Can a someone please tell me why is there even a post count?
There are several schools of thought about post counts and why they exist in most forums:
1. Some members like to compete for points and bragging rights.
2. Some members like to see how active someone else is in the community ... and post counts will show that, to some degree.
3. However, most members don't pay any attention to them ... don't care one way or the other.
4. Most importantly .... numbers are important for tracking activity to attract advertisers.
Our stance is that "participating" at the Fashion Spot means adding interesting or helpful information about fashion, plus dicussing fashion, collections, the business of fashion and the people involved in fashion. Remember that the main thrust of the Fashion Spot has always been fashion, first and foremost.
The Sidewalk Cafe is merely a collection of side forums ... so that those members who want to get to know each other outside of the fashion forums may do so. It is not our main purpose to provide a social network for the general public nor a place to compete for post counts ... it is merely "value added" ... something extra for our members who are already here because of their interest in fashion. A place to take a break from fashion. We intend to keep these forums up and active as an important part of tFS.
We are interested in knowing who our best contributors to the fashion forums are. Advertisers can use this information, too ... to target the audience they wish to reach. And it's advertisers who keep this site up and running ... or we would all have to pay to belong.
i don't understand why this rule is being interpreted as devaluing posts. the section still exists. you can carry on with your relationships/conversations/advice/etc just as you were. if the content and what you contribute to it is meaningful to you, why should your post count have an impact on that, unless you hang out there solely to boost it? in which case, why be on a fashion forum?
Fairy, don't forget that a lot of the decisions are made by people who have also been here for a 'such a long time' and know what that section is, what is was there for, what it used to be and what it is NOW.
Blaming threads is a bit naive, first of all nobody forces you to post there and second, the I hope/I miss kind are created by the exact same people that took us to this rule in the first place, so if you've been here for a while like you say and you know that this used to be a 'fun' place, you should then be clearly aware of the level of... nonsense that resides in that area right now.. maybe, for some reason (despite spending enough time there everyday) you haven't noticed or even fathomed the possibility that some people could do that in a forum.. well they do.. a lot of members who signed recently have openly stated the feeling of alienation that they get when they come here, especially in areas like Front Row or Visualising Fashion, I for one consider them to be quite receptive but maybe, just like you, I've been here for too long to be able to tell how the community really is for a stranger and how intimidating or odd it may seem. these people really want to be here so they visit the area that's less likely to be snobbish or whatever, and that is The Sidewalk Café.. as lovely as the idea of that forum sounds.. "getting to know each other on a deeper level, finding out who we are, etc", these areas were a necessity for people discussing fashion to take a break at some point or at least getting to know the person they hung out with in the top forums and just creating a bond between members... unfortunately, the concept as been flushed down the toilet now and has become a bunker for a part of our membership... they never understood Designers and Collections or Behind the Lens so they gave it up and decided to devote their entire stay in tFS to heart & soul.. now does that seem fair to you?, you that have been since 2004 and know that this place not only used to be fun but it used to be of interest and extraordinarily open to people of all ages and all cultures and generate discussion/conversation and not a temple of escapism that has even been hijacked and turned into a zone that not everyone can step into because your posts get either lost in the previous page in less than an hour or the jokes are pathetically vulgar or worthy of elementary school humour that obviously only underage people from very specific cultures can appreciate?. I'm sorry but if you think it's unfair for a few dozens, I actually think it's more unfair for the bigger amount of people that came here drawn by some of the biggest appeals of this place: diversity, receptiveness.. both in a respectful manner.. rare for the internet, as you probably already know.
now, our guidelines have never been created based upon one member in particular, the idea is nonsense and we'd be completely stuck if we did operate like that, I'm sorry that you feel your posts are considered spam and I'm more sorry that you have interpreted the rule at such a simplistic level not giving it a second thought on why we may have implemented it. rules don't come like that.. we certainly don't have the weight talk rule because one member cant stop talking about calories or the anti-drug talk one because someone's an addict, strawberry has already mentioned that measurements like this come from a necessity to grow and a result of changes.. 'new breeds'.. new problems that we didn't always use to have and had they only arrived earlier, we would've responded to them in the exact same way that we humbly think it's positive for the entire community and not just the few that caused it and then the others that get sacrified on the way.
.. I for one mentioned that this was meant to work not just as a wake up call to learn what that section is really there for (getting to know each other) but to work as an incentive for these power-posting members to take part once and for all in what this forum is about and be a part of our growing... all of our personal stories are what make H&S special, just like our PMs and Profile comments do perhaps on an even higher level.. I do not think any of them should count as points when you realise that they are only there as a complement of this community, just like any other themed forum has to have a section for personal commentary in order to survive and call itself a 'community', too.
i totally agree with you, Mullet
im just saying that, yes you are mods and we are all thankful for having you cos youre all doing a great job...but i felt offended, especially by strawberry's post because i contributed alot to this forum and from her post it sounded like im a post-count obsessed spammer with no good intentions or feeling for rules...and as far as im concerned even mods cant tell what people's intentions here are simply by looking at the threads they post in...but it sounds like that, even your post, Mullet...anyway thats my personal feeling and shouldnt be discussed further...
i can honestly say that i post in every section of this forum...
and its not that i cant see why new members would feel alienate because many new members 'take over' threads (especially in etc) and then I feel alienate, thats why i dont go to these threads...
but the 'problem' with some of the fashion-related threads is that there are some members who are 'established' there and there is a general opinion about it which, when you cannot agree, very hard to lead away from...and even if you dont know much about this or that designer/collection/photographer/magazine and you decide to join...with nothing than your 'opinion' you will be ignored...
