Suggestion: Hiding Post Count

[Phreddie]

One, The Word Association thread was not meant for postfarming, it was intended as slowly developing game, like Fiona's popular 'Top Ten' game. I made the grievous mistake of misunderestimating my fellow SYMians.

Two, I don't think hiding post count should be up to the user who posts, it should be up to the viewer as they are the one'smost affected by its existence. There should be an option somewhere on the profile page to turn off post counts on every post that viewer sees. Having to click that extra button every time one posts would get a little tedious post after post, especially if these people post, ten, twenty times a day.
Also, there are many people who dont venture outside of the forums dedicated to the games they play, they may not benefit from these changes as they would not know they took place. Placing this on the profile page would almost ensure that most new members would see the option when first configuring their account.

[Grimar]

i dont care about post count, so i have no problem with it beeing removed.

so i ask.. why have the post count? well, it do/may encurage (sp?) new members to post more, to get their post count up, and there are other ways than postfarming to do so.. if someone ask for help with a game in a game forum, some ppl may want to be the first to reply, so that they get the post. that results in ppl getting help fast

now i'm not saying that the majority is that way! just that some may be, and the others, who dont care about it, dont have to think about it at all.

an other thing is that new members can see who have been hanging out here for a while.. that earns those members some "respect". not true in all cases ofc.

if that is a good thing or not, i cant say

[Ravager]

If someone really wants to postfarm, not seeing that in the form of a postcount number or rank isn't going to make a difference. I've seen that elsewhere...

However, if it's an optional choice, that doesn't really bother me. *shrugs*

What about an option to hide your own postcount from others, while you're at it?

[dj_venom]

Two things that I just want to repeat in this thread.

[QUOTE=Hill-Shatar]One, we have no where to go but up with a single addition to the forum, and there will be no adverse effects. How often have you found threads in here with the post ranking question? [/QUOTE]

And two:

OPTIONAL!

We aren't voting for the removal, we aren't voting for permanent hiding, we aren't voting against post farming, we are just adding something.

[Fiona]

I have decided I do not understand what is meant by "postfarming". I had thought it referred to someone posting in order to increase their post count and for that reason alone. I have to say I have not seen anything of the sort happening here. It way be this is because we are well moderated. Yet I notice that the word association thread was mentioned in relation to post farming, and I am not convinced about that. Many members enjoyed that thread and there were certainly some participants who could not possibly have been interested in increasing their post count in this way. At the same time at least a couple of people who posted in DJ's thread about how they came to SYM mentioned that they first posted in that kind of thread. It is easy to see why - you do not have to risk yourself in that ( or in other game based threads, to a greater or lesser degree) That is a positive bonus for new people who do not know how to start to participate in SYM. It is far from the only way to join in, as the same thread also showed, but it worked for some people and I think that is important.

If post farming means something else, I would like it if someone could explain, please. And if so please ignore what I have said above

[dragon wench]

I also can't see why Word Association was closed. I don't think it was post farming, and as has been pointed out, threads like this are a nice introduction to wider participation in SYM. Moreover, people like Fable and myself were posting in that thread. I'm certainly not concerned about increasing my post count, and I very much doubt that Fable is either. It is simply FUN. And what is wrong with having fun exactly?

This is why I initially raised the topic of eliminating post count over in SYM. I figured that if post farming actually exists, it would remove both the impetus to do so and the accusation that it might be occurring.

I also think it would be a good idea because high post counts of veteran posters have sometimes been viewed as intimidating. I believe it would provide for a more level playing field.

Hill has a good idea in suggesting we make it optional, though. And I can't figure out why people are so bothered, given that he is suggesting they would have a choice in the matter.

[Lestat]

I think postcount is only useful at the lower end, where it shows whether someone's really new to the forums or not and need a bit more explanation or help or whatever. But hiding the postcount would be OK since the mention member/exalted member would be sufficient for that distinction.

[Phreddie]

[QUOTE=Lestat]I think postcount is only useful at the lower end, where it shows whether someone's really new to the forums or not and need a bit more explanation or help or whatever. But hiding the postcount would be OK since the mention member/exalted member would be sufficient for that distinction.[/QUOTE]
I disagree, someone who has 45 posts could be a very experienced member. I have friends who post on other sites that rarely post, and when they do it is only when they have a lot to say on the subject; A particular individual will only post if he has atleast 3 paragraphs of information to post. I dont think the status of exalted alone makes any one experienced enough to be considered above the level of help we would give to someone who is posting for their first time. While, after 50 posts, they should know enough about a forum to survive, post count (which is all the titles really are) does not determine their level of intelligence. One could suggest adding more titles, with less posts between: 0-10 Novice, 10-25, apprentice, 25-50 journeyman, 50- 75 expert, >75 master. (and yes if that looks familiar, I have been playing alot of oblivion lately...) Maybe not that exact thing, however discussion on that is for another thread.

