# Post Counts Meaningless? Bollocks, says Lobsang! **URL:** \ **Category:** The BBQ Pit\ **Created:** [February 23, 2005, 6:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/post-counts-meaningless-bollocks-says-lobsang/291565 "2005-02-23T18:19:15Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 3
**Author:** ![Anaamika](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/5f9b8f/32.png) [@Anaamika](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Anaamika)\ **Post date:** [February 23, 2005, 9:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/post-counts-meaningless-bollocks-says-lobsang/291565/41 "2005-02-23T21:23:02Z")
> [@Lobsang](#): > > All I am arguing for is that post counts are not simply ‘meaningless’. They mean _something_. When they don’t mean the same thing in all cases, and indeed, often mean drastically different things, they can’t be said to mean anything worthwhile anymore. ---
**Author:** ![Liberal](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/848f3c/32.png) [@Liberal](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Liberal)\ **Post date:** [February 23, 2005, 9:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/post-counts-meaningless-bollocks-says-lobsang/291565/42 "2005-02-23T21:26:01Z")
I don’t know about a high post count signifying that you know how things are run and are not likely to get banned. I don’t really have an example Handy, but I bet there is one. ---
**Author:** ![Ephemera](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/8baadc/32.png) [@Ephemera](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ephemera)\ **Post date:** [February 23, 2005, 9:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/post-counts-meaningless-bollocks-says-lobsang/291565/43 "2005-02-23T21:29:37Z")
> [@Lobsang](#): > > I never said desireable. I said meaningful. Indicative of a set of probable properties of the doper in question. Okay. Meaningful then. And you’re still wrong. A high count is indicative of nothing other than a considerable amount time spent here, either posting at a leisurely pace over the years or racking them up in some shorter period of time. If you think it shows a familiarity with the rules, then you’re forgetting your own ignorance of the No Post Count Parties rule and the bannings of various long standing or highly visible posters, such as **handy**. And if you want to drag my own mentions of my count into this, then go for it. I don’t care. I’ll even post the convenient [link](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/search.php?searchid=719479) for anyone curious. ---
**Author:** ![Blalron](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/35a633/32.png) [@Blalron](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Blalron)\ **Post date:** [February 23, 2005, 9:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/post-counts-meaningless-bollocks-says-lobsang/291565/44 "2005-02-23T21:29:52Z")
Post count by itself doesn’t show much of anything. Handy is a good example of that. He mostly posted one or two liners that had little factual content and was oftentimes completely wrong. However, it does count for something if the poster has a history of making _meaningful_ posts (not just game threads and the like) and has been registered here for a long time. ---
**Author:** ![Ilsa\_Lund](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/a6a055/32.png) [@Ilsa\_Lund](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ilsa_Lund)\ **Post date:** [February 23, 2005, 9:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/post-counts-meaningless-bollocks-says-lobsang/291565/45 "2005-02-23T21:29:52Z")
> [@Liberal](#): > > I don’t know about a high post count signifying that you know how things are run and are not likely to get banned. I don’t really have an example Handy, but I bet there is one. Is that some kind of **Zenster** Buddhist sentiment? ---
**Author:** ![Chimpy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/a9adbd/32.png) [@Chimpy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chimpy)\ **Post date:** [February 23, 2005, 9:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/post-counts-meaningless-bollocks-says-lobsang/291565/46 "2005-02-23T21:36:10Z")
Post counts do not count much other than the number of posts, when I first arrived I got a lot of posts in pointless game threads, I don’t deserve about 800 of these posts. They didn’t make me any better a poster and I don’t really think the subsequent 300 odd did either, pointless post padding is too easy to make it any different. ---
