Intentionally Raising Post Count - General Discussion

[BlackWarrior]

• • • I was given permission from Larkarl to post this topic.

The intentional raising of post count was brought to our attention when a group of users and moderators came together to discuss ways to improve the forums in many different ways. This discussion that took place was called Wolfquest Conversation, and in the end we came out with a large list of suggestions and idea improvements. These suggestions were then reviewed by Cana, who responded with her thoughts on each one. Post count was brought up to be an issue here on Wolfquest, so the final suggestion was that we create a global announcement about it:

• * red writing is Cana's response

- Address the intentional post count raising issue with a global announcement, as it has become a large problem (global status given for a month or so)
-Hmm... I could be convinced to do this. Are you guys willing to compose what you'd like it to say?

I'm curious to hear everyone's thoughts on post count raising. Please remember to avoid any negative or disrespectful posts and not cause and unwanted arguments. This is simply a topic to get your ideas across and share your viewpoint on this global issue.

If you have any ideas as to what this global announcement could say, these suggestions are also welcomed.

Obviously, this topic isn't only for brainstorming helpful ideas, it can be used for discussing your thoughts on intentionally raising post count, as well as if you think it is something that should be addressed.

Thank You!

[Koa]

It would be wise to address it. Commonly, I have noticed it in Introduce Yourself but more particularly User Artwork. Granted, commenting on artwork is fine but en masse it gets very old.

[Alpha Female]

I agree, post count raising should be addressed considering its happening in my places around the forum. Mainly the forums Koa stated, but I also see it in the nature and wildlife section as well. Hopefully people will come to realize that it's not allowed and will hopefully stop.

[Croix]

Posting count posting should be addressed. I don't mind it being a global announcement or not, just as long as there is a topic created by Cana (or another administrator/moderator) about it so people know what the consequences are.
I've seen posting count posting mostly in the Introduce Yourself and User Artwork forums, as Koa and flower previously stated. But it has also occurred in the Music and Books, Movies, Television, & Videos forums as well - particularly one person, really. They went one for a few days posting over three consecutive pages of new posts, as well as bumping old topics. It didn't seem like they were stopping at any point.
Users have also posted on other websites how they post count post to have the "epic" occasion of reaching 1,000 posts. That certain user even betting with other people to reach 1,100 posts by the end of that day, apparently everyone posting forgot to mention that is against the rules? Either it slips their mind or they honestly don't care.

Personally, I believe any post that is considered post count posting be deleted. Leaving the posts up is still almost praising that person for breaking the rules, people could think things along the lines of, "Well I got warned for intentional post count posting, but I still reached ____ posts!". Deleting the posts are not only a warning, but a slap in the face to anyone doing it. So they get a warning and they don't get a higher post count as well.
Duncecapplz.

[Koa]

Posting count posting should be addressed. I don't mind it being a global announcement or not, just as long as there is a topic created by Cana (or another administrator/moderator) about it so people know what the consequences are.
I've seen posting count posting mostly in the Introduce Yourself and User Artwork forums, as Koa and flower previously stated. But it has also occurred in the Music and Books, Movies, Television, & Videos forums as well - particularly one person, really. They went one for a few days posting over three consecutive pages of new posts, as well as bumping old topics. It didn't seem like they were stopping at any point.
Users have also posted on other websites how they post count post to have the "epic" occasion of reaching 1,000 posts. That certain user even betting with other people to reach 1,100 posts by the end of that day, apparently everyone posting forgot to mention that is against the rules? Either it slips their mind or they honestly don't care.

Personally, I believe any post that is considered post count posting be deleted. Leaving the posts up is still almost praising that person for breaking the rules, people could think things along the lines of, "Well I got warned for intentional post count posting, but I still reached ____ posts!". Deleting the posts are not only a warning, but a slap in the face to anyone doing it. So they get a warning and they don't get a higher post count as well.
Duncecapplz.

Very well said.

Granted, some other users or moderators in the past may not see it as a big deal, but frankly its annoying. There is little (constructive) discussion amongst users compared to the other forums I've noticed. And while we're not "other forums" and one of the few (or only) educational wolf sites out there, there is still plenty to discuss.

