Hi, i just noticed that on my pc, the titles have disappered for all users on this bbs? What happened?

Thanks,
Oliver

From what I gather the BBS has been moved to another server.I have noticed that everyone's post count and user title has disappeared, also. I think the two might be related.

They are most likely moving the database. At the very least I'm sure it's backed up somewhere. I doubt it's been lost.

coool, yeah i just did a traceroute on empeg.comms.net and indeed it does point to a new server. So there are probally a few people working in getting everything running back up to par as i speak

Yep as you guessed, the change occured when it was moved. I intentionally hacked the code to take them out, as it has been the source of a few "junk" posts. Not many, but no need to really have them there.

Let me know if you notice any odd problems. I had tested it a bit before the official move, and it seemed fine.

Just wanted to say that I totally agree with Tom on this one. Things like voting and ranking often become a source of hurt feelings on bulletin boards. We're a close-knit community that doesn't need that kind of thing happening.

...besides; I think we all know who the top-10 posters are:)
-mark

Hmm.. I guess I missed those posts. I won't bother looking for them either. Post count is irrelevant, but it is nice seeing how long someone has been around. I mean, just because one of us may have more posts than Hugo, I'm not going to disregard his comments. hehe

I still kept the registered on counter in place, so thats still viewable by pulling up the user profile in question. Post counts are irrelevant, and it became clearer to me having raw database access. We have many people who visit the site here quite often, but never post. Branding these people "newbie" just dosen't seem right.

Hell, I'm half tempted to strip the red out of my name...

I don't think the titles were useful, but I liked the post counts. I never noticed junk posting before, so I'm not sure where you're getting that. It sort of just seems a little empty over there.

Can you put the post counts back into profiles and the user list? It can be interesting to see sometimes. I often use them to show other people how great it was that people involved in the empeg organization were some of the most involved people. I have really no way of showing that anymore.

Naw, keep your red. You earned it. hehe. But I do know what you mean.. there are some people around here that I seem to remember from way back.. but when they post it is as a newbie and, just as you said, it's a little odd.

Maybe we can get to put country of origin or whatever info people want to share? I'm one of those dorks that still gets a kick out the fact I chat with people from around the world about our in-common mp3 player.

I don't know, it's not like I'm totally opposed to what you guys decided on, but I'm a tad concerned that you guys just decided on it and that was it. Nobody got a say. I thought recent events had shown us that this was a real community board, and we were even prepared to pay for this server change, which would have meant that we all sort of owned a piece of it. That's how I feel anyway. I don't think I have a right or anything, but I think the board as a whole should have a chance to express their opinions.

Again, I didn't think the titles were necessary, and I would have probably voted to remove them as well, but I was a tad taken aback when you guys just decided to take it out without any notice. I hope we'll be informed of any changes in the future. That's all

I never noticed junk posting before,

not even one ?

I never noticed junk posting before,

maybe you should check the FAQ ?

Okay, yeah, I have, but I've definitely never seen it to an extent that it was of any concern!

Then again, I had racked up so many new posts in the General forum that I had stopped reading it for a long while. I didn't read any of the posts that were made during the big surge of new members. Maybe I just didn't see how big a problem it was...

1.1

I agree! Some sort of info should be added to take the counts place. Home Country, field of work experience, maybe even a self proclaimed list of titles like the counts used.

They didn't even discuss it in the Moderator forum. There must be an elite Administrator forum that us mere mortals can only dream about.

I liked the titles. And the post counts. Pah.

Rob

Oh, and I'm not sure how I feel about the BBS being in America now either. There's a definite pattern emerging in my life

Rob

Oh, and I'm not sure how I feel about the BBS being in America now either

Simple solution, hire me, and pay my way to move over to the UK. I wouldn't mind at all, and getting out of this nation might be nice. Though I'd somehow have to convince the server owner to allow me to relocate the box.

Out of curiosity, has the access speed changed much for you across the pond? Tony and I saw a speed boost when it was moved, and we aren't completly sure if it's the relocation, the lower amount of users on today, or the actual server.

Or the fact that some of the DNS stuff still isn't propogated and the number of people on has been temporarily reduced.

I agree. I liked the titles. It showed who the old timers were and those who were most likely to help out with a problem.

has the access speed changed much for you across the pond?

I'm not "across the pond"... but I am further away from you than Rob is.

I would estimate about a 10% increase in speed here in Alaska.

tanstaafl.

I was only 27 posts away from being an "Addict" I was kinda looking forward to changing my signature block down below...

I liked the titles as well, mainly because it indicated that you were around for a while and/or were really active on the board...

There have been a few rounds of junk posting here, I think you can guess who was doing it. Everyone here is very helpful and has a lot to offer the community. Everyone knows who is who. Why keep track of the number of posts?

Sean

Well, I liked being a ``Pooh-Bah''. Made me feel all Fred-Flintstone-y.

It looks a little odd, having the space where the user title used to be. So I have a suggestion:

In the name of egalitarianism, we should all just be labelled "comrade". How's that?

