The numbers list doesn't mean anything to most of us - because we're not on it ... a very simple and true fact. What would be a more useful side to EliteTrader was if someone could compile valuable and insightful posts into "digests" where we quickly could run through a subject. It would be best if the "digest thread" owner would be able to prohibit others from posting to the thread - and perhaps even a "compilations" or "digest" section on the forum would be warranted. Doing searches is sometimes not enough to convince the passing guest into staying with the forum - and such a feature would easily convince anyone of this site's advantages. This way EliteTrader would increase it's commercial value - to traders and advertisers both.
The numbers list doesn't mean a whole lot to the people who are on it, either. After all, if the site didn't have the alias problem, the composition of the list would be quite different.
ahhh but YOu (most of you) were trying to MAKE the list... why do you think nitro and phoenix were at top of list, to feel good about themselves whatelse.. you didn't really think it their altruistic nature did you bwahahahha :-/
May I make a suggestion? Let the user have a toggle. If he or she wants to see the tally, then let them choose. If that is not possible, then give the choice in the account pages. Surly user definable enhancements and choices to ET features would be better than Global changes taking away choice. Michael B.
Here's a suggestion. Instead of listing the total number of posts why not list the total number of posts each user has on a thread. Take software for example. Every thread under software where Maverick74 posts, I would get a vote count. If I post under trading, I get a separate vote count there too. This is important because it lets people know who the mainstays on different threads are. Say I go to the Futures threads and I want to know who the top posters are there, it will be very easy to see who to direct my questions to. Also, there would be no post count for the chit chat threads, no need for it. But on all the other threads, especially for newbies, I think it would serve a purpose. So if I have a hardware question, I might want to PM the guy that has 1000 posts under the hardware threads. What do you guys think? Sounds good to me.
Alright, here you go: gay! Just read the particular forum and you'll get a good idea of who the 'top posters' are. And, of course, you seem to have fallen for the idea that 'many posts' = 'knowledgeable poster', otherwise why would you want to direct your question to the one with highest number of posts? Personally, I like the 'rate the poster' system, which would then allow you to ignore posters of a user defined rating. Or, then again, we could just leave things the way they are.
I've suggested the rating system 100 times. Nobody likes that idea. I think the number of posts per thread is better then just total number of posts. Or combine the two, have users create a rating system for each post and only posts above a certain number count as a post. So that way your post number would only show quality posts. These are just ideas.
What are the reasons for opposing the rating system? A greater sense of community will increase posting quality, hits, etc. Mavericks idea does help in this regard. Removing the total posts has resulted in a loss of community I feel. Perhaps it wasn't the best way to provide this, but it did do it. Now it is gone. I had some suggestions on a thread below this entitled ' creating better threads' or similiar. Something needs to be done.