Poll: Should Tailgate Posts Count??

[Zguy28]

I think that posts should count in every section on the board. It would be a good way to reinforce that "Your posts count, so make them good ones." Post padding should be discouraged anyway in every section of the board (unless its a one word response that hits it perfectly).

You'd need to double the staff on here to enforce the anti-spamming rules. :2cents:

[TheDoyler23]

You'd need to double the staff on here to enforce the anti-spamming rules. :2cents:

Yes and no. The members can generally decide weather of not a poster is worth reading, or weather that poster is an actual contributer to the cite, rather than a placeholder. A poster who racks up posts with "Yea, lolz" responses just screams unimportance anyway.

I think the cite should encourage participation and contribution from its members whenever possible.

[Larry Brown #43]

I'm not going to post a non-football thread in the Stadium. If a staff member wants to put one there as well, they can. I'm betting the breakdown will continue to be 3:1 for posts counting equally everywhere, and I think its highly unlikely that'll be drastically different in the Stadium - I think regardless of which forum you post primarily in, most people are inclined to ask 'why would you count posts in one forum but not others? Don't you want to encourage people to post in the Tailgate?'

You may get similar results, perhaps. I really don't know. I post in both areas, but I definitely post more often in the Stadium.

I'm guessing there would be others in the Stadium like me who would wonder why someone who never contributes to any Redskin-related, or even football-related, discussions--be rewarded on a Redskins message board.

It's not the end the end of the world either way, and I certainly won't object if the rule is changed. But something just seems weird to me about rewarding someone who never contributes anything football-related on a football board.

EDIT: The more I think about this...I really don't have a problem with TG posts counting for those posters who also genuinely make an effort to contribute to the football-related areas on the board. But for the people who never, ever post anything football-related, and purely use ES as a place to talk religion, cars and politics? I don't know. Something just doesn't seem right about that.

Don't get me wrong, I think the Tailgate is a great place to talk about a lot of things, and I use it to get help with a lot of things, and sometimes can even help others myself. I'm somewhat of a regular in the Tailgate. But at the end of the day, ES is a Redskins board, and I think posters should feel some obligation to contribute to that.

Of course, there's no way to legislate what I've just said. Either TG posts should count or they shouldn't. I'm just trying to explain how I feel about the issue.

[Mark The Homer]

Given that pretty obvious fact, limiting post count to one forum has zero impact on whether someone posts in the Stadium, or on the quality of posts.

It really hasn't accomplished anything from my vantage point - and if the overall membership prefers the previous approach, thats what should happen.

I'd have to agree on both points above. During the season, I hardly ever post in the tailgate because I just don't have as much time. During the offseason, I'm pretty sure most of my posts are in the TG. Post count has nothing to do with where I post.

[Zguy28]

Yes and no. The members can generally decide weather of not a poster is worth reading, or weather that poster is an actual contributer to the cite, rather than a placeholder. A poster who racks up posts with "Yea, lolz" responses just screams unimportance anyway.

I think the cite should encourage participation and contribution from its members whenever possible.

You mean using the "Report Post" button for spamming such as you described? Otherwise what other participation is there?

[pjfootballer]

I think Die Hard's original intent was to encourage posting - period. Funny thing is, its been wildly successful. People love the avatars, and want to post to get to a higher level - its human nature. Its kind of ironic that some now argue 'people are just posting to get to the next level!'. I think thats what was wanted all along. The creators of the board never said they wanted people to post nonsense to get to the next level, but they definitely wanted people to post energetically.

You hit the nail on the head. I'll admit, when I first figured this place out, my human nature was to reach the Ring of Fame. I would like to think that I've contributed to the board with quality posts and not just QFT and "yeah, that's good." responses. It is human response to want to change the avetars. I wanted an Art Monk. I posted my butt off in the stadium and here in the tailgate (they counted when I first started) to get to a certain level.

