So, you're a farmer? A post farmer? I see.

[Magrus]

Originally Posted by Vicsun

It's mostly because I think there is a growing misconception, especially among newer members, that your "status" in SYM is somehow determined by your post-count. This is simply not true, and reflects badly on both the board in general in the form of reduced quality of posts, and on those who have the misconception. We'd be all better off if this myth were to die.

Those would be good points. I suppose it's never bothered me to such an extent as I just post to have fun and ignore everything else. I think perhaps the newer members have a tendency to look up the members who have been here some years, and with that post count there to show that someones been around for say 4 years, and has accumulated 10,000 posts, they struggle to accomplish that as well to fit in.

[C Elegans]

Originally Posted by giles337

I seem to recall recently someone saying somethign on the lines of "You've been here for 4 years and only have 600 posts, I've been here for 3 months and have the same number, now who is more useful?"

This perfectly illustrates the misconception that is the topic of this thread. I wish the member who said that did a search on members like Tom and Delacroix and read their few but mostly extremely high-quality posts. A lesson in how to express meaningful and interesting content in few posts - and none of them are even native English speakers.

[dragon wench]

Originally Posted by Magrus

I think perhaps the newer members have a tendency to look up the members who have been here some years, and with that post count there to show that someones been around for say 4 years, and has accumulated 10,000 posts, they struggle to accomplish that as well to fit in.

I suspect you are right in that regard. But, at Game Banshee, SYM in particular, people are accepted, or not, based on the quality of their posts, their sense of humour, and the general usefullness of what they say, even if it just takes the form of casual socialising. In sum, quality over quantity. I suspect it takes a lot of new members a while to figure this out. Further, some new members do not seem to realise that continual screaming and/or fawning for attention will only cause more established members to ridicule them, either 'behind the scenes' or publicly.

The culture at GB/SYM is very different to most forums in this regard, so I think it comes as a shock to newer members when they realise nobody really gives a damn how many posts they have. CM's "Justice League," thread illustrates this rather well. Tower Master, as an example, has been readily accepted because he has an attitude, and sense of humour, that fits into the existing culture very well. I couldn't tell you how many posts TM has though, it is not something I take any notice of.

[Magrus]

Originally Posted by dragon wench

Further, some new members do not seem to realise that continual screaming and/or fawning for attention will only cause more established members to ridicule them, either 'behind the scenes' or publicly.

It's amused me to no end noticing this and seeing that those being ridiculed tend not to get the why of it.

[Luis Antonio]

If asked six months ago, I'd disagree. But now, I agree completely with Vicsun. And CE. Just check my siggie.

And I dont see evil in the "postcount boost threads". They are cool too, and a part of SYM. If there are so many people posting, it means it was accepted by the community, and shall not be despised.

[moltovir]

I would probably be the last on earth to say I give a damn about my postcount. Post-farming threads exist on every forum, but most users base their opinion about members on the quality of their posts, not the quantity. But if you wish to acquire a certain status on a forum (be it funny guy, intelligent scientist, omnipresent spammer, ...), you must also post at least at regular times because you won't be noticed otherwise. I doubt a quarter of the regular posters on SYM knows me, simply because I never say something (my last post here dates back to november). I think the problem with SYM that has lead to newbies thinking postcount = status, is that it's such a 'closed' board, as most people here have a weird sense of humour and a tendency to be very sarcastic. As a newbie this sometimes seems a little overwhelming, and you really have to get used to the mentality of GB before you can actively participate in the threads. Newbies that come here see all these people with high postcounts, making weird unintelligable jokes about purple pills and evil weasels, and being accepted and respected, and some of these newbies think they can achieve the same level of respect simply by posting loads of crap. You know, I should really start posting here more

[Rob-hin]

Originally Posted by Luis Antonio

And I dont see evil in the "postcount boost threads". They are cool too, and a part of SYM. If there are so many people posting, it means it was accepted by the community, and shall not be despised.

I don't like them and I have only a few posts in all of them put together.
Plus, there are too many of them.

Now... 'Counting with Aegis', that's a great post farm.

