Off Topic Post Count

by **Snorri1234** on Sat Apr 05, 2008 1:33 pm

cmckinney wrote:iIf people are so wrapped up in getting their post count up, won't that just cause them to spam in forums that do count posts, making the spam worse that it used to be?

Don't be silly.
Are you saying the mods might not have understood the spam-thing?

by **william18** on Sat Apr 05, 2008 3:50 pm

This situation is like a water ballon and posts are water. If you squeeze one part, then some other parts will get larger and swell up. If you sqeeze a large enough area( both flame wars and IK) then the ballon will pop ( everyone will do major spam on generel discussion) and it will mess things up. People will start Thread Burying, Hijacking, Topic Spam, Sticky Spam, Topic Litter. It will be havoc in General Discussion.

by **cmckinney** on Sat Apr 05, 2008 4:45 pm

Snorri1234 wrote:
cmckinney wrote:iIf people are so wrapped up in getting their post count up, won't that just cause them to spam in forums that do count posts, making the spam worse that it used to be?

Don't be silly.
Are you saying the mods might not have understood the spam-thing?

No I'm sure they thought this through, but the way they're going about this doesn't seem to be working in my opinion. It has many of the biggest posters who keep these forums alive angry, and sooner or later like william18 said, the balloon will pop and spam will run over into the general threads.

by **Ditocoaf** on Sat Apr 05, 2008 8:23 pm

william18 wrote:This situation is like a water ballon and posts are water. If you squeeze one part, then some other parts will get larger and swell up. If you sqeeze a large enough area( both flame wars and IK) then the ballon will pop ( everyone will do major spam on generel discussion) and it will mess things up. People will start Thread Burying, Hijacking, Topic Spam, Sticky Spam, Topic Litter. It will be havoc in General Discussion.

Seriously, what's keeping people from continuing to post worthless posts in IK? The balloon isn't being squeezed at all. All this is doing is saying that off-topic and spam posts don't count. Someone who spams 500 posts in a day hasn't contributed nearly as much as the average person who posts once a day for a month.

by **greenoaks** on Sat Apr 05, 2008 8:57 pm

Ditocoaf wrote:
william18 wrote:This situation is like a water ballon and posts are water. If you squeeze one part, then some other parts will get larger and swell up. If you sqeeze a large enough area( both flame wars and IK) then the ballon will pop ( everyone will do major spam on generel discussion) and it will mess things up. People will start Thread Burying, Hijacking, Topic Spam, Sticky Spam, Topic Litter. It will be havoc in General Discussion.

Seriously, what's keeping people from continuing to post worthless posts in IK? The balloon isn't being squeezed at all. All this is doing is saying that off-topic and spam posts don't count. Someone who spams 500 posts in a day hasn't contributed nearly as much as the average person who posts once a day for a month.

you're missing the point ditocoaf. people who like to spam like to see their post count go up. spamming off-topic forums doesn't satisfy this need of theirs and will result in them spamming forums that do count.

although i would like to see a spam-free world and don't believe i do it myself i have found myself avoiding IK/ chatter box now because of the changes. as this site has decided those posts don't count i will not waste my time reading what others have to say and trying to contribute something to it, whether that be humour or serious debate. this site has made it quite clear my thoughts there are worthless.

the sooner they remove those forums completely and reduce all of our prior post counts accordingly the better.

by **Neoteny** on Sat Apr 05, 2008 9:01 pm

Look, kids, very clearly the idea behind this whole clusterfuck is to keep people like fircoal, etc. from being representative of the cc community as they are not contributing anything directly to the website as it relates to world-domination style board games. We are under the impression that the social aspects of the site are just as important, while the powers that be clearly are not. So far, however, they have been right; there is no spamathon going on in the GD or other forums (excepting Owen's amazing lack of sarcastic mastery), so if you want to make a point, organize one. I think it would be fucking amazing if a hundred or so IKers got forum banned for a few days.

::thinks about it::

That would be epic, and I would encourage it. We might not get what we want, but we will make an interesting point, and have a fucking blast in the meantime. Anyhow, sitting in here talking to ourselves, though raising our post count, isn't accomplishing anything. Let me know if you gentlemen decide you're really going to start something, and I'll be there. If not, just let this die.

by **Neoteny** on Sat Apr 05, 2008 9:02 pm

Matter of fact, even if it weren't to make a point, I would definitely take part in a forum invasion.

:lol:

by **cmckinney** on Sat Apr 05, 2008 9:53 pm

I'd be part of a forum invasion...I think that it was a really bad call for the mods to do this. What are they hoping to gain from this? If you don't like spam, you're probably not to interested in going to the off topic forum anyways, so the spam didn't bother you in the first place. The spammers were leaving everybody alone in the other forums, but now they're pissed and will probably move to other forums just out of spite. I don't see what the purpose of this move is...let the spammers have their post count.

by **cmckinney** on Sat Apr 05, 2008 9:55 pm

And quite frankly...do we really want spam in the map foundry or the suggestion forums?

by **wicked** on Sat Apr 05, 2008 10:09 pm

cmckinney wrote:If you don't like spam, you're probably not to interested in going to the off topic forum anyways,

What you're obviously failing to realize, based on that comment above, is the Off-Topics forum is not, and should never be, about spam. That forum is for discussion, debate, and conversation about pretty much anything and everything that doesnt' have to do with CC. If you think the spam is deterring people from going there, then we definitely do need to do something about that. Now I don't think it's gotten that bad, so no need for anything drastic. ;-)

This thread has served it's purpose, and planning forum trolling and spamming isn't it.

by **t-o-m** on Mon Sep 01, 2008 5:39 pm

Concise description:

The title, make posts in chatter box count toward post counts.

