why there is a poll. Because it is just an idea since people post count would already drop alot. Which nothing yet has really been set in stone other than that the forums need to be reorganized because there are in some cases 4 forums that have the same exactly purpose and its a mess.

Im not a mind reader, and if the other mods when i ask for their input in the moderator forum numerous times dont say anything i can't force them to post but to say that they dont have a say or that they want to take an active part when there is numerous opportunities for them to have a say or to take part is ridculeous.

The proposed changes to not count the equilivent of the insight section was in the forum plan from the beginning, and if you dont believe me then why dont you go read the public plan that i posted here because its in there so it did not come out of nowheres.

You cannot stop it from counting new posts because that isnt really possible because the next time that the forum would update the database everyone would lose posts in the "insight" section. And it applies to everyone so you really cant some up with some elborate idea because its impossible to implement.

[MikeHunt]

...perhaps lounge posts should count towards totals only after a certain level is attained ...like maybe 250 other posts...or maybe... something like 9 months active on the boards.

Some sort of privilege mechanism ,(Frequent Poster Miles??)...I think would be in order ....to make abuse harder and promote fairness.

"Rank has it's privileges ..and they are pretty Rank"

[Psilaxs]

No. The two recent posts is not a very good idea because its this idea of just creating more forums or sections that got things into the mess that they are today. Only one forum would be excluded and that would be the messages forum.

There is the crib crazy horse, and if you have a problem with me or this then why dont you take it up there? i asked for comments days ago and so far only one moderator has yet to add any input in finishing this up and it wasnt you.




And why don't you admit you're the one pushing this?
You're the one creating more controversy than what is needed. Sometimes when people say nothing that is a pretty big hint. If no other mod gave you a response I guess that means you will have to wait before thrusting forward with your iron zeal agenda.

[MikeHunt]

...also like isus and other pointed out...the other forums would just become polluted with lounge type posts that have to be move. And who has the time to decide what constitues a lounge post vs a 'good' post.

[Sephiroth]

...also like isus and other pointed out...the other forums would just become polluted with lounge type posts that have to be move. And who has the time to decide what constitues a lounge post vs a 'good' post.

That already happens alot. What it would really do is it would single out who the real spammers are becuase they would constantly be doing it that it wouldnt be an accident. So it would be much easier spot and to boot them.

[nasrules]

Krell and Psilaxs got it right on.

[method]

Induna.. that sig is sooooo spot-on!!

I'm with Krell on that point.. if I was a newbie, I'd expect those with higher post counts to have more experience. Although Induna's point about "gold stars" ain't a bad one either..

by the way... What is the reputation system for and how does it work? I've got a point or summat on there but haven't a clue what it's for!! (Is it linked to that little grey or green dot next to the post count?)

[The Hunter]

Personally I feel there is no great problem as things stand now. Is the site successfull as it is? i believe it is, and who makes it so the members, not us mods. We are here for them, That is how I see things.

[MxRob]

When I arrived at Zeropaid it wasn't too long before i posted a "help me" thread, in which Krell (and other Senior members) kindly helped me, I trusted Krell, (and others) for technical help because I SAW their post count, and knew they have been members for a long time.

I'm not sure if i would have trusted technical help from someone with 5 posts, unless it was supported by a senior member.
I have the same feelings Psilaxs.

I know I have not contributed much technically to this site but what little I do know I post about. Most threads I've responded to are in the lounge and I really couldn't care less about my own post counts in the lounge or anyhere else. I admire the senior members around here for technical advice and do not feel the need to post on every thread. Peace

[Sephiroth]

Just because the site is successful doesnt mean we cant make it better.

Silence to me means that you either dont oppose it or dont care enough to reply. Ideas that never see the light of day get posted and discussed pretty often in the crib. Contray to popular belief almost everything is a group effort amoung moderators. Which you all did agree with the plan before too.

[The Hunter]

Agree, possibly. Some valid arguments have been brought up about the positive side of the post counts, and I for one payed attention to certain members with higher post counts when i joined. It didnt take long to figure out who posted fluff, and whos were mostly helpfull. It made it easier for me to pick who to ask for help.