Unfortunately, the issue of post-count raising has caused some boards to lose posts being counted. (or be threatened with not being counted... does the Music board still count?) It may help with the issue of post-count raising, but for the people who either rarely post or post constructively in those boards it more or less may impact them to not post at all - although whatever they are passionate about should be enough to compel them to post, though.

[Croix]

The Music forum raises post count, Koa.

[Koa]

Ah, thank you. There were a few threads that had to be moved (What are you listening to, What was the last video game you played, etc.) because of post count raising. While those are only threads, I'd hate to see the other threads in the Music board have to be moved or the board be altered otherwise just because of post-count raising.

Occasionally this happens in the wolf boards, but from what I've seen the people who did so were either relatively new or did not frequent the forums as much.

We can come to the conclusion that post-count raising happens everywhere, so continuing to having to disable post-count in some boards because of this is rather tedious. (unless the board, by common sense, should not allow a user's post count to be raised.)

[brightstar99]

Thank you for posting this Blackwarrior! The boards Take action And pets and domestic animals Also raises post count.

[Atropine]

In all honesty I'm getting tired of post count raising since it just makes for bland conversations. Even though it is more prominent in certain forums, I see it happening globally. If someone posts an article a fair few of the posts will be something along the lines of "Interesting read! Thanks for sharing." - granted, there are a majority of people who will contribute to the discussion, however there are still a significant number of people who post for the sake of it.

I don't want to see more topics being moved to other forums due to post count raisers, so I am all for some sort of topic that establishes our stance on post count raising, since clearly the message isn't going through for some people.

[1BitJay]

I see where it can be a problem and not a problem. It it wrong to raise post count intentionally. 

Yet, people seem to still do it. I see the reason why people do it. They are not morally wrong reasons but just not the right reasons. They might feel they dont belong by seeing higher post counts. Also many packs require a post count. Thats probably a big reason for raising post count. Another reason is for Avatar shops. Some members feel they need a lot of posts so they can get a avatar.


Other major reasons is that the new members dont read the rules, yet it says no post should be three words or less. I have even seen mods and other people post 3 words or less in each post in places like Pack Central. Though, they do it sometimes.

Generally, a complete, A COMPLETE, thought is a sentence. For example:

"I like wolves."

What does this tell you? You just know I like wolves. What kind of wolves? Why do you like wolves? When did you start liking wolves?
This is not a complete thought. Yet, it is a complete sentence. It has a subject. Then it has a predicate. Which is a verb and a noun. Though look at this. 

"I like wolves a lot because they are intelligent."

Now, this is a complete thought. It answers more questions.

Lets approach another example. Here is a few examples of comments made in pack central.

"Thanks a lot!"

Is this a complete thought?

"What did I miss?" 

Is this worth saying?

Better posts:

Thanks a lot for accepting me into this pack.

What did I miss while I was gone on vacation? Anything in roleplay or in the meetings?


In other areas of the forum, I see people post: "I like wolves." it is highly irratiting to read. We would like to see more of a statement.

Concluding, Make your posts clear and vivid. It only takes a few seconds. Also the rules of posting need to be more explanatory.

[oxoDestinyoxo]

While I can see the issue here, I think what people fail to understand is that post count is just a number. It has no real meaning to the forum, aside from how active you are. But even then it doesn't say anything. One can have 50 thousand posts and not be active anymore. For packs or shops asking for a post count, I often wonder if they even look at the dates of previous posts. What if someone with 300 some odd posts requests an avatar, yet their last post prior or that was 5 months ago?

Post counts are an artificial number that simply does one thing, get you a different rank on the forums. It does not say how experienced or active any one person in. It doesn't. A high post count simply means you post or posted a lot. A low one means you did or didn't. Does it really matter in the long run? No, no it does not. For that post count can poof with a simple email of "I want my account deleted." It does not matter in the end of all that.

If this is the case and it's just an artificial number, it's just a problem on seeing if a post is SPAM or not. If post count is a number, I do not see the problem unless the post is totally useless and does not relate to the issue. For example, introduction thread replies should probably address something the thread starter gave about themselves, unless nothing was given.

