post count on old threads

[mparker762]

Currently the forum software shows the user's current post count, even for posts that were made back when he was a newbie. This is misleading because newbies going back through the archives may interpret an early post as more authoritative than it really is. I know I've run into some of my old comments and winced at some of the things I said back then, yet the post shows my 4-digit post count instead of the single or double-digit post count I had at the time.

Is there any way to set up the forum software so it shows the post count at the time the post was made (or even better the time it was last edited), or maybe old-count/current-count? This probably isn't doable for old posts, but maybe for new posts?

[FiReSTaRT]

You're making some good points MP. I'm not sure that we should impose on Joe/Dave to deal with that, but if more people chime in and it's ridiculously easy, then it's a possibility.

[Wildtim]

I too have noticed the same thing, both here and in other vbulletin boards so I doubt it is that easy. I've ended up in arguments with myself (or those quoting my old posts) sometimes on dog forums I have participated on for long enough.

[mparker762]

It's a nice-to-have, not a must-have since you can always check the posting date. But it would be nice.

[JoshEarl]

With that in mind, it's pretty funny to read the old and really long thread where X is getting coached through learning to hone.

He has like 57,000 posts now, and I got confused for a while when that thread got bumped recently.

Of course, there's always Josh who's in the same ballpark post-wise but still hasn't learned to hone (ducking and running)...

It's one of those things that can be confusing initially but you get used to after a bit. I'm always for making things less confusing, but it wouldn't rate high on my list.

Thanks to all our mods and admins who put in time on this site. We appreciate it.

Josh

[azjoe]

Is there any way to set up the forum software so it shows the post count at the time the post was made (or even better the time it was last edited), or maybe old-count/current-count? This probably isn't doable for old posts, but maybe for new posts?

Not as far as I know. I do agree with your points for wanting it to work as you describe, but there are some reasons for it to work the way it does, too.

In general, our membership would be better advised to not use post counts as an indicator of expertise. Think about it... suppose Lynn just joined our group... day one he'd have a post count of zero but his expertise is great.

Likewise, we could have a member with hundreds (or thousands!) of posts who is simply a social personality with no significant expertise in str8s. In reality, if you look at the "experts' in the group they tend NOT to have the highest post counts. On the average, post counts tend to be a better indicator of length of membership than and indication of expertise. There are exceptions, of course.

And not everyone is an expert in everything... for example, I would never comment of the virtues of a badger brush because I have never owned one. Unfortunately, we do have some members who like to comment on almost everything... whether they really know anything or not... such is life I guess.

[TomlinAS]

Agree wholeheartedly...forums are (typically) dynamically generated, and you'd either have to impose a heavy server load to do some subtraction to figure out what the "real" post count was for an ancient post, or add fields to the datebase, which increases your storage load. Either way, Joe hit the nail on the head; don't judge by post count.

[xman]

With that in mind, it's pretty funny to read the old and really long thread where X is getting coached through learning to hone.

He has like 57,000 posts now, and I got confused for a while when that thread got bumped recently.

... we could have a member with hundreds (or thousands!) of posts who is simply a social personality with no significant expertise in str8s.

What are you guys trying to say?

X

[Lynn]

Can we remove the post count? Can we remove the current titles and just indicate Membership level if needed or another selected title of a person's choice with some limitations (Nuttin Vulgar). Grandfather honemeisters, but in the future that title must be earned by sending a razor to a Mod for testing and bestowing?

Thoughts????

Lynn

[mparker762]

It's not like the post count is terribly useful, and it's just a click away on the profile page.

As for the title suggestions, I'm not wading into that swamp again...