**Author:** ![Hamlet](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/hamlet/32/2818_2.png) [@Hamlet](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hamlet)\ **Post date:** [February 23, 2005, 9:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/post-counts-meaningless-bollocks-says-lobsang/291565/47 "2005-02-23T21:36:31Z")
> [@Qadgop the Mercotan](#): > > So does weight. But in absence of further context, it’s pretty irrelevant data. Better to celebrate something more meaningful, like citing vintage years for RC cola, or the move to make urination a Nobel Prize category. Far more significant, IMHO, than celebrating post counts. I plan to celebrate my 10,000 post by having a nice 2024 Royal Crown Cola and pissing a perfectly scaled reproduction of the Mona Lisa in the snow. ---
**Author:** ![Lobsang](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lobsang/32/4067_2.png) [@Lobsang](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lobsang)\ **Post date:** [February 23, 2005, 9:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/post-counts-meaningless-bollocks-says-lobsang/291565/48 "2005-02-23T21:37:14Z")
> [@Lobsang](#): > > I never said desireable. I said meaningful. Indicative of a set of probable properties of the doper in question. Your direct reply… > [@Aesiron](#): > > Okay. Meaningful then. And you’re still wrong. A high count is indicative of nothing other than a considerable amount time spent here I’m wrong? “a considerable amount time spent here” (your words) That sir, is a property of a member. > [@](#): > > If you think it shows a familiarity with the rules No. It demonstrates a _likely_ familiarity with the _main_ rules. A one time violation of one of many rules does not disprove the theory that a high post count indicates familiarity with the rules, in general, for the average doper. ---
**Author:** ![Lobsang](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lobsang/32/4067_2.png) [@Lobsang](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lobsang)\ **Post date:** [February 23, 2005, 9:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/post-counts-meaningless-bollocks-says-lobsang/291565/49 "2005-02-23T21:48:16Z")
Forgot to add to the end of my post… And that’s another property, both probable, and a plural of ‘property’ so I think I am right. ---
**Author:** ![Liberal](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/848f3c/32.png) [@Liberal](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Liberal)\ **Post date:** [February 23, 2005, 9:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/post-counts-meaningless-bollocks-says-lobsang/291565/50 "2005-02-23T21:55:18Z")
> [@Ilsa\_Lund](#): > > Is that some kind of **Zenster** Buddhist sentiment? It might be more like a sentiment of Satan. ---
**Author:** ![picker](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/picker/32/13969_2.png) [@picker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/picker)\ **Post date:** [February 23, 2005, 10:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/post-counts-meaningless-bollocks-says-lobsang/291565/51 "2005-02-23T22:37:02Z")
**Aesiron** - I just gotta say WTF? For the record, you’re one of my favorite posters, and 99% I’m in agreement with your posts, but dude, who gives a fuck whether **Lobsang** or anybody else attaches a little more meaning to their post count that you do to yours? I respect your right to vent about something that annoys you, but at the same time, if mentioning post counts periodically is something that tickles **Lobsang** ’s fancy, why does it matter in the slightest to you? Besides, if you’re posting multiple times in a thread about posting too much, doesn’t that seem a little, well, disingenuous? No offense meant, dude, but you know what they [say](http://carcino.gen.nz/images/image.php/463c5922/arguing.jpg&cb=20030927020448). ---
**Author:** ![gotpasswords](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/c57346/32.png) [@gotpasswords](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/gotpasswords)\ **Post date:** [February 23, 2005, 10:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/post-counts-meaningless-bollocks-says-lobsang/291565/52 "2005-02-23T22:54:16Z")
> [@Qadgop the Mercotan](#): > > Better to celebrate something more meaningful, like citing vintage years for RC cola, or the move to make urination a Nobel Prize category. Far more significant, IMHO, than celebrating post counts. As a member of the SDMB Illuminati\*, I phooey on all of this, and am now off to nominate myself for a Nobel Prize. - I don’t quite qualify for **E-Sabbath’s** “99’er with \< 50 posts” but my posts vs ID number is on the low side. ---
**Author:** ![Anaamika](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/5f9b8f/32.png) [@Anaamika](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Anaamika)\ **Post date:** [February 23, 2005, 11:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/post-counts-meaningless-bollocks-says-lobsang/291565/53 "2005-02-23T23:11:14Z")
> [@picker](#): > > No offense meant, dude, but you know what they [say](http://carcino.gen.nz/images/image.php/463c5922/arguing.jpg&cb=20030927020448). _snort_ Now I have to clean seltzer off my monitor. ---
