What happened to Members Location?

[zoiDman]

Probably true, but as I mentioned, that's only one part of why post counts don't mean anything.

I'm with you.

I think a Lot depends on the Person who is Views someone's Post Count.

Some people put a High amount of Value on a post count. So put very Little on how many posts one has. And of course, there is Everything In between.

Me, I tend to just Read the Post and see if it Makes sense to me. But I still like to see how Many Posts a Member has made since Joining.

 

[IM_ALL_IN]

I think it's useless information that leads to padding and an ill-conceived sense of accomplishment. It lends itself to members posting instead of reading. Someone will see a topic or question in the first post and they tend to type a reply without reading the thread to see if it's been covered. There's other reasons for this, of course, but displaying a post count lends itself to this type of behavior.

Say someone has 10,000 posts. What does that tell you? Nothing really. They might have received all of those posts guessing numbers in a contest. Meanwhile, someone with 100 posts might have used all of those posts to educate and help other vapors. Which person would you rather take advice from? Not to mention, there's areas of the forum dedicated to helping folks (i.e. Co-Ops) where posts don't even count.

IMO, it's a useless unit of measure, and I'd rather value a post based on it's own merits rather than a number under someone's name (for the record, I feel mostly the same way about join date. Length of time on the forum does not necessarily equate to knowledge on the subject).

I disagree on all fronts:

1) I’m not worried about someone padding their ego via post count. Why should I care? People are free to do whatever they do and it doesn’t affect me one iota. I can easily spot spammers this way and ignore. I don’t get the criticism…

2) A 10,000 post member tells me they’re invested in the forums and obviously very active. 10,000 is a ton of posts! These members are likely, although certainly not always, helpful and have useful things to say based on experience. I tend to pay more attention to what a person with this status says while I continue to research whatever it is on my own. On the flip side, someone who joined last month and has a 1000 posts, I’m basically going to disregard what they have to say and continue searching.

Having relevant information immediately available in order to make decisions is critical on this type of forum. This isn’t a discussion about candyland, or which pixie sticks are the best, we’re talking about inhaling things. Serious business here and I want all info front and center so I can make informed decisions and process information as quickly as possible. I use join date and post count to immediately get a “snapshot” of the poster and can then further refine if need be. It’s too cumbersome without all the needed information in front of me. I don’t know who can be trusted, who’s a spammer/scammer/likely shill…etc and I don’t have the time to navigate the hoops.

 

[EBates]

IMHO, it is imperative to know both things at a glance, not at a click. Not only do I like to know where the member resides but how long ago he has joined. A review or opinion rendered on a product means nothing to me if the member has been around for less than a month. Conversely, I am more apt to help a newer member. This forum has prided itself on helping the new comers and pointing them to a local meet or a B & M when possible. If I have to click and read someone's profile... well, that's not likely to happen.

It can't be difficult to add the join date and location under the avatar.

I agree one of the areas I watch very often is the New Members area. And often welcome new members. The new software gives no clue whether the poster is a first timer. And further location is a must. I, personally, could give a rats *** about their Mood.

So far my impression of the new site is Not Favorable. I've managed to find my Recent Posts a couple of times but still cannot do it repeatably.

 

[spartanstew]

I disagree on all fronts:

1) I’m not worried about someone padding their ego via post count. Why should I care? People are free to do whatever they do and it doesn’t affect me one iota. I can easily spot spammers this way and ignore. I don’t get the criticism…

To disagree would mean you're saying it doesn't happen, not that you're not worried about it. It does happen.

2) A 10,000 post member tells me they’re invested in the forums and obviously very active. 10,000 is a ton of posts! These members are likely, although certainly not always, helpful and have useful things to say based on experience. I tend to pay more attention to what a person with this status says while I continue to research whatever it is on my own. On the flip side, someone who joined last month and has a 1000 posts, I’m basically going to disregard what they have to say and continue searching.

Again, to disagree would say it doesn't happen. I've seen members rack up 300 posts in one contest. That has nothing to do with experience. As you said, it's not always a sign of helpfulness and usefulness, which was my point, so again I'm not sure how you can disagree when you've basically stated the same thing.

Either way, this is not the thread to discuss the merits of post count. Someone asked me why I didn't like post counts, and I answered. You can disagree if you wish, but it's still my opinion that they're mostly
irrelevant (as is join date).

Personally, I rarely even look to the left when using the forums. I don't look at avatars, user names, or anything else. I read and respond to the content of the post, not the poster.

 

[spartanstew]

The new software gives no clue whether the poster is a first timer.

 

[spartanstew]

And further location is a must.

While I don't think it's a must, it's there (very bottom on the left).

I, personally, could give a rats *** about their Mood.

I didn't realize non-supporting members could see moods?

 

[EBates]

While I don't think it's a must, it's there (very bottom on the left).



I didn't realize non-supporting members could see moods?

Yep, the Mood box was shown but us unwashed got the box stating Mood while the supporters got a real mood.
Thanks for the join date and location. Apparently you folks were fixin' it while I was whining about it.

 

[IM_ALL_IN]

To disagree would mean you're saying it doesn't happen, not that you're not worried about it. It does happen.

Again, to disagree would say it doesn't happen.

I'm disagreeing with your rationale behind not wanting post counts shown. It doesn't make any sense to me. The only argument that holds weight IMO is server load, which doesn't seem to hinder forums much larger than this one, and they're running older platforms.

In any event, I'm done expressing my distaste b/c I don't run this board or hold stock in it lol. The owners will run the forums however they choose and the members will either enjoy the new changes and stay, or leave.

 

[spartanstew]

It's my opinion that they're useless (to me) and I explained why. It's your opinion that they're valuable. I can't disagree with your opinion, and I'm not sure how you can disagree with mine.

Opinion: a personal view, attitude, or appraisal.

I think you're confusing fact with opinion.

 

[zoiDman]

While I think the Mood feature is OK, if it was removed to save Bandwidth and reduce the amount of Whitespace on the page, I wouldn't Lose any Sleep over it.