[Evil_Dweller_01]

I care about my post count :)

Nah, actually i dont lol

It should just be dropped all together...nobody needs to be judged by their post number but by their replies

[CTC Command]

In closing i would like to say this whole ordeal is just plain silly, if it isn't broke do not fix it. Someone is creating an issue when we have very little problems with members raising concern about post count. Might as well get rid of the buggy "Date joined" function as well.

My sentiments exactly. What any of this has to do with making the forums more navigable has entirely eluded me. Except that Sephiroth thinks so, so here we are.

[Kevin06906]

I care about my post count :)

Nah, actually i dont lol

It should just be dropped all together...nobody needs to be judged by their post number but by their replies

This has to be the first threads that i read every single post of four pages...and every reply was awesome to read.

I'm really good at taking sides and telling about why i took the side.....but this poll is really hard to decide what i would pick.

I mean Evil Dweller is right about "nobody needs to be judged by their post number but by their replies"...that is true.

I like my post count...i like seeing my post count going up...actually call me crazy but it gives me confidence that i have been here for more than a year and i have almost 800 posts and it like makes me wanna reply to different threads.

Those trolls that like to bring their post count up by posting whatever...that is the mods job to ban him....go harder on the trolls...ban them permanently when you catch them...and if they start talking shit to other forums about ZP, then who the hell cares?...i mean their too ignorant to know that there causing trouble.

Mods...reply to me if i'm wrong, but when any mod comes onto this site and checks out the forums to see if there is any racism etc...on people's posts...doesn't that get kinda boring after a while?..is that like the only thing that mods do?...i mean when you have trolls here...how much fun is it to ban them and kick them out?

So, I say keep the post count.

[shawners]

What GOOD could come out of Dropping the post count?
then ask what bad things can come from dropping the post count..
If you Post anything, the fact its a post regardless of what forum or if its in the lounge is still a PoST. So no matter what, it needs to be counted for. What you will see is more posting in other areas cause it counts the post. And then you have an empty lounge.

[vipp]

For crying out loud, what the hell is wrong with just leaving the post counts the way they are? What harm are they causing? If people want to pay attention to them, is that so bad? And those that don't care about them already ignore them.

This whole subject is ridiculous.

[PiRaNeTuS]

I would agree with most of the others here. Post counts DO help. Yes, there are some people that have high post counts that contribute nothing positively, and people with low post counts that are very knowledgable and helpful. But, that is the exception, not the rule. Generally, the people with the higher post counts are more knowledgable about different things. I know that I trust those with higher posts more than those with low counts. That may be wrong, but true nontheless. I vote for don't change anything....but if you are going to, why not have two counts? One count would display all posts in all categories. The other count would display only those posts in relevant p2p forums. That would quickly distinguish those who discuss alot of p2p issues, and the others who just discuss why Bush sucks and other irrelevant (but still fun to talk in) threads.

[Krell]

Those trolls that like to bring their post count up by posting whatever...that is the mods job to ban him....go harder on the trolls...ban them permanently when you catch them...and if they start talking shit to other forums about ZP, then who the hell cares?...i mean their too ignorant to know that there causing trouble.

And then . . . . . what ? Wait till Jorge gets his panties in a wad because someone whines that they are being picked on, so he waltzes in and saves the day? So much for amnesty.

Mods...reply to me if i'm wrong, but when any mod comes onto this site and checks out the forums to see if there is any racism etc...on people's posts...doesn't that get kinda boring after a while?

You have no idea . . .

i mean when you have trolls here...how much fun is it to ban them and kick them out?

Depends on WHo it is : )


Yes, this is rediculous, that's why this is Zero Paid.


.

[MikeHunt]

...so in the final anaylsis...

Your Tenure... X.... Your Post Count... - ...a BullSh*t Factor of 22.3% avg...+ ..Your Keen Sense of Witty Humour = Your ZP ranking.

