I agree that postcounts do not need to be as promenent as they were previously, however I don't agree with removing them alltogether because of the actions of one or two spammers. Postcounts are useful in easilly identifying new members and welcoming them to the board, and can also encourage HEALTY competiton, encouraging members to contribute.
In regards to fisher, I can assure all members that this was an ongoing issue which the crew has been trying to resolve peacefully for quite some time. I know it is a delicate matter. Often posts considered spam by one member, can be considered a very useful contribution by others.
It did, however, get to the stage where Fisher seemingly developed an obsession with his postcount. Many of his recent posts were clearly spam by anyones standards. I do not like the idea of publicly humilliating Fisher by posting details of his actions, unless Fisher WANTS to have a sensible and open discussion about this. If labelling a message as spam is enough to get someone to stamp their feet, cry, shout, and leave, then it certainly leaves a lot of questions open about that members personallity...
If a member is not a part of the "News Team", where do we put interesting articles we find? I put them in "Chat", but that may be incorrect. Thank you.
Posting one or two news articles you find interesting, offering your viewpoints, or starting a healthy debate on certain issues is certainly encouraged. The category will depend on the type of news. If political in nature, the "political discussion" forum is most appropriate. If they fit into any category we have a forum for, stick them there, if not, chit-chat will do.
Likewise, if there is a long awaited release of an application you use regularly, noone will have any objections in you posting, describing briefly what it is, perhaps your personal oppinions on the program, etc.
The problems would start if you went to:
http://download.com.com/3140-2001-0-1-2.html?tag=dir
Saw the list of releases, like:
#1 CD Ripper 1.72.39
AbsoluteShield Internet Eraser Pro 3.31
African Big Cats Screensaver 2.0
Amigo DVD Ripper 2.8.73
Chat Watch Professional 1.0
CloneDVD 2.1
Dewqs' Junk Mail Spittoon 1.8
... etc ...
... and then procceeded to make a seperate post about every application you saw, quoting the description given by CNET. For the full effect you could reply to some of your own posts, watching your postcount/penis grow. Of course, if someone asked you any details on these programs, you wouldn't have a clue, having never used them yourself.
When I log into BetaONE, and see the "latest posts" table on the front page being filled by a single member name, I consider it suspicious. If a brief look reveals that all posts follow the same format, having "Software title [version] released" as the subject, and the authors original description as the body, it is safe to consider it spam. If as a crew we point this out politely, and we are ignored, we have little choice but to insist a little more firmly.
Anyone can go to numerous download sites, and see the same kind of "news" I am reffering to (albeit slightly more up-to-date). I could write a PHP script to automatically fetch the list, their descriptions, and post them to BetaONE. If a members posts lack ANY indication of higher cognitive brain functionality, and could easilly be replicated by a bot, it leaves no doubt in my mind that they can safely be considered spam.
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