Post Count and ATS "points"

I'm not really sure why I am even thinking about this but I am so I shall use my membership priviledge and post my thoughts on the matter since our BELOVED ATS has grown so fast in recent months...

I think there is a risk of a new member coming here and seeing the post count/ats "point" count of elder members and feeling as though they need to "catch up" or compete.

I, for one, would like to lay that sordid thought to rest (even if it is only in my sordid mind )

Having only been a member here for the past few months I can honestly say the BEST threads/posts I have seen in well over 12 years of active participation in forums like this on internet have been made by NEW MEMBERS or relatively less productive members.

IMHO it is NOT the number of posts or the "points" that make the member but it IS the QUALITY of posts/threads that make the member.

We have one such member that immediately comes to mind, "SeekerOf"...

Whether you agree with him or not there is NO ONE that carries out research to enth degree, is ALWAYS a gentleman, and is consistantly concise and informative.

Obviously I am NOT alone in this thought since he is a "WAY ABOVE" winner to boot!

Let me be clear, this in NO WAY diminishes those who have high post counts or "points". It is merely an observation that the QUALITY can easily overcome the quantity in a forum like this just like it does in real life!

PEACE...
m...

Springer ...

ok ok



we get your point...


YOU HATE POINTS!!!!

Whats the question though?

I do NOT hate points nor do I like them I am simply indifferent to them.

The ONLY point i was trying to make is pretty well made in the post.

There is NO question. There is an expression of MY OPINION that it would be a tragedy for a new member to get caught up in the "points/number of posts" treadmill rather than focussing on good info they may have to share.

THAT'S ALL.

I used SeekerOf as an example of an AWESOME poster who has relatively few posts/points in comparison to his time on board. To prove up my theory that the points/number of posts do NOT make the poster a great contributor, it's the QUALITY of their posts/ideas that make them fascinating. Quality is a VERY subjective concept as well. What I see as quality may be seen as Drek by someone else. Wild isn't it?

That's it. REALLY! I thought I was pretty clear in the original post.

PEACE...
m...

You're right. and I'm going to post whore until I get access to the Really Above Top Secret forum

Academic arguments only answer academic questions.

Thank god we have neo around here to answer the stupid questions then

[Edited on 20-12-2003 by Kano]

Actually theseekerof is an awesome poster, so I totally agree with Springer. mind you us old mods are a font of wisdom and accumulated knowledge, why Kano knows all there is to know about good Australian beer. Give him 30 secs and he will explain it in depth!

Seekerof is an excellent example, as is Helen670.

BG

As usual you have hit the NAIL on the HEAD! There is no double entendre here (Has ANYONE ever wondered where i stand? Have I ever sugar coated my words?) to be wondered about...

We have posters, such as The NEO who are fascinating to read yet has jillions of points/posts, we have similar posters who are NOT fascinating in the least... AND we have posters, well frankly like myself, who are NOT so fascinating to read who have relatively low points/post counts while we have SeekerOf who is PURE GENIUS...

Point being, I think it a risk that an otherwise fascinating person may come here and get caught up in the non-existent "race" and we would miss out on the fascination! :LOL:

A sad day indeed!

P...
m...

Um yeah, I'd like to know how to get my points up higher faster. It seems like all you can do to get a lot of points is post ridiculously long posts a lot in one day and I barely have gotten 100 points. I wanna get 3500 points so I can go on the really top secret board!!! how do I get tons of points fast??

AlexJones (?)

You don't, until there is a means to do so, or you become a Scholar, Fighter or Writer.

You can take your time and learn to post quality and enjoy the dialogue and get occasional good feedback for the value of what you say!

Oh, and there is something that many replies on this thread (including one from a Super Mod!) have missed.

Making posts on the higher valued conspiracy forums is just one way to get points. There are others.

I have more ATS points than anyone else. When I got 100,000 I posted on where they came from. Maybe I will dig that out some time to place it here or on a new thread. I don't care if that makes me a tall poppy. Generally I like to post quality - I have talked about it often enough.

Well over 40,000 of my points have come from things other than posting - contests, incentives, Applause from Moderators, and votes for TWATS (The Way Above Top Secret) Award.

Keep an eye out for these opportunities. Use a bit of entrepreneurial spirit and take a chance when the opportunities are provided to you! It's part of the fun.

But really I would have to say, take your time, or you end up looking like another one in the "I want it now and I don't want to work too long and hard for it" credit-driven generation.





[Edited on 21-12-2003 by MaskedAvatar]

Anywhere, is there a listing of how many points you get for doing what, like posting in certain forums, starting a topic and getting replies, and all that?

When I first arrived at ATS I really wanted to get my points built up simply because I wanted to get into RATS but I like to think that I have been fairly responsible with my posts and I've resisted the urge to post loads of simple one line answers to every post that I've come across as much as possible.
I managed to get into RATS in the end because of the half price sale.
Now that I have managed that my ambition is to find that very elusive "golden topic" that will start one of those huge threads that people post on for months and months. Obviousley the points that you could gain from such a post would be great but I think that starting a post that gets the whole site interested would be worth more than all the points there are.
However I don't think that it will be me that finds such a topic of conversation so I will just carry on reading and commenting where I see fit.

Originally posted by Zodiac
Anywhere, is there a listing of how many points you get for doing what, like posting in certain forums, starting a topic and getting replies, and all that?

Stuff like that gets posted on this Forum (Board Queries) occasionally. I've done it a few times - what happens when you plug "ATS Points" into the ATS search facility?

Actually that's not a bad idea for something to include in the 'induction' reading material that accompanies the ATS Welcome Wagon greeting a member when she or he joins. I will link to this thread for the DISC committee to see.

Thanks Zodiac!

pantha- just to let you know, you can get mad points from debates and research threads. I can say much about the current state of debates on ATS right now, but eventually JB1 will come about....

thanks ktprktpr but the point that I was making is that now that I've got my RATS access I'm not bothered about he points, I just want to try to make good posts. I just wish I was as knowledgable and eloquent as some of the members here. Mind you I think that it gets easier the more time you spend posting and reading.
I have been meaning to check out the debates forum for a while now. What is JB1?

JB1 is John Bull1 and he heads up the debate forum.


regards
seekerof

It means John Bull 1. He is the Moderator for the Debate and Collaborative Fiction Forums.

here I go with one of those one line answers that I try to avoid but thanks