[The Hunter]

It gets very boring, but to help someone find the right answer, to try and make the site fun for those that cant post, but can only view when things get messed up makes it all worth it. a glamorous job it surely isnt. But i love it when someone says thanks, be it for a rare piece of tec help i got right, or when trying to provide entertainment in the testing thread.

[Sephiroth]

For crying out loud, what the hell is wrong with just leaving the post counts the way they are? What harm are they causing? If people want to pay attention to them, is that so bad? And those that don't care about them already ignore them.

This whole subject is ridiculous.

Ok then another idea would be to the simply delete of any post jacking threads. Meaning no more post count celebrations, no more cut and paste spam threads and probably more toned down birthday threads(one a day and you post happy birthday to that member* and the old ones would get peridoitically deleted).


* example

Happy Birthday 12-3
in the that thread people would simply post

Happy birthday to whoever.

Instead of having sometimes over 3 threads a day and ones on people who dont show up here.

[The Hunter]

Why not just let them run for a day, and after that move them to the crib, and delete them? Or just delete them after a day, and then no more post count boosting. IE the posts are gone.

[Sephiroth]

Why not just let them run for a day, and after that move them to the crib, and delete them? Or just delete them after a day, and then no more post count boosting. IE the posts are gone.

That was suppose to be thing. I guess we can try it again but we all would have to keep on top of it which would be a pain to do and just slip back. We can just delete threads again. If you dunno about it then delete with message but if it has no place here then permenantly remove it.

[The Hunter]

Ok i wanted to delete some closed threads, and actually requested permission to do it, but got no replies. We got a lot of old closed threads that need to go.

[The Hunter]

Continued in PM

[vipp]

Ok then another idea would be to the simply delete of any post jacking threads. Meaning no more post count celebrations, no more cut and paste spam threads and probably more toned down birthday threads(one a day and you post happy birthday to that member* and the old ones would get peridoitically deleted).


* example

Happy Birthday 12-3
in the that thread people would simply post

Happy birthday to whoever.

Instead of having sometimes over 3 threads a day and ones on people who dont show up here.

I don't mean to be rude, but could you please explain what the problem is with post counts? I wonder why you feel it needs to be changed.

[mephitic]

post counts give a sense of belonging, a feeling of authority and an air of responsibility, I’m much more prone to pay attention to a response from a poster with a few hundred posts than with a poster with a few.

Of course following those rules you should ignore what I have just written.

[cheapprick]

heh, It's a shame when you wreck your own point mephitic.

[method77]

ok, first of all, I don't care if spam posts get erased or not BUT posting in lounge is wrong and posting pics and comments in FOFS is not wrong? Commenting in that site gets your post count higher. Any GOOD answers?

[The Hunter]

LOL, sort of like kicking yourself in the ass. J/K

[Muffin_Man]

an improvement that pisses off 2/3 of the regs is not an improvement.

[Sephiroth]

I don't mean to be rude, but could you please explain what the problem is with post counts? I wonder why you feel it needs to be changed.

Nothing the problem is the people who are spamming the forums with crap to up their post count and that clutters up the actual discussion and makes this place boring and unappealing.

Ok new plan. Ill just go on a spammer hunt and cut the fat for now until the others can get the abilty to delete threads which i dunno why that changed it must have not been real recent either. If anyone complains about the spammers threads getting deleted or them getting banned then i hope they will remember this thread since this is the only alternative there really is.

[method77]

you should have deleted the spam threads long ago

[notbob]

no, i have no love for my post count

but i sure do love the fact that a lot of people that do are going to lose theirs

[The Hunter]

Again we all have different views method77, but some like the spam threads, and others look to the tec ones. That is why we have many different aspects to the site.

[method77]

Hunter, I think there is a difference between posting a few useless posts here and there (we all love that) and posting ONLY useless posts.

[method77]

and again since we all posted our opinions... can we move on with the changes? Good or bad?

[The Hunter]

We can but hope.

[shawners]

MY Signature will say, "Vipp was right"
It doesnt do any harm or cause cancer to the eyes or anything. Kinda shame after KRELL reaches 4000.. then decide to get rid of the post count.. Could their be a little spat there?