[failwolf56]

Agreeing with what has previously been stated, post count raising is annoying, and is frankly obnoxious in some boards. So, I know we're really just suppossed to discuss it, but anyone mind if I pop a little idea into the mix of things? Raising post count can be hard to describe (as Jay stated above) and even harder to regulate. Ergo, deciding a punishment for repetitve post-count raising can be difficult. What about a warning that fits the crime? I was thinking, after being warned a certain number of times (simply by having a mod post on the topic giving a helpful reminder), and the same post-count raising still occuring from the same users, possibly deducting post-count numbers? I'm not sure if this is possible, but taking off say 50-100 posts on their post-count number? Seeing as post count really shouldn't matter, lowering shouldn't have an effect. Just a silly suggestion, but I feel it couldn't hurt to voice it.

And since I wouldn't want to miss out on this discussion, I'm glad to see Cana is looking into the post-count raising issue. It's been an eminent problem for a while, especially in the Wolf Article threads. Sometimes younger users can't exactly post as large responses as other users. Part of me is glad to see they are at least interested in reading and attempting a response, even though the repetitive "Thanks for sharing!" does get bothersome. As for what I think it ought to say, Jay made a valid point. Not just a coherent sentence, but something that has structure, purpose, and is a more than just the bare minimum.

[Dark Hawk]

I don't really see the point in a post count honestly. Like Destiny said, it's just a number. It seems some people obsess about how many posts they have on Wolfquest, like it's some type of majorly big important thing. I also think people rely on post count when making packs. Sometimes it's annoying when you want to join a pack and you have only just joining the Wolfquest community and your reading through the rules when you see the rule about post count. It's understandable if the required post count is something simple like, eleven, ten or twelve, but honestly I think it would be better for packs not to have high post requirements, this could often cause people to Intentionally raise their post count, trying to meet that one pack's requirements.

Sometimes younger users can't exactly post as large responses as other users. Part of me is glad to see they are at least interested in reading and attempting a response, even though the repetitive "Thanks for sharing!" does get bothersome.

This is another good point. I, being a fairly young user find it difficult to make lengthy posts at times. I never intentionally try to raise my post count but sometimes It may seem like that. But usually when I can't really think of much to post I read the topic, then leave it alone. If I don't have anything to say about it, I don't find the need to post on it.

As for the general problem of Intentionally raising post counts, I can't exactly think of any ideas. Failwolf56 had a good suggestion, and maybe even just eliminate post count in all? (if thats even possible..)That way members can't judge on post count and this most likely wont be a problem.

[Koa]

This is not a complete thought. Yet, it is a complete sentence. It has a subject. Then it has a predicate. Which is a verb and a noun. Though look at this. 

"I like wolves a lot because they are intelligent."

Now, this is a complete thought. It answers more questions.

...to me, that post still is not enough for General Wolf Discussion. I know that was an example, but I don't want people to get the wrong impression. It's basically the same as the "Wolves are such beautiful and magnificent creatures" bandwagon posts I see all the time. Granted, most people are expressing their true opinion in that respect, but I still do not deem that as constructive as some posts [where users have put in effort] in that particular forum. This goes for the wildlife/canid discussion topics as well. [and in general, any discussion thread]

Let's take the sentence again.

"Wolves are intelligent."

You tell us what, but not why. A 'complete thought' can be anything - "Wolves are intelligent," to a simple question. It may not be a sufficient 'complete thought,' but it is still a thought.

Food for thought - "people don't buy what you do, they buy why you do it." That is more of the problem rather than people not having complete thoughts. The complete thoughts are there in the posts, but they fail to tell us what we want to hear - why. The "why" part of it does not have to be two plus paragraphs explaining the logistics behind your post, but my point is at least have some meaning.

[Overcast]

Let's take the sentence again.

"Wolves are intelligent."

You tell us what, but not why. A 'complete thought' can be anything - "Wolves are intelligent," to a simple question. It may not be a sufficient 'complete thought,' but it is still a thought.

I will not offer my opinion just yet on this issue, but I would like to point out for clarity's sake that you critically modify Jaymist's scentence in your post, Koa. The why of his actual scentence,

"I like wolves a lot because they are intelligent."

was that he likes wolves because they are intelligent.

The motive of his scentence was not why wolves are intelligent. It was why he or she likes them.

I have no comments reguarding the rest of your post--I just wanted that error to be clear. Unless it was not an error, and done intentionally. In that case, this whole post can be ignored .