I never even look at them, my own or anyone elses. I'm just not that ar*d either way.
I post 'cos I want to not because it'll boost any number.
From the perspective of someone who is relatively new at posting it can serve a purpose. It tells me who is likely to know who. For instance, longevity means you are likely to have some kind of familiarity with others who have also been posting a long time. It does not mean you have met, but you have an opinion on the other person.
So... if on a thread something is said that could come across as obtuse or a bit rude, you can see that they probably know each other well and are just having a bit of fun. Whereas a similar comment made to someone new, could look they way it seems.
Also, as you can see they have a certain amount of experience on the site, they may be someone I might ask advice from if a point comes up I am interested in and they have commented.
Just my opinion, for what it is worth. Personally I think this place is anonymous enough without taking the count off as well.
It does no harm and can be a reference for people e.g. how many posts over the summer for teachers sub-thread.
Is someone worried about the size of his compared to others? Post envy?
Just spent 5 minutes looking for the post counter...didnt even know it was there !
Anais thanks for the link, I read up some of that thread it had some good points some still valid some not. Nice to read some in depth discussion on the subject.
As for why i'm interested in the subject its because I enjoy being part of this site and being able to put my point of view over regarding what i like and dislike about elements of it. The subject though not of great importance to me obviously has a relevance or i'd not of noticed it.
I can see the point that people might look to those massive post numbers and think that through this the person posting has some sort of valuable experience, I however think thats not necessarily the case. Some contributors might have small post counts but in one post contain more quality in it than twenty of someone elses. The opposite can also be said to be true. I know that i myself use far too many words to get my points over succinctly and to this end a lot of what i post is gibberish.
After reading the posts via the link anais suggested I still think the post thing has no relevance and would drop it if the choice were left to me but it isn't so it won't. I thought it worthy of discussionthough.
Yeah, its still in the box tho..I cant find it!!