Post counts - Why do we have them and what purpose do they serve?

I've been thinking, I do that sometimes. The topic pretty much says it all. Why? Is an opinion from someone who's expressed his opinion 500 times worth more than someone who's only done it 10 times? What value do you personally place in post counts? What's their actual purpose?

I don't usually think much of it, unless the post in question is spammy or seems really dumb.

The general purpose? I have no clue.
 
I remember names over postcounts, but I guess the higher the postcount, the more likely I'm to read what you have to say.
Altho that's not always true, some high post peeps here are downright silly.

@GreggD said:

I don't usually think much of it, unless the post in question is spammy or seems really dumb.

I think it's just to show who has been around Giant Bomb longer... Not really a good scale as I have been here right from the beginning but I have a fairly low post count.

@Patman99 said:

I think it's just to show who has been around Giant Bomb longer... Not really a good scale as I have been here right from the beginning but I have a fairly low post count.

Agreed. Join date is a better representation of that and that's hidden away in the read more about me section. So why do almost all forums more prominently display posts? You have to figure there's a reason.

@TaliciaDragonsong said:

I remember names over postcounts, but I guess the higher the postcount, the more likely I'm to read what you have to say. Altho that's not always true, some high post peeps here are downright silly.

I tend to do the same thing, though I have no idea why.

Never take away my post count! NEVER!!

Uuuuuuuuuuh, no idea!

@Cloudenvy said:

Uuuuuuuuuuh, no idea!

Profound and thought provoking as always cloud, keep it up my good man!

I just like to know how many posts I've made.

why not? it's not like that space is being used for anything else.

I'd personally like to see some country flags or something in that area, just so we know where that person is coming from

@Swoxx said:

@Cloudenvy said:

Uuuuuuuuuuh, no idea!

Profound and thought provoking as always cloud, keep it up my good man!

Stop going for the easy buck and start producing something with your life. Create, instead of living off the buying and selling of others!

I don't really see the point either, but I lurk on a forum that doesn't include post counts and it just feels wrong.
 
Join date isn't even really a good representation of when someone started coming here, it took me about a year to actually make an account.

I remember a time when a lot of forums would have titles under usernames associated with how many posts a user had. When I used to be younger and more naive, I would end up posting on forums a bunch just so I could have a cool forum title myself. That's all posts used to mean to me.

They don't really mean much to me now, aside from distinguishing who is more active on a community.

I would like a tag like "Newcomer" or "Very active" etc more then a real postcount. Seems useless.

Post count's useless, but some place importance in it so that's why it's there.

It shows how big my dick is.

@Tuggah said:

It shows how big my dick is.

Hate to say it, but I tend to regard people with higher postcounts as posters whose opinions should be considered more than ones with lower That's only on first impression though, after that I found out how batshit crazy they are and can view their responses in a appropriate manner.

Troll identification system.

@GeekDown said:

I just like to know how many posts I've made.

I'm not suggesting they're bad or that the information should not be possible to check on. I just find it strange that they're so prominent on every forum.

@Ahmad_Metallic: You make a good point. However I wouldn't say that a high post counts represent any form of willingness to help out. There are way to many douche bag posts on forums for that

@Cloudenvy: Don't be bringing that Wall Street mumbo jumbo up in here!

It's just a reminder of how much of our time some of us waste on here (myself included, of course). Also, I do tend to look at people with higher post counts as being more credible. With the exception of Joaquim.

people with less than 1000 posts are bad people.

@Vonocourt said:

Hate to say it, but I tend to regard people with higher postcounts as posters whose opinions should be considered more than ones with lower That's only on first impression though

D:

someone asked. "how many posts do I have"

someone else responded "Why do you wanna know"

he replied "idk, just cause"

It helps to pick out the trolls in some cases.

So you can see how much of a life Ahmed Metallic doesn't have.

A memento of the time spent here; a reflection of our past, present, and maybe even future as a community. A chance for us to see who we are and who we'll be.

Post counts are the cerebral cortex of forums. The lifeblood that flows strong every day.

They are as important to us as we are to the forums themselves. Without them is to be without us. And without us is to be without them.

Thus, the circle of life continues forward.

<∞>

@kingzetta said:

people with less than 1000 posts are bad people.

Funny, I've always thought that about people with 2,428 posts!

@Tuggah said:

It shows how big my dick is.

Also known as e-Penis.

@kingzetta said:

people with less than 1000 posts are bad people.

Funny, I've always thought that about people with 2,428 posts!

anyone with less than 500 posts are not worth my time.

i would be more interested in the number of posts of mine people actually read. i bet that number is significantly lower.

Troll identification system.

@onimonkii: Other than counting replies and the number of times quoted. How else would you measure that?

dont trust ppls with less than 1000 post count

Depends on the quality of the posts. I usually don't even notice their postcount.

@kingzetta said:

people with less than 1000 posts are bad people.

@Dany said:

anyone with less than 500 posts are not worth my time.

@TheSeductiveMoose said:

dont trust ppls with less than 1000 post count

DAAAAAAAMMNNNN!!!!! Looks like I'll have to start counting numbers or something in every post I can find -___-

I don't mind there being a post count. I sort of like seeing how active I've been in the community. Which so far apparently is not much =\

I've been here since the beginning and haven't cracked 500

@Fobwashed said:

....

did someone hear that? probably just the wind

@Dany said:

@Fobwashed said:

....

did someone hear that? probably just the wind

NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

@Dany said:

@Fobwashed said:

....

did someone hear that? probably just the wind

There's no wind on message boards, you silly!

Its like the wiki points, it's meant to create a competition between users

They usually give me an indication of how long somebody has been on the site (there are exceptions obviously). Also how active they are, which is nice to know.

I want to find somebody with the exact same post count as me.

@onimonkii: Other than counting replies and the number of times quoted. How else would you measure that?

I don't view people with a high post count as someone with an expert opinion but it's nice to see some people spend a lot of time and contribute to GB be it editing wikis, blog posts or random posts. Also when I see someone with a green name and it's their first post it helps me see that it is spam.

I want to find somebody with the exact same post count as me.

@onimonkii said:

@Sanaj said:

@onimonkii: Other than counting replies and the number of times quoted. How else would you measure that?

oh i don't know i was just being sarcastic :\

Fair enough. I will withdraw my question.