[frogus23]

Originally Posted by Aegis

In the earlier days of SYM, it is true to say that there did exist a preoccupation with post counts, hence part of the reason if it's creation, but that mentality, for the most part, has long since faded from the foreground. The people who do have the high post counts, also have a couple other things that encourage that post count: Tenure, in that we've been here for such a long time, we've had lot's of time to post in large quantities, and in some cases, Moderators. We post for fun, and we post to moderate, which in some cases, doubles the amount of posting.

Threads that are appearing these days, especially having three of them on the go at once, is simply an image of post farming, at least to those of us who don't bother posting in the threads (myself, being one of them).

Damn straight. If I met new members posting junk like

Originally Posted by Aegis

1

Originally Posted by Aegis

3

Originally Posted by Aegis

11

I would moderate them to smithereens

[Bloodstalker]

Post farming sucks

Myself, I've been here for awhile. Ok, a long while. I've had times where my posy count didn't increase dramatically for a couple months, then I'v had it almost doublt in a couple months at one point. For exapmle, when I was running the Jeopardy threads, in a span of about three weeks, my post count jumped close between 1200-1800 posts probably. That wasn't my intention, it was just a byproduct of hosting a game thread that moved that rappidly while still socializing with friends in other threads. All I was attempting to do was provide some sort of entertainment for myself and a few other members. I also have a large number of posts tied up in the DF story and discussion threads as well. It actually gets to a point where another 1000 posts doesn't really amount to much. It's just a number anyway. It means nothing in regards to popularity or prestige.

Like CE said, there are a lot of members with lower post counts who are extremly relevant and recognizable when you mention them.A lot depends on the type of topics that interest people. If you have members who favor serious topics and rarely post outside of them, then as a result, they aren't going to have a very high number of posts. Discussion posts just take more thought and time to construct replies, and then it takes time to get feedback on your posts.

on the other hand, you have members who post in the more social threads who's posts may eventually climb to a much higher number. Doesn't make either style of posting is more important or of better quality. It all depends on what you are looking for. I rarely post in discussions, but that's not to say I don't read the threads or don't enjoy reading differing points of views on a topic.I simply prefer the social aspect for the most part.

It is interesting to note that some of the most recognizable names, even on the social side of things, don't really have that high a post count. AC, Ned, fas, Ysh, DW, you here those names and would assume that all of them are way over 10,000 posts just from the amount of times they get mentioned. Hell, you;d swear AC was posting 10-20 times a day as much as her name shows up in conversations, but the fact is she just drops in a few times a month anymore outside of her fiction writing. But like Ned, Ysh and the others, it's her personality that provides the staying power. They all have their own posting quirks, they all have managed to interact with members while retaining the individuality that makes them memorable. Even members who don't post here anymore like Waverly, Ubik, and a few others are still mentioned at regular intervals.

All I'm saying is, it doesn't matter if you're more into the intellectual threads like CE and fable have stated they are, or if you're more into the tavern crawling/socializing aspect of things like myself, there is room for all kinds on GB without having to resort to post farming in order to establish yourself.

Not that it bothers me having to ignore three or four of those threads. It takes no effort for me to just not read them. But don't expect to spend 3 months in the word association thread, get to 1000 posts, and think I'm gonna know who the hell you are when you speak to me afterwards. If you want to be recognized by other members, you need to interact with them and give them more of your personality to go on than just:

Hello

*next post*



*Next post*

hehe

*Next post*

LOL

*Next post*

Me too.

*Next post*




There is nothing in that kind of posting to tell me who you are or how to relate to you, so you wind up getting ignored.

[Yshania]

Originally Posted by Bloodstalker

Post farming sucks

It is interesting to note that some of the most recognizable names, even on the social side of things, don't really have that high a post count. AC, Ned, fas, Ysh, DW, you here those names and would assume that all of them are way over 10,000 posts just from the amount of times they get mentioned. Hell, you;d swear AC was posting 10-20 times a day as much as her name shows up in conversations, but the fact is she just drops in a few times a month anymore outside of her fiction writing. But like Ned, Ysh and the others, it's her personality that provides the staying power. They all have their own posting quirks, they all have managed to interact with members while retaining the individuality that makes them memorable. Even members who don't post here anymore like Waverly, Ubik, and a few others are still mentioned at regular intervals.