I don't know about other users in the UK but the speed of the BBS has increased dramatically. I'm on the BBC's network at the moment which has a 155 Meg link to Linx so most things are fairly fast. What spec of machine are we being hosted on now? and how does it compare with the system we were on?

I agree with Rob, I seem to be spending a disproportionate amount to time dealing with projects across the pond.

Oh, and I'm not sure how I feel about the BBS being in America now either.

What? Where was it before?

If anything, it seems faster than it used to be...

Peter

It was somewhere in Cheshire i think...

The BBS is at least as fast as it used to be.

Rob

Yup, I liked and miss the counts/titles very much, thanks.

Put 'em back up . They're part of what helps make us feel like we belong, a rather intangible bit of sticky paste that kept this (formerly?) close-knit community together.

I have noticed an improvement in speed.

They're part of what helps make us feel like we belong, a rather intangible bit of sticky paste that kept this (formerly?) close-knit community together.

I have precisely the opposite opinion.

When you're in a room with many close friends, it should not be necessary to wear name tags which denote an arbitrary and meaningless caste ranking. To do so is to add an additional distraction to what should otherwise be a normal relationship. It opens the opportunity for jealousy or envy in some people, or at the very least, hurt feelings.

No, we only feel that way towards Moderators.

Tony, I think you're taking a negative view of this. What evidence do you have that this is the problem our community faces? I've been here for over two years now, and I haven't seen the "ranks" and post counts be much of a problem. I've gone from a newbie to an old hand, and none of the time was I thinking that I had to reach the next step, nor was I jealous of someone like you, who's had more posts than the ranks counted for since I've been here!

I don't think they give us some sense of belonging. I do see how they can do what you are saying, Tony, but the point is that they weren't doing that. I thought they were nice secondary titles to show a little more info about someone. I guess that's all.

I've been here for over two years now, and I haven't seen the "ranks" and post counts be much of a problem.

I have seen numerous threads where people discussed their post counts and ranking, deliberately posted frivolous messages just to push them into the next rank, etc. I even think there have been threads with titles like "increasing my post count", or "yay I made it to journeyman". Considering how long you've been here, I can't believe you haven't seen these threads.

The worst example -- and I have seen this literally happening right before my eyes once and it really pissed me off -- is users who sit there and post/delete post/delete post/delete very quickly. The deletions do not detract from your post count, so this was one way to artificially increase your rank. The user I witnessed doing this in realtime got a single private message: "KNOCK IT OFF", and they did. But how many have done it when I wasn't watching?

This is terribly counterproductive and it is a distraction from the basic function of this BBS. I can envision other BBS's where it might be a fun and useful feature, but I don't think it does us any good.

The "I just made journeyman!" threads prove that people take pride in the titles.. I do agree that getting post counts up for post counts' sake is crap.

Either way, I support whatever decision. I just visit.

Ok, it seems we can't figure this out with words, so let's let the numbers do the talking :

I say put up a vote. I liked the titles too and think you guys are being way overconcerned about their meanings. It was good to know who's been around a while and who's more likely to know their stuff.

Blech, this board has gotted way TOO community oriented lately if you ask me. We aren't running a town here folks, it's just a message board.

you guys are being way overconcerned about their meanings.

I'm personally not concerned with the meanings of the titles. I'm only concerned with the observed behavior they cause in the BBS clientele. And, in practice, they have caused negative and counterproductive behavior in the BBS clientele.

Hmmm. Poll broken for anyone else?

Paul!!!

ya i think they should be back up, like when i was a newbie a few months back, the first perdon i saw was tony and the amount of post that he had, and i knew that was the guy to bug for things. From what i recall we generally never look down on a newbie, we just end up sending him to the FAQ.In other words i think you should put them back up or im going to organize a bb strike between me and some of the other members :-P jus kidding

The poll works fine for me.

Tony, yes I have seen those threads/posts, but they didn't concern me. Given the number of posts on the board, someone's little post about their title doesn't concern me. Plus, a lot of people would do that inside a regular post to a normal thread.

I also agree that the artificial post increases are stupid things to do, but they don't bother me directly.

I still think you're making way too much of the titles and counts, and the fact remains that a big part of the board was changed based on the decision of a few. I just thought that was weird.

From what i recall we generally never look down on a newbie, we just end up sending him to the FAQ.

And how much trouble do you have telling the newbies from the veterans, even without the rankings? I know I certainly don't need a post-count to tell who's a newbie. I just need to read the text of the post.

Using the post counts to determine expertise is like trying to determine who's the most intelligent person at a party by measuring who talks the loudest.

I clearly fall into that latter category. I sure talk a lot, and loudly, but a lot of what I spout is BS, in case you haven't noticed.

Some of the most interesting and intelligent discussions on this BBS have been by people with very low post counts.

This is terribly counterproductive and it is a distraction from the basic function of this BBS. I can envision other BBS's where it might be a fun and useful feature, but I don't think it does us any good.

