It wouldn’t be so bad if it was every other month. But it’s at least once a month, if not more often.
I honestly haven’t noticed these threads. I did, however, notice the “talk about posters you hate” thread in the Pit. I think these threads are better than those.
I figure I’ve gotten much more out of this board than I’ve put in, and the few times I’ve met Dopers in real life, or on Facebook, or discussed an issue off-the-board, I’ve walked away feeling very positive about the experience. And I can assure you that the warm fuzzies from a good post are very nice indeed.
I think they’re little more than popularity contests, and foster unhealthy ‘cliques’ around Big-Name Posters. The brown-nosing is truly one of the least attractive aspects of the SDMB, in my opinion. It makes some posters feel more important than others, and they feel entitled to step on other people and ignore the rules. You are not above the rules, whether you have 3 posts or 3,000.
This thread makes me sad. I didn’t realize there were people who felt so strongly about this. I just thought of it as a bit of positivity on an often-contentious board. I’m sorry.
All right. You’re the twin of someone on the board right? I can’t remember which, but if you said her name I’d get it.
Or I’m confusing you with someone.
I don’t care much for lists because I can never seem to get a solid streak of posting regularly together. That’s fine. I’m a seven year member, not not exactly a regular.
But I can still gush with the most of em’ when the time is right. For example…
I’m still on the list?!
*::Swoons:: *
I know what you mean. The name is right on the tip of my tongue, too.
This cracked me up.
They are getting a little repetitious. I mean, people like Qadgop. We get it, already.
Nope. I post to them at least once or twice a year, probably. Most of my favorites aren’t board darlings, and I like giving that little bit of recognition to someone. I’ve also PMed one or two people in the past just to say the same thing.
I don’t read these type of threads all that often, but I don’t mind them being there. I’m not sure I’ve ever posted in before, though I did post in the one the other day about even sven mostly because of the striking change I’ve seen in her posting over the last several years.
With respect to CairoCarol’s post, I made the observation that there are pit threads all the time, why not acknowledge contributions of others. I think it’s a fair enough comment that one could simply say so in a thread where that person posts something noteworthy. As to this type of thread being a popularity threads, and that some will feel left out, and that this may be troubling to vulnerable posters who’ve not been mentioned, I’ll confess that I hadn’t given much thought to it.
In real life I’d say that it is important to acknowledge outstanding contributions. I’m a believer in positive reinforcement, and I would not agree with a suggestion that we should not recognize individual excellence because it would leave others feel ignored or slighted. That said, in a real life context, one can recognize both individual and group contributions, and also judge the effect that it is having on others in a way that one cannot do on a message board.
I can also recognize the distinction that the posters here are coming to the SDMB for different reasons, and looking for different things in doing so. As for myself, I’m a fairly infrequent poster here, and what I personally get from the Boards is deliberately low key. I post occasionally in GQ, IMHO, Cafe Society, less frequently in the Pit or MPSIMS, and I very rarely read threads in Great Debates. I’m not looking to engage in serious debate here; I get enough of that in my real life. I’m also not particularly invested in having a high profile at the SDMB. Though I’ve read on and off back to the AOL boards, and signed up as “Charter Member”, I’m not looking for some kind of validation here. So, personally, it doesn’t matter to me whether I’d get mentioned in one of those threads, and would in fact be surprised if I were. CairoCarol’s post did give me food for thought about the frame of reference that others might be bringing to the Board.
Fucking hamsters just ate my post.
The crux of the popularity threads, in my mind, is this.
I either have to post a lot, or I have to cultivate personal relationships. I am unwilling to do either.
I have been to a Dopefest, and I really enjoyed meeting the other posters. It’s great being able to have a face and personality to go with the user name. I’d like to go to another one, and soon. But it is difficult and time consuming to cultivate new friendships, shit, I am really slacking on the friendships I have now, let alone new ones.
I rarely, and I mean rarely, PM anyone. This also precludes me from developing relationships on the Dope.
Therefore, I will not get a shout out from any cliques or friends here.
My other alternative is to spend umpteen hours crafting posts, being provocative, being an expert, willing to share TMI (although I will wander into TMI territory occasionally.) be a horrible flirt, or piss off everyone.
I cannot take this board, or anything on the 'net, seriously enough to invest that kind of time and energy.
Are there people I like here? Absolutely, and a lot of them. That’s why I show up here almost every day.
Have I been mentioned in these types of threads before? Yes, and I did truly appreciate it. I have also participated in them, and tried to mention some of the quality posters that don’t always get the limelight, for the reasons mentioned above.