Aw! That must deserve a hug! *hug* I am a nobody now!

btw

There was a time my SPD (to be explained later) exceeded 17 posts per day BUT!! I learned the error of my ways!

People rarely ever gained status by spamming in the "good old days"



*sigh* the "What Is Your SPD Rating" thread has been lost to the reorganisation of SYM. The SPD rating was calculated by number of posts divided by days of membership. The new GB does this automatically now, it didn't used to.

Oh well, I recall deleting threads and posts with a vengeance to reduce my post count, especially as I approached 5K posts, it must have been nigh on a thousand by my own hand, and more by others with similar desires to reduce post counts and took mine down with them The last time the board was upgraded, the ability to delete threads was removed in order (and rightly so) to protect those posts where members had put in a lot of time and energy into research. I used to delete a lot of my "spam" posts to hide the fact I spent way much time here once upon a time. NB, I did not delete posts that would have left the rest of the discussion meaningless, just the crap stuff.





Go Newbies!! You cannot hide your tracks now!

[Weasel]

Originally Posted by Bloodstalker

there is room for all kinds on GB

I would think I'm a shining example to prove this.

the ability to delete threads was removed

And in the dark recesses of Weasel's mind a scream was heard! I still think there might be a way though.........



OT, What is a Post Farm?? (If you have a Farmer, he/she/it/that/what has to have a farm) I admit to not paying attention lately and lack the understanding of what is going on. A thread to just gain post in? The One Word story? The Bars?

[oozae]

Originally Posted by My old son Molty Boy

I doubt a quarter of the regular posters on SYM knows me, simply because I never say something (my last post here dates back to november).

What have you been doing molty boy, post! Oh and I would just like to say, sorry. Sorry about the spam and run () yesterday, I went crazy, spammin' all over the place. Anyway, on the subject of quality over quantity. My opinion is that to shine you have to be different, be something new (apparently I'm refreshing, according to CM ) or be friendly and don't flame. Or be humorous, just remember to be socially acceptable in the crazy environment of GB

[Aegis]

Originally Posted by oozae

What have you been doing molty boy, post! Oh and I would just like to say, sorry. Sorry about the spam and run () yesterday, I went crazy, spammin' all over the place. Anyway, on the subject of quality over quantity. My opinion is that to shine you have to be different, be something new (apparently I'm refreshing, according to CM ) or be friendly and don't flame. Or be humorous, just remember to be socially acceptable in the crazy environment of GB

It's not enough about quality vs. quantity. It's about presentation. SYM has become something beyond the basic CD-fanboy type of forum, in that there is a mix of social and serious threads, but lately, with these post farming threads, those are neither social, nor serious. If anything, they are simply threads in order to boost one's post count. They give off an adolescent image to visitors, an image that many people who post, or have posted in SYM, find to be a negative one. Not only that, but post farming happens to break both rules 5 and 8 (8 to a lesser extent, but still).

SYM may hold a more lenient outlook on spam, but the sort of spam that exists in these post farming threads stretches to even be amusing. Frankly, I'm amazed one thread is tolerated, much less three.

[Brynn]

Originally Posted by Aegis

If anything, they are simply threads in order to boost one's post count. They give off an adolescent image to visitors, an image that many people who post, or have posted in SYM, find to be a negative one.

Close them, then, it's that easy.
Personally, I like the Three word game, I find it amusing and not as pointless as the Word association. It's fun. I'm not posting there b/c I want to increase the nr of my posts (I don't give a shoot about that).

[ik911]

Originally Posted by Brynn

Close them, then, it's that easy.
Personally, I like the Three word game, I find it amusing and not as pointless as the Word association. It's fun. I'm not posting there b/c I want to increase the nr of my posts (I don't give a shoot about that).

Well, it's the same drive that keeps me posting (in all 3)

Gives me a meager look on how people think. And I'm satisfied with meager.