Is there any reason why the post counts can't be reset to zero every month or even every week? Or at least every quarter? A count that goes on into perpetuity really doesn't convey the information it's intended to convey. Either that, or eliminate them entirely.
According to past comments (yours or somebody else's; I don't remember), the point of these tallies is to track the most active members. But since the tallies are never reset, the "most active" may not even be here any more. And people who may once have been very active, like aphie, may not be nearly so. Therefore, the list doesn't provide the information it's intended to provide. Therefore, if you want a list of "current" most active members for some reason, the counter should be reset periodically. I suggest once a month. But I also suggest that individual members be given the option of "opting out" of the tally so that their names don't appear on the list. The suggestion has also been made than posts made to Chit Chat, Feedback, Announcements, etc, should not be in the count. I agree with that as well, but that may be a separate issue.
If you reset the counter to once a month the frequency of posting will increase dramatically because those in the posting race would want to be on the list as fast as possible and every month. It would infact encourage more useless posting.
I think the core issue is that the current list is not really labeled correctly. It says "Most Active Members" when in fact it should says something like "All-Time Top Posters". A separate list saying "This Month's Most Active Members" would then need to be created showing the members who averaged the highest number of posts per day over the course of the last month, or something like that.
But I thought you guys wanted members to post more frequently. As to the uselessness, no one has as yet explained why Chit Chat, etc, can't be off-limits to post tallies. I don't know that I'd call that the "core issue". The "core issue" may well be why one would want a list of all-time top posters in the first place. In any case, as above, my questions regarding Chit Chat, etc, remain, as well as my question about an "opt out" for those who'd rather not be on the list at all. Thank you both for your replies.