[The Hunter]

If i even suspected that, so much crap would fly that your eyes would turn brown. Personal vendattas dont fly with me.

[Sephiroth]

Hunter, I think there is a difference between posting a few useless posts here and there (we all love that) and posting ONLY useless posts.

Exactly.

Yes we can move on. Once a spam thread goes on the 2nd page here or has had a few days then its fair game for the ax.

Other than that i think we can just ax the messages forum from the plan and if needed just add it in later as well as make that forum so that if doesnt count on post counts or display on the front page if things get really bad.

[method77]

sephiroth
don't forget that nobody agrees with the front page thing. Lounge posts not counting is ok but leave it to that

[aqlo]

Thanks Sephiroth :gj

[DefCoN]

Hmm how fishy a thread just to boost post counts while deciding to delete post counts man this is just too funny :goodjob

[method77]

DefCoN
this is a discussion

[The Hunter]

This thread will help nobodys post count, as it will simply evaporate along with the posts.

[Malicious Intent]

I am still confused to this "postcount= good member to listen to" thing.
If posts fall to 5, then yes people would have to work to get reputation back. But if the count falls to 5, chances are they just enjoy posting in the lounge anyway and can continue to do so. People know lounge posters by name anyway. Anything over 100 and newbies will know they are safe.
Why should I have a good image with newbies, or anyone else? I don't know anything about technology. I sometimes try and help a newbie if I think they are having a problem I had, but it often takes other people to fill my gaps.
If I were more technical, I would have helped more and have a higher post count. Then people know I'm safe to listen to.
If this helps stop percieved spamming and means we get to keep lounge in recent posts list, then I am all for it.
If we won the recent posts list fight, then i don't really care either way, but stop using the post count is reputation thing. I'm Malicious Intent, not "Posts: 1600+". I like to think I'm treated as such.
Also, don't forget that everyone will lose posts, so if you are a top poster now, you still will be, just at a lower level.

[phalkon30]

Cheap prick, you could hand out gold stars for helpful members to indicate 'high stature'.


Imposters/trolls/flamers/general time wasters would get a mucky star.
I want to hear more about that. Its done in several very sucessful boards around the net. The k-lite forums IMO is a great example of what I think we're trying to achieve here, and it works pretty well. Their lounge doesn't count torwards post count, and the members that help out a lot, or are devs, or that host files, or whatever, have special stars. Everybody else has a normal star.

IMO, if that were to happen, I guess I wouldn't mind removing posts counts. I'd like to be able to see how many somebody has, but maybe ONLY in their profile. Stars would be able to separate trolls from good posters easily...you can't fake one.

[Potato]

If the post counts ceased to exist, the newbies wouldn't really know who to trust here, would they? Of course they can use some common sense and perhaps trust the people who know how to type complete sentences and spell things properly (a bunch of newbs can't do this, even some regulars). Someone here with a few hundred posts is someone who has stuck around and knows how the place works. It's easier to pick these people out.

Which regulars here go around spamming? Not many. Well I guess there are ones like me who generally post in the lounge but I have my reasons and I don't go around pissing everyone off on purpose. Does that make me a spammer? Posting "just to up my post count"? For the record, that's not why I'm here.

Bleh.

[isus]

stars would be cool, then just taking out the post counts, but how, and who, would determine who gets what star?

[Malicious Intent]

We can't have a system of stars. It would be like being back at primary school or the dentist. (/me chuckles again at MikeHunt's post)
Sorry to disagree with you again Patato (I assure you it's a rarity), but they arn't planning to get rid of all post counts, just the lounge ones. As I said before, getting rid of lounge posts will help people decide which people are technical. Doesn't mean we can't continue to use the lounge. To me you are Patato and I love seeing your avatar in a thread because of that, not because you have 744 posts.

[Potato]

We can't have a system of stars. It would be like being back at primary school or the dentist. (/me chuckles again at MikeHunt's post)
Sorry to disagree with you again Patato (I assure you it's a rarity), but they arn't planning to get rid of all post counts, just the lounge ones. As I said before, getting rid of lounge posts will help people decide which people are technical. Doesn't mean we can't continue to use the lounge. To me you are Patato and I love seeing your avatar in a thread because of that, not because you have 744 posts.

