Request: Report LB for abuse
| LB wrote: |
|---|
| Outside of the lounge, writing "I never knew that. I'll have to make note of it and try it out." is a post I would consider spam, as it does nothing to contribute to the thread (unless someone was correcting you on a previous post and you are thus accepting the correction). It's sort of like stack overflow's policy of not writing "thanks!" or "me too!". |
My main point was that you remove post counts in the Lounge, the ones that are just wanting to pad their posts will find a way to do it in the other boards. Implementing a rule like Stack Overflow would require this site to have several moderators who can be ready to edit or delete posts any time of the day. Then you run the risk of having to trust someone not to turn troll themselves and start deleting or editing posts they disagree with.
Thought, communities ran by a single person is dangerous because I know of two where both admins would tell you not to do something, but would let those they liked and they themselves would do what they tell other members not to do.
Last edited on
| BHX wrote: |
|---|
| the ones that are just wanting to pad their posts will find a way to do it in the other boards. |
I don't think there are any such people on these boards. No sense in worrying about something that isn't a problem.
@Disch
According to Catfish666 and cire that is what me, lumpkin, and devon do. I just reply to topics with my opinion, but apparently it is interpreted as me padding my post count.
Honestly, twicker is more than welcome to lock my post count to 1 or even 0 because I don't need a post count to tell me I'm a veteran of the site or to tell me I am an experienced programmer after 19 years.
According to Catfish666 and cire that is what me, lumpkin, and devon do. I just reply to topics with my opinion, but apparently it is interpreted as me padding my post count.
Honestly, twicker is more than welcome to lock my post count to 1 or even 0 because I don't need a post count to tell me I'm a veteran of the site or to tell me I am an experienced programmer after 19 years.
Last edited on
People with experience know that post count correlates with nothing useful.
Newbies don't. Big post counts are scary, and imply (whether correctly or not) all kinds of stuff that it shouldn't.
Still, I think this is a lot to do about nothing...
Newbies don't. Big post counts are scary, and imply (whether correctly or not) all kinds of stuff that it shouldn't.
Still, I think this is a lot to do about nothing...
@BHX I have not seen any of your posts as inflationary, not even on your closed account.
Last edited on
| BHX Specter wrote: |
|---|
| According to Catfish666 and cire that is what me, lumpkin, and devon do. I just reply to topics with my opinion, but apparently it is interpreted as me padding my post count. |
I don't recall expressing that opinion. Perhaps you can point it out to me.
On the other hand, with threads such as these, I do recall saying something to the effect of "Who cares what the opinions of lounge bunnies are?" It irks me that people who post primarily in the lounge think they have an equally vested interest in this site as the folks who primarily help answer questions and... actually contribute.
I don't care enough about post counts and what they may imply to the uninitiated to have an opinion on this subject. As far as I'm aware, it isn't a problem. Inaccurate information posted on the programming boards has a tendency to be corrected.
| BHX Specter wrote: |
|---|
| According to Catfish666 and cire that is what me, lumpkin, and devon do. I just reply to topics with my opinion, but apparently it is interpreted as me padding my post count. |
The quotation, please? Help me remember, Thoth.
Also, my previous post in this thread was intended to be humorous, and if my suggestion were to be implemented I'd immediately create a Catfish account to reach -666 posts. So I'm not really being serious about any of this.
I agree, not counting Lounge posts or separating them in some way is a good idea.
There are some other features that might be somewhat useful: reputation counts (with rules as to how often reputation can be given) and Useful Post counts. LinuxQuestions has these - I find them a more helpful indicator than post count.
Another idea is to be able to see percentages of posts on which board - if someone has 90% in the lounge then others can draw whatever conclusion from that as they may.
Also, there could be separation of questions asked & answers provided - this would weed out those that have a high post count from asking lots of questions.
A combination of all these things might give a clearer idea of the quality of advice.
But post count by itself is not always a good indicator of experience / knowledge. Imagine if Cubbi (or another expert member) joined another site under a different name - should they be viewed negatively? IMO of course not, but what does count for a lot is the quality of their advice.