**Author:** ![Lobsang](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lobsang/32/4067_2.png) [@Lobsang](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lobsang)\ **Post date:** [February 23, 2005, 11:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/post-counts-meaningless-bollocks-says-lobsang/291565/54 "2005-02-23T23:25:51Z")
Was I, um, _Whooshed?_ ---
**Author:** ![Dewey\_Cheatem\_Undhow](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/13edae/32.png) [@Dewey\_Cheatem\_Undhow](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dewey_Cheatem_Undhow)\ **Post date:** [February 24, 2005, 1:56am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/post-counts-meaningless-bollocks-says-lobsang/291565/55 "2005-02-24T01:56:29Z")
> [@Liberal](#): > > It might be more like a sentiment of Satan. But only in the month of december. ---
**Author:** ![World\_Eater](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/f04885/32.png) [@World\_Eater](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/World_Eater)\ **Post date:** [February 24, 2005, 2:42am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/post-counts-meaningless-bollocks-says-lobsang/291565/56 "2005-02-24T02:42:22Z")
Remember when the board crashed and many post counts knocked down a thousand? good times, good times. ---
**Author:** ![Wilson](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/96bed5/32.png) [@Wilson](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Wilson)\ **Post date:** [February 24, 2005, 2:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/post-counts-meaningless-bollocks-says-lobsang/291565/57 "2005-02-24T14:53:16Z")
> [@Dewey Cheatem Undhow](#): > > But only in the month of december. Ah, I love these kind of jokes, in fact I wish we could fill up a whole silo with them. I revel in the whole variety - from the most vanilla to the Wildest. Some people may think the kind of jokes are not \_Cool - but I disagree. OK, OK, I’ll stop before I get thrown in the den with the wolves… ---
**Author:** ![Uvula\_Donor](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/u/e19adc/32.png) [@Uvula\_Donor](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Uvula_Donor)\ **Post date:** [February 24, 2005, 3:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/post-counts-meaningless-bollocks-says-lobsang/291565/58 "2005-02-24T15:04:50Z")
> [@Qadgop the Mercotan](#): > > Better to celebrate something more meaningful, like citing vintage years for RC cola, or the move to make urination a Nobel Prize category. Now I’m confused. I thought urination was up for inclusion in the Olympics. What’s the greatest nation in the world? _Urination!_ ---
**Author:** ![Amazon\_Floozy\_Goddess](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/779978/32.png) [@Amazon\_Floozy\_Goddess](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Amazon_Floozy_Goddess)\ **Post date:** [February 24, 2005, 5:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/post-counts-meaningless-bollocks-says-lobsang/291565/59 "2005-02-24T17:05:11Z")
> [@Lobsang](#): > > Yes, you’re missing just about most of what I’ve said in this thread. > > Having as high a post count as possible shows that a doper has _probably_ spent a lot of time here. But it’s the time spent here, and _not_ the post count that is valued. I’m not the type of person to gloat about post counts. All I am arguing for is that post counts are not simply ‘meaningless’. They mean _something_. > And I believe it is human (perhaps weakness) nature to make a fuss about milestones of any kind (“hey, I’ve got 5000 CDs!”, or “Wow, my mileage just ticked over the 50,000 mark!”) Ok. I see what you’re saying. While it’s true that someone with a high post count could be looked upon as having a lot of knowledge, this might not always be the case. Some people might just want to get their two cents in in every single thread, and send off a lot more shit posts than worthwhile ones. As far as going to _mean_ something, I suppose it could mean that they contribute a lot to the board. Outside of that, I really don’t see what importance it holds, though. ---
**Author:** ![Lobsang](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lobsang/32/4067_2.png) [@Lobsang](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lobsang)\ **Post date:** [February 24, 2005, 5:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/post-counts-meaningless-bollocks-says-lobsang/291565/60 "2005-02-24T17:58:53Z")
It doesn’t hold _importance_, just value. It means _something_, not _everything_ not _nothing_ but _something_. That’s been my argument all along. None of the accusations thrown at me in this thread have stuck. I stand by my very first post in the thread… > [@](#): > > \*\* > I DO NOT POST FOR THE SAKE OF INCREASING MY COUNT! > I BELIEVE A PERSON’S POST COUNT MEANS SOMETHING\*\* [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/post-counts-meaningless-bollocks-says-lobsang/291565.md?page=2) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/post-counts-meaningless-bollocks-says-lobsang/291565.md?page=4)