Agreed. Aside from knowing who moderator/admins are, the rest just seems like a distraction. I mean, it's mildly amusing in some ways, but I just don't feel like I'm missing anything with it gone. The "I made X" posts didn't seem like they added much and if folks are looking to those labels to help them figure out who on the BBS is really, really smart, well, that's the wrong approach. Good grief! *I* made "Old Hand". that should say something!

I don't frequent many other BBSes, but can say that the few I've seen where the notion of "post whores" are borne out are nowhere near as interesting as this one. They can be downright garbagey (new adjective?)

Tony, Tom and others have put a lot of time and effort into this BBS. Even if I missed titles a decent bit, I think this is maybe a case where I'd let the folks with red and green names do what they see fit.

..and there I was thinking they were just a bit of fun!

Rob

Honestly, I'm having a hard time trying to express why I think we should keep the titles and post counts.

I don't think they're a good measure of people's intelligence or helpfulness. Hell, I had over 1500 posts and look at me!

I don't think they make us feel like we belong more or whatever was said earlier.

I also understand all of what Tony is saying except that I think our board has significantly less of what he thinks is caused by the titles and counts.

So why am I upset that they were taken away? personally, they're rather frivolous, I suppose. For one, you have to admit, it looks quite empty over there. If it weren't for avatars, it would be boring as hell. *edit* I can't imagine what it must look like for people who don't show the avatars *edit* The other is as I said already, I liked showing people how involved the company was in helping people with their product. I would be like "okay I'm going to sort the user lists by post count. see the second and third most posts? they work for empeg!" That wowed a lot of people!

Lastly, as I keep saying, I was a little suprised by the sudden decision made by very few people. I agree with you, Jim. I think it's great how much time they put into the board, but it was a tad unsettling that they made a big change like that.

Oh well. I guess it won't be coming back anyway. Can we just request that in the future we'll be informed of what some of your plans are? Then again, that's a little like the Mark 2 faceplate design announcement, if you know what I mean... argh. whatever.

Can we at least think of something we might add to that boring cell now that the info is gone?

well either way im heading over to the wish board to make a wish, hint hint.

I think this is maybe a case where I'd let the folks with red and green names do what they see fit.

There is even some division among the reds and greens. Rob likes the rankings.

I do have another comment to add on this topic...

Everyone says "I like the rankings, bring them back", but besides just "liking" them, can anyone give any sort of a reason that the rankings are genuinely useful and serve an important function that outweighs their drawbacks?


I see the following advantages:

- Can tell who posts the most, which is a vague indicator as to whether or not they might remotely know what they are talking about. However, this can be inferred from the way that they "speak" and the information they supply more reliably than the postcount.

- Can tell who posts the least, which is a vague indicator as to whether or not they are a newbie. However, this can also be inferred from the text.

- Is mildly amusing.


However, I see the following disadvantages, which I think outweigh the advantages:

- Causes some people to attempt to increase their postcount artificially, which is annoying and misleading.

- Causes the signal-to-noise ratio on the BBS to decrease because of the postcount-increaser messages.

- Resulted in at least one creation of an auto-posting "bot" which was a serious problem.

- Has made some people feel inferior and desire to not be known as a "newbie" (this was expressed specifically in some posts).

I'd like country of origin if people want to share that... I love that we have owners spread across the globe. Also, many car sites allow for "type of car" and "color".. how about "type and quantity of empeg's" and "lens color" or "owner since DD/MM/YY" ? Just tossing ideas out there, not really voting for one or another..

I always liked how Bruno had the Canadian flag in his avatar...

- Resulted in at least one creation of an auto-posting "bot" which was a serious problem.

Wow! Missed that one. How many bots have we had, other than the statistics one?

Lastly, as I keep saying, I was a little suprised by the sudden decision made by very few people. I agree with you, Jim. I think it's great how much time they put into the board, but it was a tad unsettling that they made a big change like that.

This actually wasn't intentional. I had expected the move to occur a week or two down the road, so I played with the code Paul had sent to test it out. I discussed the idea with Tony, and had played with it on the test site. The next morning, Paul decided to do the move, and we did it. Complete with the code that has the titles hidden. There wasn't a chance to discuss it fully, and I decided to just keep it there for now, expecting a thread like this to start.

I'm really split over what to do on this. I realise the importance of the community voice. It's why RioCar.Org exists, and so many other things. On the other hand, I am now directly responsible for keeping the BBS alive on a technical side. If people post and delete, it unnecessarly stresses the database and creates preformance issues. I am not opposed to putting something else over on the side of each post, since right now it wouldn't impact preformance. Maybe the registered on date, or one of the extra profile fields (theres one more left after I added AIM, MSN and Yahoo fields).

If someone is going to get banned for a 5 post bot, why not at least a 2 day suspension from posting for posting/deleting etc...

Many BBS's have a max posts per time fame limit too..