Off Topic: I wonder if the name of the "General Programming" board could be changed to "Advanced Programming". Most of us intuitively understand that the General board is not supposed to be for Beginners, but that may not be the case for everyone: They think that General means for any type of programming.
With postings about other languages in the Lounge, I imagine that twicker is unwilling to create a new Board for them, because this is a C++ site. Members could just post their Java or Python questions say, on the programming boards.
There are some other features that might be somewhat useful: reputation counts (with rules as to how often reputation can be given) and Useful Post counts. LinuxQuestions has these - I find them a more helpful indicator than post count.
Another idea is to be able to see percentages of posts on which board - if someone has 90% in the lounge then others can draw whatever conclusion from that as they may.
Also, there could be separation of questions asked & answers provided - this would weed out those that have a high post count from asking lots of questions.
A combination of all these things might give a clearer idea of the quality of advice.
But post count by itself is not always a good indicator of experience / knowledge. Imagine if Cubbi (or another expert member) joined another site under a different name - should they be viewed negatively? IMO of course not, but what does count for a lot is the quality of their advice.
Off Topic: I wonder if the name of the "General Programming" board could be changed to "Advanced Programming". Most of us intuitively understand that the General board is not supposed to be for Beginners, but that may not be the case for everyone: They think that General means for any type of programming.
With postings about other languages in the Lounge, I imagine that twicker is unwilling to create a new Board for them, because this is a C++ site. Members could just post their Java or Python questions say, on the programming boards.
I think it's a mountain out of a molehill situation here.
Either way, the poster will get their answer. If perchance someone gives a bad solution, another member will usually intervene and correct, irrespective of post counts. The overall goal is to help people here, is it not?
Either way, the poster will get their answer. If perchance someone gives a bad solution, another member will usually intervene and correct, irrespective of post counts. The overall goal is to help people here, is it not?
| I don't think people are intentionally inflating their post counts to seem more credible. I see very little evidence of that happening on these boards. [...] Lounge posts tend to be non-technical.... yet post count in other boards is seen as a gauge in technical knowledge. So Lounge posts artificially make a user seem more credible. The difference is.... I don't think that's intentional on the part of the poster. I think it's just a byproduct. Of course I think we can all agree that, post count is not an ideal gauge... but it currently is the only immediate gauge for newbies. |
I support the suggestion, but won't mind if it won't be done.
closed account (G30oGNh0)
| I think it's a mountain out of a molehill situation here. Either way, the poster will get their answer. If perchance someone gives a bad solution, another member will usually intervene and correct, irrespective of post counts. The overall goal is to help people here, is it not? |
Agreed.
It's like their competing in beauty pageant.
Edit:
I have a low post count, don't listen to me.
Last edited on
Nobody is making a mountain out of a mole hill or saying not to listen to people with a low post count or to only trust people with a high post count. I am saying that even experienced users have an unintended habit of subconsciously considering post count.
I don't really see why there is so much opposition to not counting posts in the lounge if people don't think it matters.
I don't really see why there is so much opposition to not counting posts in the lounge if people don't think it matters.
@LB
I agree with you. Post count or other means like rating and badges does contribute to the overall perception of knowledge when it comes to forums. Yes your post count doesn't always reflect what your knowledge is, but the fact of the matter is most beginners or even veterans perceive a higher post count to come with more weight.
If someone on this forum asks a question and two members answer but give completely contradicting answers. One member has a quite high post count like Disch while the other is fairly new and has almost no posts. You might try and deny it but ultimately the post from the high post count member will carry more weight.
So we might try and deny it but post count does contribute to the perception of knowledge. A high post count usually means (There are fringe cases like with people who post all the time in the lounge) they have been helping others out for quite awhile and probably have a good deal of experience.
Also just another thought and don't mean to hijack the thread but I would also maybe suggest opening up all the members previous posts instead of just the last five which I noticed is happening now.
I agree with you. Post count or other means like rating and badges does contribute to the overall perception of knowledge when it comes to forums. Yes your post count doesn't always reflect what your knowledge is, but the fact of the matter is most beginners or even veterans perceive a higher post count to come with more weight.
If someone on this forum asks a question and two members answer but give completely contradicting answers. One member has a quite high post count like Disch while the other is fairly new and has almost no posts. You might try and deny it but ultimately the post from the high post count member will carry more weight.