It's POTATO. POE-TAY-TOE

I know that it's not all post counts, just the lounge ones. Most of mine are lounge posts. And for me, it does mean I'm not technical. I participate here because I enjoy it for whatever reason, not because I like to see that post count go up.

Why not get rid of the now playing thread too? That's not technical.

And why the hell do posts over at facesoffilehsaring count as posts here? Those are the least meaningful of all. All you need to do there is vote, and *wham* you've got a post. Here you need ten characters.

Bleh. Again.

[Rickio]

I read 2 pages and just wanted to add my 2 cents and I'll read the rest later.

We need some indication of a persons posts and longevity here. It does not matter if it is public though.

Maybe a couple of color bars indicating post counts and longevitity and actuall posts could be in the profile or hidden for mod and admins only.

Just a idea.

oh as far as lounge post counts are concerned, get rid of them.

[notbob]

If the post counts ceased to exist, the newbies wouldn't really know who to trust here, would they? Of course they can use some common sense and perhaps trust the people who know how to type complete sentences and spell things properly (a bunch of newbs can't do this, even some regulars). Someone here with a few hundred posts is someone who has stuck around and knows how the place works. It's easier to pick these people out.

Which regulars here go around spamming? Not many. Well I guess there are ones like me who generally post in the lounge but I have my reasons and I don't go around pissing everyone off on purpose. Does that make me a spammer? Posting "just to up my post count"? For the record, that's not why I'm here.

Bleh.

how do they know now? there are some 1000+ posters i wouldn't want advice on cat food, much less computer info or their opinions

post counts are meaningless

(no stars or MVM's or VIP's either--that just ends up a kissass club with a superiority complex like dslreports)

[Malicious Intent]

It's POTATO. POE-TAY-TOE
doh. /me hangs head in shame.

I participate here because I enjoy it for whatever reason, not because I like to see that post count go up.
Exactly what I was saying, you can still post here and enjoy it. You don't watch your post count so it doesn' matter if it falls and only slowly increases. Hopefully this will mean the lounge stays more prominent.

Why not get rid of the now playing thread too? That's not technical.
I assume you mean stop post counts in it. In which case, true, but so far it hasn't been spammed. Same with FOFS.

[Potato]

how do they know now? there are some 1000+ posters i wouldn't want advice on cat food, much less computer info or their opinions

post counts are meaningless

(no stars or MVM's or VIP's either--that just ends up a kissass club with a superiority complex like dslreports)

I was thinking that if someone has half a brain, they can judge by the way someone writes whether or not they know what they're talking about. And if they have that half a brain, they will wait a while and see what others say. Maybe I overestimate people. I think that's it.

I don't think zp should be here to cater to every damn idiot in town.

[Krell]

Stars - Moons - Hearts and Clovers . . . . whatever.

If you trash the lounge posts, or make it so that they do not count somehow, leaving only technical posts as some sort of benchmark, what purpose will it really serve? Does it enhance the site by contrasting the "technical doers" vs the "0 posts chatters"?

The lounge is an intregal part of this site, it is not discounted just because it doesnt go on and on about how many RIAA fairies you can fit on the head of a pin on Kazaa.

I fail to see why all this is an issue to begin with. Even if you have 2000 posts from the non-lounge area, it doesnt mean you know your head from your ass. And frankly, most of the people that have stormed in here the last year to aggressively post in the technical forums, were in fact ALL ass.

Leave the posts alone. Any sort of rating system will still be biased, and not too accurate. People like me will always get a "bad reputation" from people with a small dick. I posted nearly 50 hardware links so that others wouldnt have to scrounge for them, and what did I get in return, a "bad reputation" mark with the comment "pompous ass".

Those who do their homework, and pay the price, are known, and those who answer everything with "jello" as their answer are also known. No amount of regulation can improve on that. I wonder why, at this late juncture, we even have discussions about all this.

