[Xenon]

I have noticed, as evident in a thread started last night, that many members are getting quite fed up with the whole skull and post count idea. I wanted to start this thread so we could discuss this topic civilly...and hopefully without any outbursts of 4 letter words (giovanni! :

: ) I must admit I am a little annoyed as well when people make posts about their skulls or their post count. I can understand people are excited about this but it does get quite annoying. This site is intended to be a forum for fish hobbyists and scientists to share their ideas and help each other out. It is also a place to meet people and socialize with them in the Lounge. It does not matter what your post count is, because assembling a whole lot of posts, and a whole lot of skulls leaves you nowhere if you really havnt added much to the commnity. Please share your thoughts and you ideas on how to solve this.

Sorry to the people that responded to the original thread but it has been deleted.

 

[LouiCypher]

Good Idea Xenon, but I don't see a problem with the skulls at all. Here's a thought.... oh there it is... just make a seperate thread in the lounge called "Skull Braggers Here Please" or something. I don't believe you have to go as far as removing them entirely, they provide some incentive (nominal) towards posting more. With more posts come more opinions, with more opinions comes more useful information. So no, please don't take away my skulls. Besides, you'll more than likely get more complaints about their removal then about their use.

 

[LouiCypher]

Wait a sec... do you mean that people are posting for the sole purpose of getting skulls. Oops, sorry, I thought you meant that they were bragging about having (or whining about not having) a high skull count. If that's the case, then I think that posts should not be counted just in the lounge. I still feel that the skulls should stay though.

 

[Xenon]

So far I have been adamatly opposed to not counting posts in the lounge because I feel people are contributing to the community even if they are not posting about fish in the fish forums..... I am startign to change my views though, does anyone else have an opinion?

 

[pythonwill]

I voted not to change anything but now that I think about it I would say make them not count in the lounge.
People with high skull count are supposed to have learned enough through all that posting to give some advice. When I stared out on another board I didnt know squat about any fish, but after I got over about 300 post's I like to think I learned alot. Some of these people have over 1000 posts and I dont know if they can honestly say that they know a damn bit more that I do.

my 2 cents
Will

 

[marco]

its pretty bad that it has came to a point that people are only here for skullz. do what you have to do xenon. but im not here for the skullz, im here for the loving of the fish.

 

[Innes]

I think that nothing should be changed, as people talk about all kinds of things that don't interest others - for me I never read the paintball threads, and war threads - just don't read the skullz threads!
and as far as I am aware their is not a problem with people spamming the site for high post counts.
also I would also like to add how much fun it was when Bobme and *USMC*sPiKeY were at the height of their posting - there were always new topics and loads of discussion.
and also I am soooo close to 2000 posts - blue skullz?

my message for all those who don't like these threads - Bite it

 

[marco]

personaly i think people should be evaluated on how much they know about piranahs and aquatics. like on a 1-10 scale.... i would probibly be around a 7 cause i have ben in the hobby for a wile now and have some experience with these fishies.

 

[Innes]

personaly i think people should be evaluated on how much they know about piranahs and aquatics. like on a 1-10 scale.... i would probibly be around a 7 cause i have ben in the hobby for a wile now and have some experience with these fishies.

I think that more to the point, people should realise that loads of skullz means nothing, we already have other ways of recognising "knowledgable" members - Admin, mods, senior members + member of the month contest, is this not enough?
perhaps you could make a few more senior members.

 

[Sir Nathan XXI]

ooops I just voted wrong, make lounge posts not count!

 

[Young Gotti]

Lounge posts not count is my vote.

 

[DiXoN]

i voted do nothing but.... i think it is getting i bit sad with all the look at me posts.i try to add as much decent info as possible but also like adding daft stuff to some of the daft posts it all fun .some people do get carried away though and maybe this is what should be looked at
the thing is and it has been mentioned on this post :- post count, skulls etc mean sh*t if you dont know what you are talking about and this is not meant towards anyone in particular as i dont really take much notice of crap info so dont really have a clue who they are i just now how good i am even with my low post count (look at me)

dixon

 

[Judazzz]

Why seperate Lounge and other posts?
Most people figure out soon enough who provides valuable information, and who's advise to take seriously... I mean, when people only judge members by post count and number and color of skulls, it's their loss... Skulls (or whatever one uses for his/her discussion board, and post counts are just a part of most boards, and everyone has to decide for him-/herself how much he/she values it...
No one enters the Lounge to get serious info, and when they post a real question in one of the other forums, there are usually more than enough answers and tips to figure out what would be the best answer.

I agree with X that it is getting a bit out of hand with those "Whoohoo, I have 100 posts and two skulls" threads, but the whole purpose of the Lounge is to have a laugh and get a little off-topic (no matter how stupid the topic might be). If you don't like those threads, like I do, simply don't view them.....

So I voted: Do nothing.

 

[Clay]

People with high skull count are supposed to have learned enough through all that posting to give some advice.

Yes and no. I would consider myself to be able to dispense pretty good advice on occasion, and my "skull count" is pretty low.

 

[Sir Nathan XXI]

thats just because you dont post here much, you have a high count on your board

 

[Judazzz]

Yes and no. I would consider myself to be able to dispense pretty good advice on occasion, and my "skull count" is pretty low.

I agree: what about veteran fish keepers or scientists that have just discovered this site: are they noobs again all of a sudden, because they start with 0 posts?

I don't know why people are so obsessed with high post counts: I admit it might look a bit intimidating to people that just started with this hobby, or just signed up (like, man he has 1500 posts, so he must really know his shiz), but with using no more than a little common sense everyone should be able to pick out the experienced and useful members soon enough...

 

[traumatic]

skulls, like other things people want. cause controversy w/ the few people who care. and then it annoys the sh*t out of people who don't care. i don't care, but if you have to post a lot to get the info you need and give the info people ask, for is the only reason for skulls. not how many hours a day you spend on the net post whoring and hoping you get cute little colorful skulls.

you should be here for a reason, to learn about fish (piranhas specifically) and the home aquarium. it sucks that people actually care about status, rank and labels.

 

[Poseidon X]

if you make the lounge skulls not count then the post whoring will spill over into the fish columns.

 

[Xenon]

post count and skulls are not representative of fish knowledge. I am working on some things that will better illustrate this... For now we have the member of the month contest that tries to reward people for their fish advice.

 

[bgshortys]

Ive only been a member for a couple of days now, but I don't really even look at skulls. I have enough knowledge to know what is total B.S. and what actually matters in fishkeeping. I have found out that the majority of people who judge on skull count are the people who don't really know much to begin with and are the people who want the skulls to make them look "good." I hope you understand what I'm saying. I think you should put a disclamer on this website that says that the skulls are a count of number of posts, not how knowledgeable the person is. That kinda ruins it for the people who are knowledgeable and have a lot of skulls though. Thats my opinion.