To me, the best way to show appreciation is to point out a quality post/poster when they are right there in the thread, as opposed to a circle jerk thread.****
I wind up feeling like Charlie Brown at Christmas–“I know no one notices me, why do we need a thread to emphasize it?”
Word. Otherwise you only remember the big names; it takes a lot to remember the less prolific posters who are just as cool. Hell, I’m inordinately pleased whenever someone simply acknowledges that I’ve posted, let alone gave me props. 
This sounds a bit sour-grapey. I have been pmed by three people in my entire time here. I have never been to a ‘dope fest’, and my post count is less that 2 a day, and flirting on message board aint my style. So I don’t think it is honest to assume that everyone that gets mentioned in those kinds of threads must be ‘spending umpteen hours crafting posts, being horrible flirts’ and all those other accusations thrown down. I don’t think the people in those threads are ‘circle jerkin’. I think there are lots of folks in those threads are just trying to give some pats on the back to people on this board that they appreciate. Big deal.
As for the ‘board celebrities’ that lots of folks complain about, so what? Some people here post a great deal and contribute a lot in terms of information and entertainment. Why begrudge them a lil’ pat on the back? I personally think it cramps my style a little bit to keep sweatin’ folks, but heh, that is just my opinion. And some folks, I don’t mind sweatin’ once in a while. Again…big deal.
First, Nzinga, Seated, let me say that if I ever did post in the doper appreciation threads (I’ll call 'em DAT from now on), I’d mention you.
You are entitled to the “sour-grapes” comment, of course. But I think it is fear of having that exact accusation thrown at them that may prevent people from expressing their dislike of DAT. I for one was hesitant to speak up in this thread because I was afraid it would be taken as exactly that – “oh, CairoCarol is just jealous because she hasn’t ever been mentioned, boy does SHE ever need to get a life, loser!”
I am sure I speak for others when I emphatically state it is NOT sour grapes that underlies my comments against these threads. In school, I was always the kid who befriended the kids who got picked on by others - I myself was usually socially okay, not in the “A Crowd” but I suppose in the next tier down. But I HATED to see kids left out and I still do. It is that same feeling of protectiveness that I feel with regard to DAT.
Of course, we aren’t kids here. And these things truly aren’t that important one way or the other.
But sour grapes, it’s not.
I think a more fun version of that kind of thread would be a “one mention only” format, where if a poster has already been mentioned subsequent posters have to come up with somebody else to praise. There’s a type of “me too” behavior involved wherein some popular person gets mentioned (on account of they probably are awesome, to be sure) and everybody after that feels the need to chime in. So yeah, less of a pile on would be more interesting, I think…
Nah, it’s not sour grapes. Or very little. Do we all want recognition? Sure.
I think that there are posters here that contribute mightily. I’m not one of them. I don’t expect accolades for my throwaway posts, which are my majority of posts.
But there are posters that do extraordinary things; I saw one poster volunteer to talk on the phone to someone having problems with a window yesterday. I’ve never seen the poster Glazer before in any posts, and I’d doubt he’s ever been in a popularity thread. But what he did is really cool to me, and that’s what I like about the dope, and what I hate about popularity threads-the not so well known posters never get any recognition for their contributions, no matter how extraordinary.
You had a little bit of a kerfluffle (otherwise known as a trainwreck)on joining the dope. You have a distinctive name and personality that shines through. It doesn’t surprise me that you would be mentioned.
You also have a tendency to remark directly in a thread if you like or agree with a poster; you’ve done it to me on several occasions, I think this is the first negative time. You are doing exactly what I thought was the best way to show appreciation. I know I’ve made you laugh, and it made me happy to know that someone out there shared in the humor, especially enough to bother to post.
Perhaps it was me ruminating that you get out what you put in. And I don’t put out enough here, nor on further reflection, will I. I don’t have time nor motivation. Kinda sad on some level, but I’ve got a hell of a life to live, too.
Or it was a bunch of lame ass excuses why for why I rarely make the list. But I doubt it.
Oh! Let me be clear. I totally get why one would not like those threads. I didn’t quote your post because it was specific statements in fisha’s post that bothered me. Sounds like sour grapes to me when I hear someone implying that people that gets shout outs get them because they spend hours crafting posts, flirting horribly, pm-ing, pissing people off, being overly TMI, things like that taste like sour grapes to me.
ETA: Just read your post, your points are taken. Shouting sour grapes may have been jumping the gun. Sorry.
Dammit. I meant that on edit, I read fisha’s last post. Posting from work.
You mean the Circle Jerk threads? 
I don’t read them, so they don’t bother me. I’m not interested in establishing popularity or personal relationships here (I’m not a very social guy in general), but I have no problem with those who do.