Specifics:

The above. And, i know the reason of disabling it was that people were spamming for post count - so called - but i do not see that now. I see many users posting and are regulars in CB but have little post count - making them 'less-respected' or less listened to in forums, even though they are as much regulars as the people in GD.

This will improve the following aspects of the site:

It will be fairer.

by **cena-rules** on Mon Sep 01, 2008 5:53 pm

Meh Twill wont do it

Simple as

we tried for this before

its balls I tell ya

by **Frigidus** on Mon Sep 01, 2008 5:53 pm

Indeed. First off, you can spam in any forum. Second, the heavy majority of posts here are serious discussion.

by **timmytuttut88** on Mon Sep 01, 2008 5:54 pm

plus mods are locking threads with spam, so why not have chatter box count if the motive is to have a meaningful conversation?

by **muy_thaiguy** on Mon Sep 01, 2008 5:56 pm

Tried it the first time. Failed.

Tried it a second time. Failed.

This is what, the 50th time or something? Will it be an epic fail?

by **hecter** on Mon Sep 01, 2008 5:59 pm

muy_thaiguy wrote:Tried it the first time. Failed.

Tried it a second time. Failed.

This is what, the 50th time or something? Will it be an epic fail?

No, just a regular fail.

by **Snorri1234** on Mon Sep 01, 2008 6:10 pm

I support this. I mean, ignoring the fact that people haven't actually stopped spamming, it's really silly to claim Chatter Box isn't an integral part of CC. It keeps people who are not concerned about dice/maps/payment/clans/more dice/rules/even more dice interrested.

Spammers don't really care about post-counts, they care about seeing their posts. I know I haven't held back since the change.

by **pimpdave** on Mon Sep 01, 2008 7:10 pm

I am painfully unaware of internet forum culture, but are people truly more respected for having a high post count?

That seems like a poor indicator for quality. I would think that the relative erudition of the post would speak more towards whether or not the user is worth reading.

What I'm getting at is, does the post count matter at all? Why not just remove all posts from counting towards a post count? Would that negatively effect the forums?

How many people actually use post count as an indicator of a forum users legitimacy?

(ps. I don't)

by **Calidrmr** on Mon Sep 01, 2008 7:15 pm

pimpdave wrote:I am painfully unaware of internet forum culture, but are people truly more respected for having a high post count?

That seems like a poor indicator for quality. I would think that the relative erudition of the post would speak more towards whether or not the user is worth reading.

What I'm getting at is, does the post count matter at all? Why not just remove all posts from counting towards a post count? Would that negatively effect the forums?

How many people actually use post count as an indicator of a forum users legitimacy?

(ps. I don't)

by **sfhbballnut** on Mon Sep 01, 2008 7:35 pm

high post count in forums that aren't chatter box= more active and involved with the site itself?? that's how it makes sense to me

by **deliaselene** on Mon Sep 01, 2008 8:03 pm

pimpdave wrote:I am painfully unaware of internet forum culture, but are people truly more respected for having a high post count?

That seems like a poor indicator for quality. I would think that the relative erudition of the post would speak more towards whether or not the user is worth reading.

What I'm getting at is, does the post count matter at all? Why not just remove all posts from counting towards a post count? Would that negatively effect the forums?

How many people actually use post count as an indicator of a forum users legitimacy?

(ps. I don't)

interesting point
a high post count demonstrates active involvement in issues

by **pimpdave** on Mon Sep 01, 2008 10:01 pm

deliaselene wrote:
pimpdave wrote:I am painfully unaware of internet forum culture, but are people truly more respected for having a high post count?

That seems like a poor indicator for quality. I would think that the relative erudition of the post would speak more towards whether or not the user is worth reading.

What I'm getting at is, does the post count matter at all? Why not just remove all posts from counting towards a post count? Would that negatively effect the forums?

How many people actually use post count as an indicator of a forum users legitimacy?

(ps. I don't)

interesting point
a high post count demonstrates active involvement in issues

Okay, I can see where that might matter, but why then would a place like Flame Wars count? I just noticed that my post count has gone up 1, after posting some drivel in FW.

Looking over that forum, there seem to be a few regulars, who prattle on and on, repeating themselves ad nauseum and posting drivel even worse than mine.

Might someone look at those users and think "Well, this chap posts an awful lot, he must have something valid to say, let me just read some of this here, doop de doop dee doo, OH MY! I'm wasting my life reading this, and it contributes nothing except an opportunity for a bunch of mental dwarfs to repeatedly extol their own brilliance!"

Or instead perhaps they might think "Well, this guy seems to post an awful lot, guess he missed that day in school when we all learned about brevity being the soul of wit. I think I'll skip this post and read something by someone who puts more thought into their writing."

Point being, the whole thing is arbitrary. Something demonstrating more active involvement in the issues doesn't necessarily demonstrate more constructive, or valuable involvement. Honestly, a high post count, unless attached to someone having been on the website for a sizable amount of time would, to me, demonstrate a desire to have a high post count. Not active involvement in the issues.

But that's just my opinion. I think too many people are preoccupied with measuring themselves against others, and of course that carries over into this website. Instead of being worried about post count (all due respect to those of a differing opinion) why don't we try to be worried about posting quality content?