as a mad librarian, i've had some experience working with old threads and have come to this conclusion:
post counts as done now are nonsense! pure and simple. so many ppl answer repetitive questions and simple questions and get the questioner to focus.. and the posts get deleted because they have been answered before. or are no longer relevant for many different reasons.. yet because they are deleted, the inmate has a low post count which seems to indicate low activity. why should post counts count only those responses which get archived? oh lookee, more of what i had to say got archived! la dee dah. post counts should give an indication of how active an inmate is! and so what if a few numbnuts go overboard.. we can call them down again as we did before.. . hmph
From: Sin City (Can you guess where?) Insane since: Sep 2004
posted 09-30-2004 15:53
I dont care about post counts in all honesty... Still, Im interested in seeing what all the levels are. I don't exactly see the point you are trying to make but that's just me! So I'll just agree with you! I agree with the mad librarian! Gimme drugs!
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"I think Bush is an idiot... I think Kerry is an even bigger idiot! Vote Bush 2004!"
When a thread gets deleted, all that happens is that the thread doesn't exist anymore. Post counts and ranks aren't changed at all.
The reason for the lower post counts that everyone found in their profiles after TP reintroduced them is that we had to start somewhere - the old stats were lost with the move to the new Asylum, so what seemed easiest was recounting all the posts found in the database. That way, posts deleted months or years before couldn't be taken into account anymore, but as I said no post you make now or in the future will ever be substracted. So all's well
/*edit: The ranks are listed in this faq, Black Hat:
kuckus, thanks for the info. i obviously misunderstood the situation, but how is it such info was lost? weren't they in a db so that the count would show as it did when someone posted? just curious
Well, they weren't exactly lost by accident, but just not imported when we made the switch. TP was in California when the recounting was done, the old asylum backup cd on the other side of the globe, so that's what we have now
are you suggesting WS that there is/was no quality when the deleted posts were originally made? please...
and our random ranking system is absurd, imho. why have some fancy algorithm to create promotions when something as simple as firm numbers would work? why not put all that work into making the "Previous Post" and "Next Post" buttons?
they made the old Asylum that much more user friendly.. for those of us with dial-up connections who watch the pspong matches, it would save lots of waiting time
kuckus - if they weren't exactly lost by accident, but just not imported? you're saying this was a deliberate decision? what has TP being on the far side of the planet got to do with anything? what are you sitting in front of now? don't you use that to transfer info? hello?
*calming myself, taking a deep breath* ok, so now why was the decision made to delete various attributes of the old Asylum?
From: Happy Hunting Grounds... Insane since: Mar 2001
posted 09-30-2004 17:02
I think my statement stands as put.
It has always pretty much been an "unofficial" stance around the Asylum, that post count doesn't mean shit, it is the quality of the post itself that counts.
This was discussed into the ground, when the system first got implimented in the new Asylum.
We do now have a post count back. It's not exactly the same as if the post count had been copied and continued from the original asylum, but it is certainly close enough to give a ball-park figure.
What is the issue? (and remember that I ask that as one of the main proponents for bringing back the post count in the first place...).
WS - as a sidenote: yes, it was discussed over and over and over, but never with any real resolution, until TP added the post count into the 'patient file'.
There are still plenty of strong arguments supporting the usefulness of post counts. It is very obviously not the sole measure of someone's worth - but in what circumstance do you ever have one thing that is? It's simply one more peice of information that helps you assess a person, in an environment where we have precious few...
From: Happy Hunting Grounds... Insane since: Mar 2001
posted 09-30-2004 18:17
DL - all good points.
However, what real difference, would it really make, to include the "old" posts from the old Asylum in the post count of the new Asylum??
Would it be worth the amount of work invested into it (assuming it was possible)?
For me personally, it does not matter. And post count has never meant anything really, to me...either my own, or someone elses. I read all the threads on post count this, post count that. I know that the count got brought back. I see no real reason to continue such a discussion further.
quote:quality has nothing to do with whether or not a thread gets deleted
I sincerely hope, that is not the case with the new Asylum.
WS, you obviously did not read the whole thread, but picked up a couple of words and assumed you knew what was being said.
What I did say in my first post
quote:so many ppl answer repetitive questions and simple questions and get the questioner to focus.. and the posts get deleted because they have been answered before. or are no longer relevant for many different reasons
yes, many quality answers get deleted because they have been answered *many* times before or have become irrelevant. as a MadSci, you have surely noticed this when you found the time to archive relevant threads and delete others? so why are you even asking this question? are you suggesting something about the competence of those archiving and deleting? - yourself included?
fyi for the inmates - irrelevant threads include (for instance/for example) those first announcing that godzilla has created a browser for the mac and threads where someone asked a question and got no replies - unless... within that thread some inmate made his/her first post, then the thread is saved as part of asylum history
(i did not read the whole thread)
velvetrose: the code certainly is available. but you know, we have discussed the issue postcount a million times before, and this seemed like the best solution. i would recommend to contact tp about this.
Post counts should go backwards.
Everyone gets 500... when you reach zero you're automatically banned from the forums indefinately.
-There's yer quality.
427 eh?--- somehow I'm under the impression I should be in the negative numbers.
Tyberius Prime
Paranoid (IV) Mad Scientist with Finglongers
From: Germany Insane since: Sep 2001
posted 01-22-2005 19:20
ok, here's the skinny:
-When I was finally convinced that post counts in the patient file was something that was a) possibly without straining the server b) the sensible thing to do and had the time to implement them, I was in California. The old asylum's backup was in central europe, and I was not going to bother my gf with searching a cd, and transmitting serveral thousand files to me.
-Post counts below 'insane since' I simply willl not implement - I don't think they add to anything but the general entropy of this universe. Stop arguing.
-Next and Previous thread buttons are in the ->grailtodo list and will get done - eventually. Life may be long, but the years are darn short, and there are other issues - face to face person relationships, and things people actually hand over the green, rectangular stuff to me for, which simply have higher priority than interface improvements on the asylum. Those come a long time before most of my other 'hobby' projects, but never the less are low on my overall priority list.