Column #136; By Xuenay

[DanQ]

Xuenay takes aim at the Apolyton administration for their handling of forum post count situations in his article entitled "<A HREF="http://apolyton.net/misc/column/136_count.shtml">The Meaning Of The Post Count At Apolyton Forums</A>.

Comments/questions are welcomed here.

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Dan; Apolyton CS
<font size=1 face=Arial color=444444>[This message has been edited by DanQ (edited October 14, 2000).]</font>

[Christantine The Great]

I think that the post count is the least important thing in the forums because the new people just want big titles, thousands of posts, and to look important. They just hog server space. The date under the title tells who the person is. That is what I look for.

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"Freedom, Trade, Christantine!"

The Official Webpage of the Chrisonian Republic

The Viking Archives

[UltraSonix]

Still angry at Ming for closing your DL thread, eh Xuenay?

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No, in Australia we don't live with kangaroos and koalas in our backyards... Despite any stupid advertisments you may see to the contrary...

[Lews Therìn]

Xuenay, are you planning on following this up with a Modest Proposal?

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Thus spake the Dragon

[Par4]

anyone who doesn't care about post count, has a life!

[MarkG]

1) you cant and we shouldnt rank people by post count, cause an increase be 1 in someone's post count might mean:
a) a bump post
b) a reply for help in one of the help forums
c) a post arranging a multiplayer game in the mp forums
d) a spam post in the OT
e) a post reporting that the game was sent in the pbem threads
f) a new model for the economy in civ games
g) a pretty serious and well thought OT post
h) a strategy to win on deity with 2 cities before 500BC
i) a 1000 words post by MtG
etc etc....


2) I disagree that the OT has the "highest intellectual level". look at the civ3, clash and alt.civs forum where whole game models are suggested and discussed and tell me they are of lower "intellectual level"...


3) giving a spammer a 50% pcr is far better than disabling him for 6 months. in the first case, he is hit where it hurts in the second, after a couple of weeks he might be bored waiting and try to make a DL to come back...

4) we are not here to "improve our own position" or look good in the "eyes of the rest of the Apolytoners". we are here to provide a good service to civ community, not to act like politicians...

[Narck]

<center><table width=80%><tr><td><font color=000080 face="Verdana" size=2><font size="1">quote:
<img src="/images/blue1.gif" width=100% height=1>
</font>For civilizing others, the
people who post at Off-Topic fully deserve their post count.
<img src="/images/blue1.gif" width=100% height=1></font></td></tr></table></center>Those who make lots of serious posts, which are of major assistance to other posters, aren't spammers to begin with, and they likely don't care about post count at all
<font size=1 face=Arial color=444444>[This message has been edited by Narck (edited October 15, 2000).]</font>

[Smash]

I have to agree with Christantine the Great.I have a feeling that some of the high post count members know little or nothing about civ.They live in a world of imagined internet celebrityhood-celebrityness..whatever.

Mao is a deity.
Xin Yu is a king


I see off-topic as a side thing.I come for the meat but like alittle potato(e)s also.


I question the validity of this statement also:

<center><table width=80%><tr><td><font color=000080 face="Verdana" size=2><font size="1">quote:
<img src="/images/blue1.gif" width=100% height=1>
</font>See, Off-Topic is the forum where the discussions with the highest intellectual level happen
<img src="/images/blue1.gif" width=100% height=1></font></td></tr></table></center>

It used to be that way but now it seems few and far between.

[MarkG]

<center><table width=80%><tr><td><font color=000080 face="Verdana" size=2><font size="1">quote:
<img src="/images/blue1.gif" width=100% height=1>
</font><font size=1>Originally posted by Smash on 10-15-2000 06:19 PM</font>
Mao is a deity.
Xin Yu is a king

<img src="/images/blue1.gif" width=100% height=1></font></td></tr></table></center>
exactly this is why we are saying that the post count and the related titles are not a way to rank people

[Father Beast]

I can't think of anywhere except off topic where anyone has looked at my post count to see whether I was worth replying to. from my settler days on the civ3 forum, I was judged on what I said, not whether I'd been around for a while.
And, sorry to disagree Christantine, but I don't ever look at the date either. I mean, does anyone take Alexander's Horse seriously? He does have a good idea occaisionally, though.
I will attend Xin Yu's war academy anytime I can spare the time. who cares that he's "just a king"

[Father Beast]

As a matter of fact, I was a settler when I wrote my entry for the EC3 list. if that doesn't say something, I don't know what does.

[Christantine The Great]

You're absolutly right about the Civ III forums. I was respected because of my new ideas (except for a certain citrus fruit-sfwr). I remember my settler days fondly...

*reality starts to wave violently and then the flashback starts*

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"Freedom, Trade, Christantine!"

The Official Webpage of the Chrisonian Republic

The Viking Archives

[DarkCloud]

Narck- about that post you made on the 15th...

I assume that I am an intelligent poster, 50%-70% of my posts have come in the AC-Fiction and Civ III ideas forums...

and I find the Post counts most intriguing. It is not needed of course but it makes the experience on the board much more fun.

You can see who has made worthwhile ideas and posts more times than someone else.

Solution to spam:
Someone who spams 10 times should be docked but an extra 5% of that which would be a total of 15 posts off his count

[phoenixcager]

For those of us who are not experts at the various games discussed in the various forums (and some who are). The post count system fulfills a basic reinforcer to the operant behaviour of posting on these boards (according to the principles of behaviourism). It helps to keep people posting on these boards. THAT is a function that the admins should be aware of.

On the other hand, introducing it might have opened the door for spam. Another behaviour principle is that if you reward someone for something they already like to do, then eventually they will lose their intrinsic enjoyment of the behaviour and work only for the external stimulus -- in this case, the points/post count.

[KhanMan]

I fail to see the author of this column's "social hierarchy".

Yes, there are moderators, and you shouldn't delibrately bait them. But I have yet to be banned, or penalized, and I disagree with the moderators just as often as I agree with them. I have a number of "enemies" (or people whom the author would see as enemies, if he were in my shoes), who have higher "rank" than I do. I also know of better players with lower "rank".

Personally, I think that the whole argument over rank and titles is absurd. I perceive people based on how they play, and what they say. I laugh when a newbee sees my prince rank and kisses up, and I laugh even harder when I see people afraid to disagree with a higher ranking poster.

Point is, these forums are here to post and discuss, not to rank and exclude.

-KhanMan of Sayen