# The ''More Than 15 Posts" icons?

**URL:** <https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-more-than-15-posts-icons/98375>\
**Category:** About This Message Board\
**Created:** [March 15, 2002, 12:28am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-more-than-15-posts-icons/98375 "2002-03-15T00:28:09Z")\
**Posts on this page:** 5\
**Page:** 1

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**Author:** ![Mr.Blue\_Sky](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/d26b3c/32.png) [@Mr.Blue\_Sky](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mr.Blue_Sky)\
**Post date:** [March 15, 2002, 12:28am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-more-than-15-posts-icons/98375/1 "2002-03-15T00:28:09Z")

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We didn’t use 'em on the old board. Why aren’t we using them on the new one?

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**Author:** ![Arnold\_Winkelried](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/3d9bf3/32.png) [@Arnold\_Winkelried](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Arnold_Winkelried)\
**Post date:** [March 15, 2002, 12:39am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-more-than-15-posts-icons/98375/2 "2002-03-15T00:39:51Z")

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What’s the justification for using them?

Case against:[ol][li]I can tell pretty easily how many posts are in a thread by looking at the number in the ‘Replies’ column.[/li][li]My initial impression is that having the software check the number of posts and switch the icon dynamically would make displaying forum thread lists slower.[/li][li]Why would thread with more than fifteen posts merit more attention than threads with less posts? I’ve seen several GQ threads where a question was asked and answered, with useful, interesting and/or entertaining information, with less than 15 posts.[/li][/ol]

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**Author:** ![Mr.Blue\_Sky](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/d26b3c/32.png) [@Mr.Blue\_Sky](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mr.Blue_Sky)\
**Post date:** [March 15, 2002, 1:59am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-more-than-15-posts-icons/98375/3 "2002-03-15T01:59:09Z")

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I’m not saying we SHOULD use them, I was just wondering. Are they animated in some way?

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**Author:** ![racinchikki](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/eada6e/32.png) [@racinchikki](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/racinchikki)\
**Post date:** [March 15, 2002, 2:14am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-more-than-15-posts-icons/98375/4 "2002-03-15T02:14:38Z")

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Based on what I’ve seen on other message boards, they’re not animated; they’re just red. No point in making the server perform yet another task every time somebody loads a forum, though.

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**Author:** ![Gaudere](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/e495f1/32.png) [@Gaudere](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gaudere)\
**Post date:** [March 15, 2002, 4:06am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-more-than-15-posts-icons/98375/5 "2002-03-15T04:06:47Z")

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It’s also somewhat misleading to call more that 15 posts a “hot” topic on this board. 500, maybe, but 15? 😃 I personally just see them as eyeball clutter and extra (although minuscule) server load.