I just wanted to add that I don't care one way or another about the titles... country of origin sounds pretty cool though.

oh, and POSTCOUNT ++!

Okay Tom, I'm allright with it now. I just wanted someone to address it. Thanks!

And yeah, I think there's been some good ideas of things to put over there. Perhaps there's a way we could put pretty much anything we wanted over there? Maybe make up our own non-post count related titles? We can make up our own humorous titles. You could make it that last field in the profile menu, and we could fill it in with whatever we want.

At the very least, can I request that we be allowed to see our own post counts? Like in "My Home"? I like being able to see how much of my time has been spent wasting away on this message board Wouldn't that be a fair comprimise?

why not at least a 2 day suspension from posting for posting/deleting etc...

Because the person I caught doing it was an otherwise valuable contributor to the forum. When I caught them the were very surprised and embarassed by it. I didn't need to do anything other than tell them that I noticed that they were doing it.

This is another reason I think the rankings are counterproductive. Someone did this who was, in all other aspects, a valuable contributor.

So what does that say about the post counts? To me, it says that even the best of us can be corrupted by that sort of thing. Any time you attach a "score" to something, it becomes competitive. And any time you have a competition, you are going to have losers and winners, as well as cheaters. Also, anywhere there are losers, there are people with hurt feelings.

Imagine if I told you that my post count was so high because I'd artificially increased it by doing the post/delete thing. I didn't do that, but what if I had? You'd instantly lose any remaining shreds of respect for me that you might have had, and the entire postcount ranking system would be useless. So tell me again, how useful are the post counts?

Sounds like an issolated event if it was one person one time.

But why am I bumping this thread! :P I don't really care and I'm more excited about being able to but other content in its place.

I just don't like when people have WAY too much freedom in those viewable profiles.. maybe selectable ones?

Sounds like an issolated event if it was one person one time.

It was not an isolated event. There have been others who've done this that I've seen, and I'm sure a certain number of others who I haven't seen. The event I described was the only time I witnessed it happening in real-time and was able to send a private message to that user and get an immediate reply.

Everyone says "I like the rankings, bring them back", but besides just "liking" them, can anyone give any sort of a reason that the rankings are genuinely useful and serve an important function that outweighs their drawbacks?

Well for one it would shut all of us up , and for 2 by not having them its taking away from our valuable chat about our machine that we have kinda put aside over the bbs change the last few days.

Without them it seems kinda dull, and we managed to get this far with them over the years how is taking them away going to make anything better? Its just like in the real world, some people are higher up than others, and its just something you gotta deal with and if your around long enough you get promoted to a higher ranking just like a job, Without them it seems like we are all drones, and personally it kinda make the board feel communism like. I dunno its jsut weird to have something then all of a sudden get it taken away from you.

Tony, did you take a look at my suggestions in my last post, I think they're pretty good myself...

If it weren't for avatars, it would be boring as hell.

/Bing!

Animated GIF avatar template with dynamic, self-reported post count. Think Superman or something with "1831" flashing on his chest!

(edit: all that follows)

Ah, teach me to read all the way down to realize somebody already had the same Uber-avator idea....but how long would they take to load??

And: I agree with you, Jim. I think it's great how much time they put into the board, but it was a tad unsettling that they made a big change like that.

I guess. I appreciate that a big change is a matter of individual valuation. I think mostly what I was focusing on was that "Wham!" BBS near-instantly relocated and it is very close to what it was before the move.

I don't see this as a "battle", but I do view in terms of a "pick your battle" frame of reference. The change just isn't one I could get excited about one way or another, but that's just me.

Side note: I see on another BBS (www.rallyforum.com) that they do have little animated national flags. One some level, I almost feel like that wouldn't really be a good fit here -- it's more interesting to have figured out over time where people are coming from both literally and figuratively, but that other BBS, whatever it's other faults, really seems like one where the little flags fit in as people take up their partisan debates over whether Driver X will kitt butt or what on the Finns!

Oh, heck another stray thought: There had been posts lately about longest thread/s, but has there ever been a discussion of the *highest-velocity* threads?

(double edit: I guess I meant the highest *acceleration* threads.)

Im with rob on this one i thought it was just a bit of fun.

My girlfriend thinks they are a measure of sadness and was amazed to discover there was 23 people sadder than me

There is even some division among the reds and greens. Rob likes the rankings.

Yes, I saw. See, that's *another* reason I'm leaning toward a major cop-out:

"You red and green folks fight it over and let us know how it turns out!"

ya it gives us nobodys something to feel good about, you red and greeners are abusing your power, by taking something away from the people.

you red and greeners are abusing your power, by taking something away from the people

You mean "taking something away from the *little* people". Where is Homer Stokes when the BBS needs him??

Well, let them eat cake.

Well, let them eat cake.

Somebody mentioned "communism" earlier because of trying to equalize everyone and I was thinking the same thing. . . of course that's probably only because I'm 3/4 of the way through "Atlas Shrugged" and everything looks like communism after reading about 30 of Rand's sermons on the subject.