Newbies are newbies, spammers are spammers, and and stars are subjective, like a movie that gets 4 1/2 stars. Maybe the reviewer is an idiot?


The site doesnt need sweeping reform, and policy upon policy, it needs leadership from the vested members, by the vested members, FOR the vested members. The newbies will either learn to row the boat or get thrown overboard.


I don't think zp should be here to cater to every damn idiot in town.

Damn . . . . did I hear an echo?


.

[Omyn]

I thought the system was fine the way it was...

[MoonMan]

Post counts mean nothing. Newbies can tell who knows what they are talking about and who doesn't by their answer. And it's not like just browsing around can't tell you either.

I say the post count number should be taken away completely. Nothing deleted, just the number removed. That removes the motivation to spam and post dumbshit in order to compile some fake reputation.

[cheapprick]

I say the post count number should be taken away completely. Nothing deleted, just the number removed. That removes the motivation to spam and post dumbshit in order to compile some fake reputation.

That is what is being debated Moonman.

I posted nearly 50 hardware links so that others wouldnt have to scrounge for them, and what did I get in return, a "bad reputation" mark with the comment "pompous ass".

LOL

[MoonMan]

That is what is being debated Moonman.

?

Did you think I wasn't aware of that ?

[baghdad_steve15]

Keep the post count, even if that means I will only have about 2.

[Sephiroth]

I disabled the reputation for me, since it only works for people who registered after it was added which i think it was turn on by default when the forums were updated.

Yeah just so people know those arent completely anonymous the other person might not be able to see it but I can, i dunno if its another super mod only premission type thing or not..

[phalkon30]

I can see who has rated me. But I turned it off because people were being assholes about it. I had a few respected members that thought it would be funny to write stupid comments to me and give me bad ratings. I'd rather not deal with it...

[moneoa]

All these ppl talkiing about stuff like seniority...you are joking right?
Just because some person dosent have the free time to answer every rediculous post it does not mean they dont know what they are talking about.
In the end its JUST a number that says..yeah you have hit the submit button
x amount of times. So based on this supposed seniority because person a has 5,000 posts since he signed up in september he is more adept at helping ppl as opposed to guy with 50? Crock...sorry. I dont think it would make on whit of diffrence if you keep them or not. If you are concerned with the validity of the guy giving the info you double check the integrety of the info. If he is right there are plenty of ppl who can validate buddys claims

[DemonusAE]

I don't have that many post counts to begin with, so it really makes no difference to me. The problem I see is that the people that want the post count gone make a good point. The people that rather have post counts ( even if there are limitation ) also make a good point. So what do you do?

Well, I got the perfect solution. Flip a coin. Heads: Post count stays. Tails: Post count goes.

See...it's easy. ;)

[CTC Command]

I fail to see why all this is an issue to begin with. Even if you have 2000 posts from the non-lounge area, it doesnt mean you know your head from your ass. And frankly, most of the people that have stormed in here the last year to aggressively post in the technical forums, were in fact ALL ass.

Leave the posts alone. Any sort of rating system will still be biased, and not too accurate.

I wonder why, at this late juncture, we even have discussions about all this. The site doesnt need sweeping reform, and policy upon policy, it needs leadership from the vested members, by the vested members, FOR the vested members. The newbies will either learn to row the boat or get thrown overboard.


Dead-on. Why isn't "leave the posts alone" even an option in this poll? Like most of the polls recently focused on this restructuring, there is a bias built into the poll that makes "no change" a non-issue. This whole thing is such a non-issue. I just don't see the people who are largely lounge posters as obsessing over raising their post count--it's just incidental to the communication that takes place here. And it wouldn't be hard to to go into the technical forums and scuz along making innoucuous posts if someone wanted to gain post counts--I could go in there now and make all sorts of meaningless comments. Posting "I think I'll try that too" or "But what if I am running Windows 95?" to almost any technical suggestion that Krell or cpugenius makes could be a great cover for my hidden agenda of getting 2000 posts by Christmas.

The last time I said anything about mine was when I was approaching 666, lol. Thanks for the virgin sacrifice that night, Wolfie and co.!

