anti-spam idea

[Robert]

MarkG, DanQ

isn't it possible to only earn a postcount if your post ie. consists of at least 50 characters ? That'll stop a big load of spam.....

[Ari Rahikkala]

Even better solution, disable post counts altogether...

(By the way, the first line of this message was 56 characters long, so a 50 characters limit would most probably not stop oneliners... It would stop the post-only-a-rolling-eyes-smiley business, though)

[Robert]

removing postcounts at all won't be a good idea.
The biggest instrument to use against spam is... PR !

Only 56 ? In that case the limit should be 100 or 150 I guess.

[Provost Harrison]

Who cares? Why the fuss? Why do you care about other people getting post counts so much? Unless you care about post counts yourself...

...sometimes all of these anti-post count rants just seem to be a form of jealousy; if you didn't care, you wouldn't be bothered in the slightest, either pro and anti-

[Robert]

why I care ?
Because a big % of the threads are about people complaining they got a pr after spamming while they weren't spamming but the mod thought they were spamming though and then they agree to disagree and all that.

I wouldn't really care less if you got suddenly twice as much pc as you have right now.

[Urban Ranger]

I don't care about post counts, but the problem with it is it is the single biggest incentive for spam on 'Poly. So doing away with post counts will cause a huge decrease in spam.

[Gary]

post counts / schmost counts. I do not understand why people seem to think that a succinct post must be spam, whereas a long post won't be.

[Ming]

Gary is 100% correct. The length of the post has nothing to do with whether it is spam or not.

I've seen situations where a single "smile" post is not only appropriate, but the only response possible. On the other hand, I've seen the exact same smile used and it is pure spam... it depends on the context.

I've also seen 1000 word posts that are spam... remember when people first found the complaint generators...

[Robert]

of course you're both right,

but I think 90% of the spam contains less then 150 characters.
And, it's not that bad if your post doesn't improve your postcount, does it ?

[Marquis de Sodaq]

One begins to wonder if the continuous post-count / spam discussions aren't themselves spam... I agree with Ming, automating a spam finder just won't work.

[Chris 62]

I believe everybody worries a bit to much about it, but it is a subject we all like to talk about.

I still have the same opinion (PC, and titles=waste of time), but I also know I'm in the minority in this view, as proved by the many people who post about it.

And on the hypocrite meter (did I spell it right? wouldn't want someone to think I don't know how to use it), Rich, didn't you ask repeatedly for your 4900 posts to be restored? I have lost some over time, through PCR and the various tech glitches at poly, and I still don't care about it, or them(the posts).

It's just a stupid number, for god's sake.

[Colonâ„¢]

Cybershy, and why exactly wouldn't removing PC's be a good idea? It would be pretty effective in ending fights about PC's IMO.

[Case]

Originally posted by Urban Ranger
I don't care about post counts, but the problem with it is it is the single biggest incentive for spam on 'Poly. So doing away with post counts will cause a huge decrease in spam.

I'm not too sure about that. At present the only ways of punishing people for spam is banning them or reducing thier post counts. As banning would be a huge overreaction in many cases, geting rid of post counts would take away an important weapon for punishing spammers.

[Urban Ranger]

Some spammers spam just for the heck of it. The rest spam for post counts. Clearly abolishing post counts has no effect whatsoever on the former group, but it would remove the fundamental cause for the latter group.

I realise there's no way one can completely stop spam without stopping everybody from making posts, but taking away the incentive seems to be a reasonable measure. As an analogy, the best way to stop a kettle of water from boiling is to turn of the stove underneath it.

[Alexander's Horse]

All my posts are short and lovingly crafted

Brevity is the soul wit - which would make Cybershy pretty witless

And don't get me started on MTG. Does his train of thought ever have a caboose?