1000+ Posters Please Read

[NoCashBob]

What I say in the next few paragraphs will offend some, and I apologize for that, and ask simply that it not be taken as an insult to those people on the forums with high post counts, that is truly not my intention, but I feel the need to point out an issue, and as such the statements may seem to be overly one-sided. So beforehand, to all the dedicated RFD users who put in a great deal of time helping others and doing so in a positive way, I - and many other unseen/unheard users - thank you.

This is a General Appeal to many 1000+ posters in these forums.

My post count is non-existent, yet like so many other RFD users out there, I have been utilizing this site for a couple of years now. Does this make me untrustworthy? To some, yes, to others, it may be taken with a grain of salt. There are justifications to being leary of low-post users in blind praise of a product or a company, but it does not, and should not be the case - as it seems to be on many threads - that a low-post user is abused so bad in the forums. The forums are for everyone, not just those who post 10+ times daily.

High-post users at least show dedication to being heard, but this does not make the user trustworthy, or even worth listening too, it just means they have a lot of input to offer. Yet low-post users have opinions as well, and they are just as valid and useful.

In some cases - myself as the OP - a low-post user may simply utilize the site, and not have much to contribute. I live in a town two hours from any urban area, and the population is 6000 people. As you can imagine there are not a lot of 'big ticket sales' I can report on, and 99% of the stores offering sales listed here are not anywhere near my area. I digress though..

I will likely never have even close to 1000 posts, on any site or forum, ever. I simply don't have the time to read enough articles and have something to say about the subject. Many people seem to have that time and inclination, and thats great, but in the end a high post count still simply states that they are have said a lot. Most are helpful, but many are spiteful and very unhelpful as well. One commonality seems to be prevalent however; The rude and offhanded behavior towards low-post users by a dismaying amount of high posting users. It's mostly unfounded and is becoming a cancer that's eating these forums.

Just as can be said that a 3-post user cannot be trusted, that his opinions is unknown, a 3000-post user cannot be taken simply on that magic '3000' number. There are people out there who are rude, cynical, and simply cannot keep their mouth closed -- or at the least policed. Thankfully these users are the minority still, but they are increasing every time other forum users let them get away with throwing their post count around like a blunt weapon.

This is food for thought, and just an appeal to help stop the rudeness that's creeping into the forums. We all should be able to benefit from this site, and nobody should be treated with disrespect until it's earned -- and having a post count less than 100 should never qualify to that end. Hopefully I said what I needed to in a fair manner.


Jay.

[Saturate]

I don't post often here, but I don't feel attacked for being a lurker. On the flip side, a rude person will still be rude to people whether they have a high post count or not. It's just that your low post count is the first thing they see as a weakness. The idea was that respect has to be earned so it's natural for people to be suspicious of lurkers.

[NoCashBob]

You misunderstand, I haven't had users be rude to be. What I have had happen was having been forced to read many rude and unjustified posts simply to find a few helpful posts in a thread. I understand what you are saying, but I think you might have mistaken my intentions.

EDIT: to add; disrespect has to be earned as well

[deep]

I'm sure what you wrote has great meaning and insight, but I've written a greasemonkey script that blots out anything written by members with fewer than 5000 posts.

[NoCashBob]

I'm sure what you wrote has great meaning and insight, but I've written a greasemonkey script that blots out anything written by members with fewer than 5000 posts.

I think it needs some work -- my post count is 4.

[Kris81]

A person's post count means absolutely zero to me, unless i'm buying something from buy & sell, and plan on doing so with paypal.

[Jimboski]

A person's post count means absolutely zero to me, unless i'm buying something from buy & sell, and plan on doing so with paypal.

It kind of does for me.. Although when doing sales I just look at BST feedback / Heatware and what not, Doesn't matter about post count to me for that part!
Don't get me wrong, I still help people with low post count as long as they type out proper grammar so I can read It much easier.. Instead of a giant wall of text that hurts my eyes..

[whoa-albert]

New users make the forums more interesting to read. And it's mostly because half the time, they're trolling.

My last BST transaction was with someone with 1 post and 0 feedback. I'll deal with anyone as long as they can communicate properly.

[bylo]

There's a huge difference in credibility between a poster with "Join Date: Jan 22nd, 2008... Posts: <10" and a poster with "Join Date: [today]... Posts: <10."

The former is likely to be a lurker. The latter is likely to be a troll.

[NoCashBob]

There's a huge difference in credibility between a poster with "Join Date: Jan 22nd, 2008... Posts: <10" and a poster with "Join Date: [today]... Posts: <10."

The former is likely to be a lurker. The latter is likely to be a troll.

That's a very good point, sadly one that doesn't get taken into account enough.

[Piro21]

Post counts don't mean anything. Just look at people like me. Most of mine are in Off Topic commenting on random crap. I registered back in the first or second-year of university, but I didn't post very much at all until about a year ago.

[Evil Baby]

I'm not entirely sure of all the situations where you are made to feel like this, but there are points in time where I feel it is warranted. When I see somebody with single digit post counts talking about how great this product is or how amazing that company is, I'm not likely to believe them. Furthermore I'm inclined to believe they are a shill for said company.

At least with somebody who has a lot of posts it is easier to see their lost history and get an idea of what they are really trying to push.

As for the BST, if it is a new poster, I will just meet them face to face. No different then how I deal with people on Kijiji

[NoCashBob]

@Evil Baby
Honestly, your point of view is completely justified, it's just that I've seen so many posts where users are treated like garbage or a shill, and maybe they are a shill, but most anyone who is savvy enough to be using the forum can take said opinion with a grain of salt. Abusive posts are becoming too common, and the de-facto answer to new users who may just be wanting to share their experience.

For ref, see the locked thread about Hookbag, and a user SexyJ's posts. That is the abuse I mean to refer to.

[Kris81]

Maybe I just don't pay attention to that pety stuff. I'll respond to a post if it's something I can contribute, or it interests me. Doesn't matter if there is 1 post or 1000

[wilsonlam97]

Nah I just like giving input. Is my credibility cursed by my low BST feedback? I hope not. I just don't have much to do in BST. I had only one transaction.

But posting a lot does make you pretty credible (just be a good person).