[wingnut2600]

I love the reputations... they are silly things that can be used to tell people that you like them and what they post or that a foolish post was as such in private. I keep my reputation rating on and look forward to receiving fabulous feedback. People have rarely used this feature since it was introduced, so those that have turned them off are missing out on the fun.

I like the ideas of gold stars.

I think that spammers spam because they like to cause reactions and react to others more than just posting for the sake of post count. I think that taking away from post counts is pointless.

BTW... I pronounce Potato "Poh-Tae-Tow"

[serrebi101]

As soon as you remove the post counts, spammers will run rampid under high respected user names,, but I guess getting rid of the lounge posts counting is ok, I'd only go down like 20.

[cheapprick]

Why isn't "leave the posts alone" even an option in this poll? Like most of the polls recently focused on this restructuring, there is a bias built into the poll that makes "no change" a non-issue.


I didn't include it because the majority of people usually claim they don't care about their post counts.(when they don't think removal of post counts is an option)

Then in this (http://www.zeropaid.com/bbs/showthread.php?t=16419) thread, when it was announced that the restructuring would remove the lounge posts from the total most people claimed indifference, or even support.

You can't really give me shit for listening can you? LOL

Induna was the only one to really suggest that people were too attached to their post counts for it to work.

[Krell]

So based on this supposed seniority because person a has 5,000 posts since he signed up in september he is more adept at helping ppl as opposed to guy with 50? Crock...sorry. I dont think it would make on whit of diffrence if you keep them or not. If you are concerned with the validity of the guy giving the info you double check the integrety of the info. If he is right there are plenty of ppl who can validate buddys claims


I have had my 5,000, and yes, I AM more adept.

When was the last time anyone cared to validate what you had to say?


*looks at the clock . . . . .*

Well a l r i g h t y then. Another good indicese of who a person is here is their actual CONTRIBUTION. Those like you that just show up to piss on everyone elses corn flakes, doesnt carry the same weight at all.

.

[vipp]

Well a l r i g h t y then. Another good indicese of who a person is here is their actual CONTRIBUTION. Those like you that just show up to piss on everyone elses corn flakes, doesnt carry the same weight at all.




I prefer to piss on Rice Crispies. Snap Crackle Pop!






(Heh,I knew I liked you from the beginning)

[-0-BACKLASH-0-]

no...my PC stinks...for now

[crackerjacker]

who cares about post counts?
they should still exsist though maybe hidden like rickio says.
the point is the truth of the matter is that when someone comes to this site they should know whose been here for awhile by the date they joined.

ok so what if the posts count remain here?
it doesnt matter if it is or isnt.
its the quality of posts that matter as the aformentioned i believe that new people coming to this site will figure out who to trust and not.
but basically i really think the lounge posts can go, but leave the other posts entact because the truth of the matter is how can someone know whose posted for so long on this board?

thats the way i see it but of course whatever way u decide to do it then it will be that way. meaning either way will not make a difference for me.
but by all means leave the friggin lounge area alone ok. dont change that part meaning let it still appear on the front page. and even if you dont let it appear on the front page at least leave a link for people to go to that area.
thats all

[DemonusAE]

who cares about post counts?
they should still exsist though maybe hidden like rickio says.
the point is the truth of the matter is that when someone comes to this site they should know whose been here for awhile by the date they joined.


Which brings you back to the 160,000 inactive users that have joined in the past.

ok so what if the posts count remain here?
it doesnt matter if it is or isnt.
its the quality of posts that matter as the aformentioned i believe that new people coming to this site will figure out who to trust and not.
but basically i really think the lounge posts can go, but leave the other posts entact because the truth of the matter is how can someone know whose posted for so long on this board?


Have to agree. Plain ole common sense can tell you who to trust and who not to. If so many people seem to be defending the post counts, then it must mean something to them. Hell, at one point or another I've wanted to hit 1000 post. Doesn't make me a bad person. Doesn't make me a troll or spammer. I'm afraid I can't argue the point either way. Just think that if people don't want it to go, you shouldn't take it away.