Seriously, I personally don't care one way or the other about titles, I'm just glad to be a member of this BBS.

Reminds me of a fantastic moment in last week's Car Talk.

One of the callers was having trouble with the blower motor relay in his car. He couldn't get the A/C to work unless he opened the hood and thwacked the blower motor relay. Despite having replaced the relay three times.

Tom and Ray suggested that it might not have been the relay at all, and that he might have had a bad fan switch in his dashboard. They suggested, instead of opening the hood, taking off his shoe and thwacking the dashboard.

At that point they were already joking about the mystical aspects of his problem (maybe just opening the hood and looking at it would be enough), so he asked them if there were any magical chants he should say while thwacking the dashboard with his shoe.

Barely able to speak through is laughter, Ray told him that he should say "we will bury you!"

Ooo, two obscure historical references in the same thread. It's the Seventh Sign!

Damn, that's three.

One post if by land, two if by sea.

-Z

Hell, if it's just post-and-delete that's bugging the two of you, then simply add a line to the code to decrement the postcount on each deletion. Very simple. Duh!!

It's not the post-count-deletion bug specifically. It's the principle of the thing. If the rankings are causing this kind of competitive behavior in our BBS clientele, then they have ceased to be amusing and are now the source of a competitive attitude. The last thing we want is competitive attitudes here.

"The last thing we want is competitive attitudes here. "

. . . As Ayn Rand rolls over in her grave . . .

Sorry, I couldn't resist!

Damn Randroids....

Randroids

Oooo, I like that one. I'm gonna have to remember that.

'Specially considering I'm a Rush fan...

I realized a little too late that I should probably have held my tongue considering your musical proclivities and the ``philosophical'' proclivities of a certain drum-beating lyricist (not Phil Collins).

Au contraire, the thing we all least want are autocratic sysadmins removing/disabling things on a whim that the majority would prefer to keep.

Just because you have grown tired of post counts/titles, doesn't mean the rest of us have.

-ml

Don't get me wrong. First of all, he denies he's a Randroid at every opportunity. He just happens to quote and reference Rand occasionaly in his lyrics and some of his political views align with hers. But he also references many other authors in his lyrics, including Hemingway, so that's nothing special. Second of all, I don't always agree with what Neil says just because it was him saying it.

I've personally never read any Rand. Okay, I take that back, I tried reading "Anthem" when I was in high school, but just didn't enjoy it enough to finish it.

And do keep in mind, that "competitive attitudes" have been VERY GOOD for the community. They're the reason we have Hijack and JEmplode, and perhaps part of the reason for the player software folks working hard to keep up with us on some new features.

Competition is not evil. Arbitrary heavy-handed suppression of a harmless "reward" system is evil.

Here, I'll spell it out for you: Hijack would not have existed were it not for "post counts/titles". Initially, I dreamt it up as an excuse to post frequently enough to get into the mid-tiers of titles. That was a good thing, I believe. And it (was) one of the things that kept me coming back here regularly.

Cheers

I know, but I've known a preponderance of Rush fans who were also Randroids, and I usually make the assumption that they equate in some way. Probably just my experience.

BTW, I saw the word ``autocratic'' in Mark's post above and thought he was responding about Rand. Hah. (I don't like her. Can you tell?)

Well I am enjoying Atlas Shrugged even though I disagree with her a great deal. It exercises my mind (and my patients as I wade through the "sermons") and actually is an intriguing, if overlong, story.

I also disagree with Peart a lot, though I repect his ability to frame his beliefs into songs. I haven’t read Anthem, but after Atlas Shrugged I'm pretty sure I won't need to read anymore of her stuff, its pretty clear what she's about.

Sigh. Turn the damn things back on. I don't think anyone has a strong feeling that they should be kept off (except Tony F.), but there seem to be a large number that want them on. Personally, I couldn't care less, but I want this thread to end.

Barely able to speak through is laughter, Ray told him that he should say "we will bury you!"

Damn, I missed it! Where was I???? (uh, working dammit)

Y'know, as funny as I probably would have found that, I almost feel it's funnier reading it. The Tom and Ray lead-in and all. Great work.

simply add a line to the code to decrement the postcount on each deletion

No, no, that's no good. It doesn't give negative reinforcement. The correct way to do it is to decrement the post count by 2 on each deletion.

pca

And do keep in mind, that "competitive attitudes" have been VERY GOOD for the community. They're the reason we have Hijack and JEmplode, and perhaps part of the reason for the player software folks working hard to keep up with us on some new features.

Well, dang! I thought you were into it for the adoration of this fine community (since many or most of us wouldn't stand a chance in a mano-a-mano kernel duel! I wouldn't have imagined that competition was at the root of HiJack).

Or maybe your're competing with a select subset and the adoration is superfluous??

Well, everybody -- all normals -- stop with the adoration! It's time for a major rethink on the 2002 BBS Motivation Master Plan!! Let's discuss this on the weekly BMMP conference call!