Personally I still hold to what I said above about making postcount an issue for the viewer to decide, and not for the poster.

[BuckGB]

vBulletin does not offer any optional way to hide post count. In fact, there's no way to remove post count completely, either, unless I change code within the forum templates.

However, there is a hack I can download that will change everyone's post count to "?" unless an Administrator, Super Moderator, or Moderator views the post. This would be a permanent change and users would not have an option to turn their post count back on.

If the majority of you want to see this change, then I have no problem with installing the hack. Once the hack is installed, though, it would stay enabled indefinitely as long as it wasn't causing any errors.

[dragon wench]

Would the hack also disable the ability to see all of the posts by a user, as we can do now by clicking that link from their profile?
Because, if not, then in a sense it would still be optinal, since checking the 'see all posts' feature would continue to give something of an indication of a member's posting history.

Regardless, I'm all for it, personally, but I suspect many will dislike the idea of it being permanent...

[Rookierookie]

I do not want to see compulsory hiding or removal of post counts.

[dragon wench]

Edit

[dj_venom]

[QUOTE=Hack]Post counts are still visible on the userprofile.[/QUOTE]

As long as it does infact stay on the profile, I would choose to have this hack done.

Frankly, posts don't affect me at all, since high posts have no perks, and you can't talk with people about it unless you are in SYM, and if you are, well then we know you and posts are irrelevant.

[Magrus]

As I said before, I don't really care, but I don't think it will stop what people are seeing as a problem with people posting specifically to raise post counts. I have very, very rarely seen that in the past few months. *shrugs* Doesn't bother me at all though either way.

[C Elegans]

I did not deny that the "security/correctness" factor of post counts can be very flawed - equally so they can be a true reflection of a member's status within a community.

Which effectively makes post count as good as chance when it comes to determining correctness, seriousness and "status".

I think people draw (actively or subconsciously) on things such as post count, account age etc.
<snip>
I would think most people would place more faith in the advice from a user with higher post count. It's just natural to follow someone with greater experiance - and this is how it parallels in the internet world.

I completely agree, and this is one reason why there is no reason to keep the post count.

@Buck: I am for removing post counts. If you trust this hack will not affect the function of the board or make problems for you as an administrator, I am all for it.

[Denethorn]

I would rather they were retained, although it isn't a hugely significant issue.

[Hill-Shatar]

I'd like to see the use of the hack, Buck, as long as you feel safe with it.

[BuckGB]

[QUOTE=C Elegans]If you trust this hack will not affect the function of the board or make problems for you as an administrator, I am all for it.[/QUOTE]
It's really not a matter of trust, as it's a user-made modification by an unknown author for one specific version of vBulletin. There's absolutely no guarantee that it will function properly. And even if it works initially, there's no way of knowing if it will be compatible with future versions of vBulletin. If the author doesn't continue to update the hack, it's possible I may even have to remove it at a later date if it suddenly stops working or starts causing problems.

Even with those caveats, I have no problem with installing, monitoring, and troubleshooting the hack if a majority of the community feels that it would be beneficial. I'm really not convinced that's the case by the limited number of replies in this thread so far, though. Therefore, I would appreciate it if anyone reading through this could post their opinion, whether it be for or against the hiding of post counts.

[Xandax]

[QUOTE=Buck Satan]It's really not a matter of trust, as it's a user-made modification by an unknown author for one specific version of vBulletin. There's absolutely no guarantee that it will function properly. And even if it works initially, there's no way of knowing if it will be compatible with future versions of vBulletin. If the author doesn't continue to update the hack, it's possible I may even have to remove it at a later date if it suddenly stops working or starts causing problems.

Even with those caveats, I have no problem with installing, monitoring, and troubleshooting the hack if a majority of the community feels that it would be beneficial. I'm really not convinced that's the case by the limited number of replies in this thread so far, though. Therefore, I would appreciate it if anyone reading through this could post their opinion, whether it be for or against the hiding of post counts.[/QUOTE]

Perhaps an official forum wide poll would be in order, because I think many that frequent some of the sub-forums rarely venture into this one withouth due cause, and thus they might miss this thread.

[Magrus]

[QUOTE=Xandax]Perhaps an official forum wide poll would be in order, because I think many that frequent some of the sub-forums rarely venture into this one withouth due cause, and thus they might miss this thread.[/QUOTE]

I think that's a good idea. There are only a very few forums I bother with looking in at all, and those are 3 or so game forums and SYM, and occasionally this one. I'm assuming most posters just go in to check the games they are most interested in and then leave for the most part.