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[PKRWUD]

Well, I must admit, I'm really kinda surprised. I sincerely hope and urge that the post count and the registered date remain. I can't believe some people are this worked up over getting rid of the post count. I can understand Jim, because it is his highly paid job to over see things, and the silly threads that do exist are probably annoying to anyone who didn't become part of them. But I have recently discovered that they are alot of fun, too, and i'm sorry, but I like having fun sometimes. I didn't even know the top 25 list existed until TNT showed it to me when she was here a month ago. As it turns out, I'm #2 on that list, but over 3000 of my 5000+ posts were made in the tech forums, helping other people. I honestly can't ever remember posting a thread in the tech forums where I was asking for help, I just go there to help other people. Alot. Does that make me a post ho? It must because I'm #2 on the list. Sure, in the past month, I have spent equal time in the BOL, and it's been fun. I don't think anyone is really leaving short, simple posts solely to boost their count. C'mon, guys, get real. There may have been a few, every few months, but the member always grows tired of being laughed at, and stops. I really think we are old enough to police ourselves when it comes to being a post ho. It's not like MW gives out prizes for reaching certain levels.

Actually, now that I think about it, I'm pretty damn proud of my post count because I know that the majority of them helped somebody. Is that bad? Maybe I should follow Kell's lead and go away for a while. No offense, but I'm not hanging out here for the pay, the prizes, or trying to win some car. I'm here because this site is made up of some really good people, and because no matter how many times I tell people their throttle has to be blocked open for a compression test, someone always forgets.

This past month or so has actually been the most fun I've had on MW, and mostly for the fun, rapid fire threads that develop in BOL. They have nothing to do with each member's post count, and taking the count away won't stop them. At least I sure hope not.

This is a great site. Why do any of you really care if the number of times a person has taken the time to post or reply is listed under their name? I'll tell you why it helps me. I am really, really bad with names. I figure I have helped over 400 different members on this site, some of them more than once. When there are so many similar names, a post count and registered date help ME figure out who they are. I hate having to always ask people to tell me their vehicle history again because I don't realize it's the same guy I helped out 5 months ago. It also says something about a members credibility. High post counts don't always mean that person is right all the time, but it does mean they care enough to be here alot, and that in itself becomes educational, so someone with a 1500 count has a little more credibility than someone with 17. That may not always be accurate, but it's a good item to measure with.

Having my post count there helps me sometimes too. I can't tell you what a major pain in the a$s it used to be to have to prove my worth over and over again to people just because they didn't know me, or because they were new. No offense, but you're getting some quality help from me for free, don't ask me to walk on water, too. But I have noticed that as my count got higher, more people who otherwise didn't know me treated me with respect, and dammit, I think I deserve that sometimes. Today alone, while MW was down, I received 13 emails from 9 different members asking for varying degrees of help. They didn't know what else to do because MW was down. I don't mind that, most of the time, and I'm not asking for those to be added to my count, but at least leave it there. Some people are very proud of their count. Not because they have reached a new level, like a video game, but because it means something to them to have contributed and shared with such special friends so many times.

Hell, I don't know, maybe I just need to go out and get more of a life.

~Chris