/me pulling K&R off the shelf...getting depressed

agree with mark "competitive attitudes" is why and how things get done, its to impress the people on the board, if it wasnt for that i wouldnt care so much and work so fast to make the other members happy by either making logos for them, or if i was a programmer like mark making hijack updates, its to impress people, its human nature. Besides majorty rules here, and im readt to go on strike.

Strike Strike Strike!!!


Damn... we really have nothing better to do... do we. I'm going to punch myself in the face for even posting in this thread again.

In the name of egalitarianism, we should all just be labelled "comrade". How's that?

Or perhaps "Citizen".

Reminds me of what I commented to Hugo a while back, something along the lines that the empeg didn't make us rich, but at least we started a cult.

Actually, thinking about it, all we need is two titles, "Us" and "Them". That's the way governments do it, after all. Then, all we need to do is decide who falls into either category.

I nominate anyone who designed the empeg hardware for "Us"

pca

Yeah. And bonus subtractions if a user starts a thread that eventually grows large enough to set a BBS record for views and/or posts, too!!

we should all just be labelled "comrade". How's that?

"Schvimvare!!!............Eeeeveningvare!!!!!

I knew we should have gone for an Official BBS all those years ago. We'd have no problems at all right now if I were the undisputed master of everything!

*sigh*

Yeah. And bonus subtractions if a user starts a thread that eventually grows large enough to set a BBS record for views and/or posts, too!!

No, in that case, the total post count of the winning thread should be added to the originator of that thread. It's only fair, after all.

pca

the empeg didn't make us rich, but at least we started a cult

That is hilarious

I am for post counts in the profiles. I could care less about the ranks. Personally, I never thought "newbie" should be the 2nd level. It also shouldn't have lasted for 50 posts.

Au contraire, the thing we all least want are autocratic sysadmins removing/disabling things on a whim that the majority would prefer to keep.

Absolutely Mark, if people went around doing that sort of thing then we could lose really valued resources until those people calmed down a bit a few days later!



Rob

Here, I'll spell it out for you: Hijack would not have existed were it not for "post counts/titles". Initially, I dreamt it up as an excuse to post frequently enough to get into the mid-tiers of titles.

I don't believe you.

Au contraire

Apologies in advance, reminds me of:
Meh oui (Sic). Rodders, mark my words my son, by this time next year we'll be millionaires, just you watch.

I don't think anyone has a strong feeling that they should be kept off (except Tony F.), but there seem to be a large number that want them on.

Okay, fair enough. I think I've made my opinion and the reasoning behind that opinion clear enough so that if anyone was not swayed by it, there's nothing else I can say about the subject. Tom was the one who implemented it in the first place, so if he wants to put it back the way it was, he can just go ahead and do so.

But I reserve the right to be extra mean to any obvious postcount-whores I come across.

I think, we should also have a standard avatar for each user too. It's not fair that some people have prettier pictures than others and it might create resentment and jealousy. Perhaps we could use:

In reply to:

---

- Resulted in at least one creation of an auto-posting "bot" which was a serious problem.

---

I hope you weren't refering to me, cause that had nothing to do with post counts.

You know, I almost feel obliged to wade into this one myself, but I have to say that I don't really care either way - I've been loitering around here for almost two years, and in that time I've made less than fifty posts (and five or so of those have been within the last couple of weeks, for no adequately explored reason). There was a mild feeling of gratification when I moved on from Newbie a month or two back, but I have to agree with the sentiments that it doesn't take long hanging around here to figure out a) who the big posters are, and b) who knows what they're talking about.

I don't know why I even bothered saying all this, given my post won't even count for anything...

Bryan.
(Retreating back into his corner, where he watches in inscrutable silence, except for occasional and not terribly useful outbursts...)

but I have to agree with the sentiments that it doesn't take long hanging around here to figure out a) who the big posters are, and b) who knows what they're talking about.

And more importantly, c) that a and b are not necessarily the same.

Hey, you're back. So what about my suggestion?

the empeg didn't make us rich, but at least we started a cult

Well Hugo had better keep that KoolAid the heck away from me,
or I'll stop donning the purple cape and black Nikes that
Patrick and Rob have asked me to wear!

This coming from a guy with a red name

I usually agree with the FAQ Master, but not this time. I vote for the titles, and yes I was one of the ones that responded to the threads regarding post counts, but I only did it once in my 65 posts. I had been on the BBS for 5 months and I was still a stranger, so 64 of my posts were legitimate.

This coming from a guy with a red name

I'll have to see if Tom can hack the colors out of the names...

Then we can all be equal and everyone can have an equal share. The workers control the means of production....

It was a good suggestion and there were many other good suggestions, but I think I'm just gonna take a break from the BBS for a while. It takes up too much of my time anyway.

i like DiGNAN17's idea of making up your own title

In reply to:

---

You could make it that last field in the profile menu, and we could fill it in with whatever we want.