I see nothing wrong with post counts. I'd like to have them count everywhere you go. I've been posting alot in the Wiz, Caps and O's forums over the past year. I pretty much scan the board to see where the "action" is to try and post. If it's in the ATN, I'll be there. In the Stadium, I'll be there. And since I did reach the Ring of Fame, I really haven't paid much attention to it since then. I guess I reached the plateau and now I'm just on cruise control.

I actually think the quality of the posts in the stadium will be better if posts in the tailgate and other areas count. People will be more apt to roam around and find good conversions instead of non-contributory one word responses or these. :applause: I'd like to think that my addiction to this place got me to the ROF then just trying to change my avetar. I can't get enough of this place sometimes.

[TheDoyler23]

You mean using the "Report Post" button for spamming such as you described? Otherwise what other participation is there?

Participation means self-policing, and being part of an online community. Sorry, I may have been vague.

[Koolblue13]

Participation means self-policing, and being part of an online community. Sorry, I may have been vague.

The Stadium certainly does. The average quality poster will handle things before a Mod is even needed.

[PokerPacker]

hey, my vote didn't count!

[PokerPacker]

i like the prospect of rating posts. say something good, and people will rate your post positively. say stupid thigns and people will rate you negatively. you'll have a respect rating under your name so people can see the quality of your posts.

[Oldskool]

tailgate posts should have a separate counter from those of the stadium IMHO.

[drums and skins]

at least during the offseason.

[PeterMP]

Tailgate posts used to count the same as posts anywhere else. The quality of the average Tailgate post at that time far surpassed whats posted there these days. So I don't think there's any basis for that idea.

I'm more recent (I don't think Tailgate post ever counted in my time.), but my understanding is that the quality has dropped across the board. The question is, 'has the quality of the tailgate dropped to the same extent as the stadium?'

Again, I'm more recent, and IMO the Tailgate has taken a drop recently (I think th election is driving people in here that didn't do much here 6 months ago), but the Stadium has dropped substantially IMO in the short time I've been here.

You can go there make a pretty meaningless post and get three pages of people making meaningless comments of agreement.

Some of the people that have been here longer would know more about the qaulity drop here vs. there.

[APBT]

Take down post count, the competition is fierce.

[Special K]

I voted yes just because I think post count in general isn't really important, so I feel giving posts in one forum a value and not in another makes post count seem more important than it really is. In other words, I think it encourages more nonsensical posting in the stadium as opposed to less in the tailgate.

This is the reason I voted yes. I've gravitated toward the tailgate section (well, for one it's offseason) b/c I've found better conversation over here. I think the current setup encourages people who care about their post counts sooooo much to simply stay in the stadium and post on topics they know nothing about by putting a "QFT" or :laugh: just to get that extra post. Perhaps if they feel less "pressure" and know that their posts count everywhere, they will actually migrate to topics they know something about(whether it be the stadium or a political topic in the tailgate) and add something of substance. This is probably wishful thinking but heck, I'm an optimistic person.

For me personally, I don't care, I'm just trying to think of some psychological mechanism to encourage people to post on subject matter that they can contribute more substance to.

[Brad89]

i like the prospect of rating posts. say something good, and people will rate your post positively. say stupid thigns and people will rate you negatively. you'll have a respect rating under your name so people can see the quality of your posts.

It's kind of like communism. GREAT in theory, but it just doesn't work in practice. People will rate a thread poorly if they don't agree with OP's stance on the issue. While I think the people in the Tailgate are much more mature than the Stadium, I also think there would be too many disagreements and people would get petty for it to work here.

[RonJeremy]

Ohhh Man....where to begin on this topic...hmmm.

If you were around when the announcement about posts not counting in the tailgate was released...you will remember my and some others take on why we objected to that...I won't go into that whole drama again :laugh:

Bottom line - I never agreed that posts shouldn't count in the tailgate. The policy never changed my posting habits and I think it failed miserably at encouraging quality posts in the tailgate. It really just pissed off some members...though most of us got over it. The tailgate hasn't come close to dying without the posts counting....so I don't think it matters a whole lot anymore.

