If I may, I have been on forums, like most people here for over 15 years ranging from the mild like All Ford Mustangs and The Mustang Source to the more extreme like S197forum and Yellow Bullet. I think removing post counts is a +/- situation kinda. While all the regulars and those who are in the SAAC community know who the guys are with some great knowledge and information, most "newbies" or internet sleuths have no idea who any of you are. The post counts give a gauge of the knowledge or experience of an individual poster on certain topics and we can all debate on how correct that metric might be. For the supposed suspect I would say that the frequency of posting is less about spamming or trolling and more about sharing a passion and we have all seen how those who can be overexuberant and cross the line into annoying or unbearable. Without quoting every post, I think the idea of seeing unread threads is a great idea and I have done that multiple times in my years to see what topics interest me. Also, the issue brought up with making for-sale posts would still be triggered by post count, we just wouldn't see it on our side, but on the technical side, it would still exist. Also, as a moderator on other forums in the past, there is nothing that would cross the line with the suspected over-poster that would warrant removal. The nice thing is that in an age of forums dying as Facebook groups have become the norm, having someone continuously post and keep topics of discussion going, even if it is for a nonsense comment, still makes it look like a forum is more active than it might be. As a 35-year-old future Shelby owner, I came here looking for knowledge, and seeing that the forum is still alive and doing well is nice for me considering the forums that I frequented have died off I think this is a good thing to see an active forum, but I don't think removing the post count is going to solve the supposed problem, only make it harder for some people to help a stalker discern who is someone they should listen to when they run into a problem vs. who they shouldn't be listening to. I think the idea about SAAC members since XXXX might help with that and if people think are looking to create posts just to up an arbitrary number, I think that might be a good solution to the issue.
There are many well-thought-out comments that have been submitted in a diplomatic manner. I personally feel that removing member post counts is a disservice to those whom I truly respect and consider the underpinnings of this forum and the technical knowledge/history of all things Shelby. Their post count should be even higher as far as I'm concerned.
On the other hand, I don't appreciate all the clutter (like what's happening in Florida every five minutes) that appears for no other apparent reason than to boost post count. I personally will not even open posts from repeat offenders as they serve no useful purpose, in my opinion. If I've offended a frequent Florida poster with my input, too bad. I chose to NOT be diplomatic with my comment. Sometimes the message gets buried.
Frank
As mentioned before, you can also block whoever you choose so you see fewer of those posts. I think if you could block certain regional posts, that would also be of benefit.
Sean W