---

as long as it is within reason cause i can see people naming themselves things like "the schiznit" or "pimp-o-da-year" hopefully people will get creative and use names that only geeks will love, like "yogurt the magnificent", or "yogurt the wise", or "just plain yogurt"

An official forum lurkers opinion:

Post counts and title are irrelevant and distracting. The ability to set your own title might be fun but not required.

I'll drift back into the fog of obscurity now....

Speedy

ya i would totally go for that to get something over on the left, and have the post count itself in the profile

... "just plain yogurt"

Industrial strength hair dryers?
Instant previews?
Jamming radars?
Lord Helmet?

Sheeesh, that is definitively my favourite SciFi parody.

cu,
sven

yea same here dude, i agree, I visit quite regularly, but not post, I was like on 'member' for 8 months or something

Jai

Thanks Drakino for the comment, I have been viewing the board for some time now, yes I may be a "newbie/stranger" to the board. I seldom post, but have seen many of the different situations in the field that some of the users come across. All in all, you guys keep up the great work, and thanks for keeping the board going with the move to the new server. I did sort of like the captions that the names had on here, lets you know who is posting real info in the subject so to speak and not missleading.
Thanks again
Rob

Count me among those mildly disappointed that the titles disappeared,
but more than mildly disappointed that it happened by fiat.

Yes, it was annoying that those who had restrained and measured posting styles, dispensing their wisdom only when appropriate, could have lowly titles
in our little community; similarly, those whose mouths spewed fountains of crap due to their boredom and copious free time could achive more exalted standing in our strange little hierarchy.

Nonetheless, I liked the "pooh-bahs" and "oldhands" and, yes, even used them as a first order filter on credibility. But give me some credit, I could distinguish between those whose posting history consisted more of "look at this cool picture of my new gerbil" versus those whose prior post topics included "ioctl patch for FFT stereo separation enhancement modulation reboot issue."

Ironically, I was somewhat looking forward to the post which would bring me from the rank of "pathetic stranger" to "foolish newbie."

As this is that very post, and I am now allowed to choose my own title, you may now promote me
from the standing of "peasant serf" to that of "Supreme Galactic Overlord."

You may, however, address me as "Your Imperial Majesty" if it is more convenient.

as long as it is within reason cause i can see people naming themselves things like "the schiznit" or "pimp-o-da-year" hopefully people will get creative and use names that only geeks will love, like "yogurt the magnificent", or "yogurt the wise", or "just plain yogurt"

That's exactly what I was thinking when I suggested this. Too bad none of the greens or especially the reds have commented on this. I sent Tony a PM to get a straight opinion on what he thought about it, but he didn't write back. What a boring place you guys are trying to make here. If you don't want to let us make our own titles, what are you going to do next? Take away signatures? Then moderate and edit our post content?

Apart from me, who else is green?

..I don't run anything around here!

Rob

I thought dionysus was, but I could be wrong. yeah, I should have just said the reds

dionysus is green. I guess that makes Rob wrong! I can't believe it, what's next?

How about using different colours instead of titles? Keep the red and green as they are, but add a few new ones. Of course, then you'll get people saying "Why do I have to be Mr. Pink?"

One thing everyone needs to keep in mind about these modifications: If the BBS code gets modified, we need to keep the mods relatively simple. That way, if/when the BBS gets upgraded, we can more easily backport the changes. Commenting out the title display is a fairly small edit. Completely changing what gets displayed in its place is a much larger one.

That said, what about this? I wonder if it's possible to display a small post-count on the lefthand side instead of a named rank. Something that doesn't draw attention to itself, and therefore doesn't incite people to do silly things just to try to reach the next level. If it were possible, would that be a good compromise?

would that be a good compromise?

I like that solution. The named ranks where always kind of silly and I can understand people not wanting to be a newbie or whatever, but the postcounts themselves can be a nice feature.

-Mike

Well, if it does happen that way, I'd like to see it be as small and unobtrusive as possible, so that people don't get encouraged to do silly things trying to increase their post count.

Drakino, do you think this could be done?

Anyone wanna join my coup?

EDIT: added smilely face so this doesn't get taken the wrong way and blown out of proportion.

Anyone agree that this sounds like a threat?

It's a joke, Big Brother.

Personally, I preferred the way things were but I can see how status chasing isn't good for the board.
I've only been here 5-mins so I don't know what it's like for the Old Hands/Pooh-Bah's etc. (pun intended) to experience this time-after-time-after-time, I can guess it gets pretty boring though.

Personally, I think your proposed compromise is more or less acceptable. What would totally satisfy me would be to additionally show the Date registered as well.

Are you watching BB in the UK, I thought you were in the US for some reason?

If it were up to me here's what I'd do:

+display number of posts, date registered, and number of posts per hour since registration date.

+when a new member joins, they would have no title. After 30 days a link below their name would lead to a 48-hour poll that would allow members to vote on a number of different titles that are chosen depending on the user's number of posts, registration date, and post per hour rate. Every 30 days thereafter a new poll link would appear with updated possible titles. Of course this would require a lot of programming and it will never happen, but it is a dream.