My belief is that the thought process...."this is a football message board"... basically short changed extremeskins as a whole. This is a diverse community...it has evolved into that over time It hasn't just been "a football message board" in a long time. If you disagree with that statement then you haven't stepped outside the stadium much. Real life events....good, bad, and sad are discussed here daily. Births, deaths, marriages, divorces, health issues....and I venture to say that someone who has put out whatever life event that is affecting them...has felt very supported. The outflow of support, advice, and help on this board is unbelievable at times. The people that I have met and become friends with because of this board is beyond just football. So, to say only football related posts should count on this board just really short changes this whole site.

I think posts should count in the tailgate..and if they don't.....I will not lose sleep over it.

[Enter Apotheosis]

I really don't care... but the whole theory that "making posts count in the Stadium only will make people post there more" always rubbed me the wrong way. The only reason people have to up their post count is to get up to the next avatar level and the people who REALLY want that can attain it pretty easily. All you have to do is rapidly post absolute trash in any of the forums that do boost your post count. Other than that, people will post where they want to and you're not going to easily anything by manipulating which posts count where.

The methodology was flawed and it shows.

[chipwhich]

If you are going to stick with the current avatar system, posts should count everywhere.

If you were going to allow people to select their own avatars, post count wouldn't matter at all.

The current avatar system leads to the "elitist" nature which brings about any concern over post count in my opinion.

[chipwhich]

BTW, I wish I could just turn my avatar off and not care, but that option wont work for me in the control panel. My avatar keeps coming back like a bad rash :-)

[WVUforREDSKINS]

I've never heard anyone say anything along the lines of "I know more than you, look at my post count" or "im clearly more experienced just look how many posts I have." Its nice, and shows the frequency that you are logged in. Other than that it really doesn't mean ****.

Just think how many post you could rack up on the word association. The owned thread could have so many just by people responding ":laugh:"

[The_cavalierman]

Are we caring about post counts?

Why?

Are their hidden prizes?:laugh:

[Thiebear]

I blame Brunell = 23,000 post counts in the stadium 2 years ago.

I blame Brunell = 11,000 post counts in the stadium last year.

I blame Brunell = 50 post counts in the 9/11 conspiracy threads.

although all are equally true, some posts get counted even when they shouldn't.

[DGreenistheBest]

Interesting take - thats quite possibly true - in other words, the current setup might encourage more Stadium posting, but not of the kind desired?

Yes, that's it exactly.

This is the reason I voted yes. I've gravitated toward the tailgate section (well, for one it's offseason) b/c I've found better conversation over here. I think the current setup encourages people who care about their post counts sooooo much to simply stay in the stadium and post on topics they know nothing about by putting a "QFT" or :laugh: just to get that extra post.

No wais, keeast and I totally agree on something! I feel all warm and fuzzy!

Are we caring about post counts?

Why?

Are their hidden prizes?:laugh:

Larger post count means larger penis size :whoknows:

[Om]

I voted no. Apparently, I'm in the minority.

While we're on the subject, I might support some kind of minimum post size to be counted. So

"hahahahahha" would not count as a post. But a longer (implying quality) post would count, regardless of what forum it was in.

This an interesting idea. One of the concerns about post count in the Tailgate originally was that a lot of newer members were using threads like the Word Association and posting in them heavily and almost exclusively, and since avatars are tied to post count, some older members weren't all that happy about the trend.

At this point I don't get the sense that concern's really all that valid anymore. Some kind of filter on simple "me too" posts and the like based on number of characters might be a possible way of having the best of both worlds.

Unfortunately, the current board software isn't robust enough to accommodate that kind of hack. If and when the team upgrades the version of vBulletin we're using though, it might be an interesting option to look at.