So we might try and deny it but post count does contribute to the perception of knowledge. A high post count usually means (There are fringe cases like with people who post all the time in the lounge) they have been helping others out for quite awhile and probably have a good deal of experience.
Also just another thought and don't mean to hijack the thread but I would also maybe suggest opening up all the members previous posts instead of just the last five which I noticed is happening now.
closed account (G30oGNh0)
As perception and credibility means so much, why not a feedback system instead, like eBay with it's +/- or PirateBay with it's coloured skulls for trusted users and a final example would be titles next to someone's user (Newbie, Hobby coder, God Like) depending on experience.
A step further would be if people wanted to post answers to problems one would have to take a test/exam, not only would it help people's learning experience (Get them to learn the material for this mini exam), but it would filter out who can post answers in different boards.
Little to no experience can only ask questions.
First exam passed, first title/coloured badge or w.e, can answer questions on the newbie board. Can ask questions on the next board.
And so on and so forth, just thinking about that got me excited for some reason, if there's something to earn I want it, I'd want to try and get all the titles/colours.
A post count is exactly that, a post count. It should not be used to show off someone's intelligence...
People saying that noobs would see post counts as credibility, I have to disagree. I was/am still a noob to this website, I didn't see a post count as credibility to how good someone were at coding, but people who took action and gave solutions, not people talking. Politicians talk all the time, do you trust them?
A step further would be if people wanted to post answers to problems one would have to take a test/exam, not only would it help people's learning experience (Get them to learn the material for this mini exam), but it would filter out who can post answers in different boards.
Little to no experience can only ask questions.
First exam passed, first title/coloured badge or w.e, can answer questions on the newbie board. Can ask questions on the next board.
And so on and so forth, just thinking about that got me excited for some reason, if there's something to earn I want it, I'd want to try and get all the titles/colours.
A post count is exactly that, a post count. It should not be used to show off someone's intelligence...
People saying that noobs would see post counts as credibility, I have to disagree. I was/am still a noob to this website, I didn't see a post count as credibility to how good someone were at coding, but people who took action and gave solutions, not people talking. Politicians talk all the time, do you trust them?
| People saying that noobs would see post counts as credibility, I have to disagree. I was/am still a noob to this website, I didn't see a post count as credibility to how good someone were at coding, but people who took action and gave solutions, not people talking. Politicians talk all the time, do you trust them? |
I would have to say you would be in the minority then. Because I would say most people perceive a higher post count means that the credibility of that answer generally will be higher then those with a lower post count.
I know many people like to act that post count means nothing, which is true in a purely logical world. But do we live in a purely logical world?
As for the the comparison to politicians that is like comparing oranges and apples. It just isn't the same thing.
@Catfish666 @cire
You have never said it directly and I never said you did, but it is implied because you keep clumping me with devon and/or lumpkin who both have been told their posts have no point, substance, or contribute nothing to the conversations (spam). I know lumpkin has really done better, but from what I have seen devon not so much.
I actually named myself BHX Specter Phoenix for the rebirth/resurrection, but after making it I got to thinking about phoenix omega and his antics and feared people would think I was giving a nod to him so I renamed it to just this.
You have never said it directly and I never said you did, but it is implied because you keep clumping me with devon and/or lumpkin who both have been told their posts have no point, substance, or contribute nothing to the conversations (spam). I know lumpkin has really done better, but from what I have seen devon not so much.
| Catfish666 wrote: |
|---|
| Mwhuahaha. *looks at BHX resurrected* |
I actually named myself BHX Specter Phoenix for the rebirth/resurrection, but after making it I got to thinking about phoenix omega and his antics and feared people would think I was giving a nod to him so I renamed it to just this.
| but it is implied because you keep clumping me with devon and/or lumpkin who both have been told their posts have no point, substance, or contribute nothing to the conversations (spam). |
The only way that is "implied" is if you make the assumption that post count means something to me. It does not. Those same posts say that I believe the signal to noise ratio is important (and those no-content posts decrease it.) They say nothing about users' post counts.
| cire wrote: |
|---|
| Inaccurate information posted on the programming boards has a tendency to be corrected. |