If you click on the number of replies for a thread on a forum page, you get a list of names of the people that have posted in that thread, beginning with those with the largest number of replies at the top of the list. If there are a large number of people with only one post, what determines the listing order? It is not alphabetic, and it is not by posting time or date. Any idea what determines the listing order?
I’ve wondered about that, too.
Maybe this thread could serve as a data-gathering place.
How about before you post a reply, you copy/paste the “Who Posted?” list to see where the earlier poster(s) are situated. Maybe after a few posts a pattern will appear. Has to be more than random, doesn’t it?
Who Posted?
Total Posts: 2
User Name Posts
Fear Itself 1
Zeldar 1
Who Posted?
Total Posts: 3
User Name Posts
Fear Itself (6323) 1
Zeldar (36386) 1
KneadToKnow (8334) 1
I was going to propose User # (which I added above in parens) as the sort key, but KneadToKnow didn’t fall in line.
Didn’t fall in line? Pfft. I can barely even fall down. 
Who Posted?
Total Posts: 4
User Name Posts
Fear Itself 1
Zeldar 1
milquetoast 1
KneadToKnow 1
Who Posted?
Total Posts: 5
User Name Posts
KneadToKnow 2
Fear Itself 1
Zeldar 1
milquetoast 1
Who Posted?
Total Posts: 6
User Name Posts
KneadToKnow 2
Fear Itself 1
Wheelz 1
Zeldar 1
milquetoast 1
This before my second post to the thread.
Who Posted?
Total Posts: 7
User Name Posts
Zeldar 2
KneadToKnow 2
Fear Itself 1
Wheelz 1
milquetoast 1
Zeldar is before KneadToKnow again after both have posted twice, so at least that’s consistent.
Who Posted?
Total Posts: 8
User Name Posts
Zeldar 2
milquetoast 2
KneadToKnow 2
Fear Itself 1
Wheelz 1
It would appear that posting order carries so far.
Shot taken before this post (if it’s not obvious).
I asked the same question a few years ago (link), and nobody seemed to know then.
Who Posted?
Total Posts: 10
Zeldar 3
milquetoast 2
KneadToKnow 2
Fear Itself 1
Wheelz 1
Cunctator 1
User Name Posts
Zeldar 3
milquetoast 2
KneadToKnow 2
Fear Itself 1
Wheelz 1
Cunctator 1
MsWhatsit 1
Data collection- count me in!
It seems to be in order of posting. If you post an additional time to the thread, your name bumps up, or an additional count gets added to your spot.
Interesting: Mine got bumped up, now that I had two posts.
Who Posted?
Total Posts: 13
User Name Posts
Zeldar 3
IvoryTowerDenizen 2
milquetoast 2
KneadToKnow 2
Fear Itself 1
Wheelz 1
Cunctator 1
MsWhatsit 1
Another post for me:
Who Posted?
Total Posts: 13
User Name Posts
Zeldar 3
IvoryTowerDenizen 2
milquetoast 2
KneadToKnow 2
Fear Itself 1
Wheelz 1
Cunctator 1
MsWhatsit 1
Go look at your thread now. I see some shuffling of names in the “Who Posted?” listing, but have yet to decipher the pattern.
My question is why does this functionality even exist? What a waste. I’m trying to imagine a situation in vBulletin where this would be a useful button, but I’m coming up blank.
The only time I’ve ever seen it used on this board is to complain that one person is hogging the thread. Do we really need a button to figure that out?
I often use it in longish threads when I want to see whether a particular person, whose comments I generally consider useful and/or worthwhile, has posted.
It’s a handy way of supplementing the mouseover of the title to see if the thread has much appeal to your opening it to read further. As with many such features, you aren’t forced to use it. Judging from responses in Cunctator’s thread (and other threads with similar concerns) many users aren’t even aware of its existence. So it can’t be hurting anything be being available to those who find it useful.
Also, if you click on the number of posts from a particular poster, it lists them for easy reference, with out having to scan the whole thread again.
I had no idea! That’s fantastic! thanks!