[crackerjacker]

i dont do reputations. i have my own reputation thingie and its called my local signature.
serious man, but i guess those reputations can be used for fun but i never did understand how that reputation feature was anyways.

i dont know about the reputation feaature and how to do it, so basically anyone can see others reputations or not?

or the person leaves a reputation for someone else anoymously like little cowards for negative feedback?
that is how i see it.

you wanna get rid of a spammer, just ignore it.
this is how i would get rid of spammers on the forum. so what if they post jibberish or crap, they are doing it for attention. so if you acknowledge that this spam exsists the only thing it will do is incite the spammer to continue.

just simply close the thread and more then that dont even put a reason why u did it.
that is how to get rid of the issue of spamming.

and one more time who cares about post count?
i could care less. get rid of that too.

just see how things will turn out. i betcha that even with the post counts remove from the lounge it would not affect people.
the main posts u can leave entact as i am sure they will leave it.

basically like someone else said if someone is helping someone else on these forums be it they have been here along time or not it will not matter about the actual post, but it will matter about the information they are giving.

lets get real will you respect someone for the help they give u or the amount of post counts they have?

i think the lounge posts counts should be excluded.
anyway the lounge is for off topics not related to p2p or could be related to p2p.
any way i feel that the lounge posts are for relaxation and just people expressing themselves.
anyhows either way will be fine on whatever decision is reach about the exclusionary of lounge posts.

peace

[crackerjacker]

while i posted part of this somewhere else how about doing this?
having a link in the front page for new people who come to this site and link them to the newbie help section so right away they can go to that forum?
or make a newbie forum for help?
think of that
just my suggestion as well

[MikeHunt]

1) everyone must care somewhat about post counts or this wouldn't be an 8 + page thread.
2) Lounge posts vs 'other' posts being...or not being equal..and counting the same towards post count seems to be a main issue.
3) One mans tech post is another mans lounge post.
Now we are into being tastemakers.??
4) Set up a threshold (points and/or tenure)..kind of like a probationary period...that once attained allows... lounge posts to then count like other postings.
5) This ..in my view... will discourage drivebys and internet sinners from trying to boost their totals frivolously.
6) It would also do away with petty issues of senority.
Is someone with 2500 posts ...smarter/better... than someone with 500 posts??
6) Once "Senior *Member" status is attained...it's pretty much assured the person is a contributing member to ZP..therefore entitled to having /his/her lounge posts count.

*Bevis .... :gj heh heh...he said--> member

[Kevin06906]

Forget about everything i said before..

Leave everything the way it is...leave the post counts in the lounge forum and keep the post counts in general.

If someone on the forum sees a person just spamming or trolling trying to get their post count up then they can report it to the moderators and the moderator will temp ban, warn them and keep a close eye on them...maybe make a troll list? Or something? And keep a close eye on them.

[Induna]

OK, forget gold stars, it's generic anyway. How about a penis instead?

As you gain more reputation points your penis would get bigger?

[Malicious Intent]

your penis would get bigger?
And for those of us that isn't possible for?

[Induna]

Then obviously you would have a small, flacid weener.

Whereas I would enjoy King-dong status.

[notbob]

Forget about everything i said before..

Leave everything the way it is...leave the post counts in the lounge forum and keep the post counts in general.

If someone on the forum sees a person just spamming or trolling trying to get their post count up then they can report it to the moderators and the moderator will temp ban, warn them and keep a close eye on them...maybe make a troll list? Or something? And keep a close eye on them.

that ain't gonna happen

this is a sephiocracy, this change it was his big idea, and it will happen regardless of what anyone else wants

cracking down now does nothing to reverse their lax enforcement in the past, screw it. this site isn't worth all the commotion being made about it

[isus]

mikehunt: "everyone must care somewhat about post counts or this wouldn't be an 8 + page thread."
i hope that wasn't your attempt at an insult to anyone who has posted here, as you have posted more than once (looks like 4 to me...)

i would like everything to stay the same, less the whole 'reputation' button, as it helps no one anyway... but i think notbob is right. something will change sooner or later :-\