and this is the general mood on this forum, IMO...and it is mainly the 'new' members because ive never come across a rude member who is here for longer than a few months or something...of course there are exceptions but there is alot of ignorance lately...from both 'sides'
and im very aware of tFS now and then...and so i dont understand why you change it now, just because of a few power-posters...if this section has always been 'sidewalk' it shouldnt have been included in the post count from the very first day...if you say its a fashion focused forum...i agree...but there are many topic focused forums outthere and they still have those lil 'private' sections and its always the same with spammers, they register and go straight to that section to gain post counts and i do understand it because when youre a member on tFS with less than...lets say 500 posts, you go to a fashion forum and post there, you'll simply be ignored...thats a fact, ive seen it happening a loads of times...and if you ask me thats not the one member's fault but the fault of all the members in a thread...
and i def agree that the post-count should be dismissed...and i will continue posting there because (even if some ppl here appearantly think so) it doesnt matter to me how many posts i have, or else i would go and post something in EVERY thread here just to gain points
im not that desperate
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theres things i havent told you, i go out late at night...
but i felt offended, especially by strawberry's post because i contributed alot to this forum and from her post it sounded like im a post-count obsessed spammer with no good intentions or feeling for rules...and as far as im concerned even mods cant tell what people's intentions here are simply by looking at the threads they post in
my post wasn't aimed at you, or passive-aggressively referring to you, i was trying to explain things as they were expected to be (who would be affected), not as how I view anyone who responds here.
unipine summed up my sentiment on the notion of them now 'not counting' better then with
Quote:
i don't understand why this rule is being interpreted as devaluing posts.
okay sorry then but even if it wasnt directed, it was a bit over-generalising (everyone who posts in the sidewalk cafe threads)...IMO but you can never know one's intentions
and even if its not your intention, many people see it as devaluing...including me...but it easy for someone who doesnt post there frequently to say that...
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theres things i havent told you, i go out late at night...
^^you should note that the change happened in ALL of sidewalk cafe..
i feel like you are being a bit passive agressive now and directing your comment at strawberry who spends a lot of her time in art of noise (where the post counts are also disabled)..
her posts there are no less valuable..
neither are the posts in entertainment spot where members discuss book, tv shows and movies..
also, i don't think that new members get ignored..
if they contribute something of value whether they have 10 posts or 10,000 people will respond to it..
the only time i look at post count is when i don't recognize the poster's name so i can superficially determine if they are new or if i haven't seen them around..
i know that strawberry spends alot of time in the art of noise threads because so do i
well im not gonna repeat myself because i know that it happened in all of the sidewalk cafe threads as i mentioned it in all my previous posts here, i even mentioned the entertainment spot if you take a look at my posts...
im not being passive agressive but i felt as if strawberry was direction HER post at ME and even if she didnt, i felt it was very generalising and especially 'that would only have a negative impact on people with less than good intentions in the first place. The majority of members, who either do not closely monitor their count, or do not post a lot in H&S will probably not even notice.' this part...because it obviously does mean that myself and other members who noticed have 'no good intentions' anyway...
and yes, maybe not ALL new members but many...and ive heard it from themselves...
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theres things i havent told you, i go out late at night...
well fairy, you are wrong. I know she wasn't directing her post at you, trust me, and neither I was.. I for one didn't even remember you posted there that frequently as you claim until you showed up here. If it makes you feel any better, I personally had somebody else in mind as my reference or representation of the state of H&S.
the bit I wrote previously on guidelines based on someone in particular was actually hoping that you'd understand this wasn't ALL ABOUT FAIRY. go figure. read it again and don't think about yourself, you'll probably feel less offended and perhaps understand where we're coming from too.
i didnt say it was about me, i just said that i felt offended because im one of those members who post in the sidewalk cafe threads (not only in H&S)
and it made me feel like im one of those spammers just because i come HERE and discuss the post counts with you...because it sounded like 'if you dont care about your post count, why come and post here?'
and i def dont think about MYSELF because i speak for alot of members...but they dont come here and post because theyre prob thinking 'my opinion doesnt change anything so why state it?' (and yes, ppl told me that)
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theres things i havent told you, i go out late at night...
The Sidewalk cafe section to me is an 'extra' and inconvenient tbh, it's nice to have but this IS a fashion forum....which was mainly created for discussing FASHION etc..
I don't think post counts matter in that section...
i didnt say it was about me, i just said that i felt offended because im one of those members who post in the sidewalk cafe threads (not only in H&S)
and it made me feel like im one of those spammers just because i come HERE and discuss the post counts with you...because it sounded like 'if you dont care about your post count, why come and post here?' and i def dont think about MYSELF because i speak for alot of members...but they dont come here and post because theyre prob thinking 'my opinion doesnt change anything so why state it?' (and yes, ppl told me that)
if -as you claim, you cannot know anyone's intentions..then you certainly CANNOT speak for them fairy...
everyone can ONLY speak for themselves...
if anyone else has anything to say- they are free to speak and voice any opinions or concerns...
however- this matter is not up for a vote
the decision has been made...
in the best interest of the ENTIRE community...
looking at the big picture of the forum as a whole...
this is not directed at any one member or group...
it's much bigger-because that is how the mods have to consider things-always...
it's a BIG place and there are a LOT of people here...
personally- i post in H&S and A of N all the time and i plan to continue to do so just as much...
i don't see how this would affect that...
if anything...somehow it makes me feel more relaxed about my posts there....
like they are FREE POSTS!......
as i mentioned it in all my previous posts here, i even mentioned the entertainment spot if you take a look at my posts...
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