What's BB? BBC? I am in the US.

Hell, that sounds like a compromise. I was just hoping to at least see the post counts in our personal profiles, so this is more than I thought would happen.

Also, what about date registered? I think that was also a good suggestion. It's tough to compete for that But it's not essential. I'd still like the personal titles, mainly because even with a tiny post count, it's still gonna be a little boring. Could I make a request that the personal pictures increase in height so we can add a little more in there? Just something like 100 or 120 pixels? I think that's a reasonable request...

Oh, and if you're not going to bring the titles back, I'd recommend that you take them out of the FAQ

There is a US version of the Big Brother show. It is about to enter its 3rd season after the first two seasons getting dismal ratings. But, I guess CBS has nothing better to go against NBC's Survivor.

I was just hoping to at least see the post counts in our personal profiles

My problem with this is that it would probably spawn a thread quite often of "I'm at 1000 posts, how many do you all have?"

It will probably be a bit before this issue is addressed on the code side though. I'm entering a point in time where I am going to go certification crazy. I plan on being at least a Sair Linux LCP and Compaq ASE by the end of the month.

the date register is already in everyone profile.

Or better yet, be able to specify the size you want your avatar displayed, so it won't get distorted.

Perhaps another solution is to have a voter ranking option. I've seen it on other boards, basically, someone has to go to your profile and vote on you (1-5 stars, or some such). That way, It makes a person want to make relavant and informative posts, so as to inspire people to take the time to vote for them. Of course, I have NO idea what is involved in the code side of this, but it would completely eliminate the post-count padding posts, and more than likely reduce the number of idiotic flame posts. It has the added advantage of being able to see quickly how "valuable" a person is to the community. Just an idea.

Later versions of UBB actually have that feature.

I tend to think that rankings are FAR worse than any of the stuff we got rid if. I can't think of a way to hurt more feelings on a BBS than that. No offense, but I just think it does.

Couldn't you just use a time ranking system weighted with post counts. So many months online with a least one post per month equals a certain rank. This assumes that long standing low posters would meet the one post req, but it seems feasible. I have no clue what the coding would require so if its intense I apologize.

If this thread hasn't done anything else - it has brought out a lot of comments from posters that I haven't seen in a while. Sometimes I felt like the turd at the bottom of the bowl and didn't feel like posting, but then I just decided to ignore it and post anyway.

It seems that most people would rather have the post counts and if it came down to it, have the post counts and not the user titles. What about having the user titles, but not the post counts - so you wouldn't know if you were about to become a 'member' or 'some_other_amusing_title'.

Well, it doesn't really matter to me. The titles do seem to have the ability to separate people out and I bet that people might not feel like they are a part of the community, and even worse - upping your post count by posting meaningless messages. Then again, many "new" people have had a lot to contribute, and, the titles provide amusement.

If the user titles are returned - Tony reserves every right to yell at the pile of lard who decides to post irrelevant messages to increase their post count. That should be amusing in itself.

If the user titles are returned - Tony reserves every right to yell at the pile of lard who decides to post irrelevant messages to increase their post count. That should be amusing in itself.

Amen.

I know I'm joining this thread a little late, I'm a not-so-frequent visitor, but if I might interject, I'm a "super moderator" over at Club 3g (http://www.eclipseforums.org/). We have the EXACT same issue with posts, count, titles and custom titles. We seem to have found the proper balance by:

Leaving post counts in place.
Leaving titles in place.
Making posts count in only Eclipse-related forums.
Making custom title available after 1000 posts, otherwise you're relegated to have only the system assigned titles.

This makes it so people have titles only when their counts get high enough, and only get posts for contributing. Anything that is not related or a one word reply gets delete if we stumble on it, and people that post junk (post-whores as we call them) get relegated to off-topic or another forum where their counts don't get tallied. Those forums also get pruned more often.

I'm not saying this si the way you guys should do it, I'm only trying to contribute our solution to what seems to be the same "problem" that you are encountering here. Now the only time people cry foul is when we prune a forum that posts count in.... and if they cry, they get their count re-instated manually. It's not many.

But I do think that counts/ titles help define the people you can trust to give you the real skinny on a problem. Titles? Eh... take 'em or leave them, a join date is just as effective.

Is "post-whore" trademarked? I rather like the recent use of hyphenated-whore terms as of late.

As for titles ... I liked them but if they have to be gone, the registered on ... date is sufficient I suppose. Though I am guilty of "Hey I made Journeyman, dammit!!!"

Greg Combs -- Not a post-whore, but as far as you know, I'm a Grand Poo-Bah!!!

As far as the entire user titles go, I frankly don't care. I've been here for over a year, and I mainly lurk. I've never been much of a status junkie, and honestly to prevent bs posting, and one word replies, I would rather not have them.

That's just my personal opinion, I may be wrong of course.