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If they were to change it, it could at the very least be 500 posts or 5 years of membership, whichever comes sooner.

500 is kind of a high number, but I don't really have a problem with it being that number.
 
This topic comes up frequently. As the number of posts has not been lowered in the past it seems unlikely it will be lowered now. If you wish to raise this with the site admins/owners then use the Contact Us form.

I took your advice, used the contact US form, and for reply I got this thread quoted back to me LOL

"The other posters explained it well. "Avatars are an incentive and a reward for those who do spend time here interacting with other members and helping others out with support questions.""

There is something circular in all this that strikes me as funny.

Anyway, yes I know how to play the game, and can certainly boost my count... but there was a poster here who thought perhaps the motivation was less altruism on helping others and more commercialism on helping advertising counts.

I guess if two good things happen, whats the harm?

thank you for letting me really get my count quota up today :)
 
I suppose those of us who's post count is significantly higher (mine currently lists as 23,010 for example) don't really see hitting 500 as that much of a big deal. I've been a member for about 10 years so I have averaged 500 posts every 3 months or so.

Now I'm not going to claim that these have all be intelligent. No way!

I agree. 500 doesn't seem like much at all lol
 
I agree. 500 doesn't seem like much at all lol
500 posts? That's a decent month, or a busy week! :D Avatars and user titles aren't all that valuable, anyway. I've never figured out how any of them can be traded for a good cup of coffee!
 
If someone has been a member here for years and posts so little that they don't even have 500 posts, why do they even care if they have an avatar?
 
If someone has been a member here for years and posts so little that they don't even have 500 posts, why do they even care if they have an avatar?

and what do you care if they do care? not everyone feels the need to comment on everything {smiles}. Which I find refreshing.

I can never understand why so many macrumors posts are someone telling someone else what they need or do not need. Choice is a good thing and people are different.

But for all that have a gazillion posts, post on! post and let post. make posts not war.
 
and what do you care if they do care? not everyone feels the need to comment on everything {smiles}. Which I find refreshing.

I can never understand why so many macrumors posts are someone telling someone else what they need or do not need. Choice is a good thing and people are different.

But for all that have a gazillion posts, post on! post and let post. make posts not war.

I don't. I'm curious why they would care. There's a difference.
 
Out of curiosity what is so great about having an avatar?
:eek:

Isn't the whole point to be able to see which people are active.



The number of years also signify's something.

....
 
Out of curiosity what is so great about having an avatar?
:eek:

Isn't the whole point to be able to see which people are active.



The number of years also signify's something.

....

active does not mean quality. smiles. which is my point, by setting bars to jump over it actually encourages a decline in quality as people post for the sake of posting. so why not allow people to distinguish themselves with avatars right from the start like almost any other place I can think of? People respond to visual cues, I know I benefit from seeing certain avatars who almost never have anything of interest to read. Smiles.

Maybe I should just read the ones that do not have an avatar. mmmmm.

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I don't. I'm curious why they would care. There's a difference.

See above.

----------

Harumph!

----------

I'm actually a bit more interested in the post counts required to change status tiers.

careful someone will report you for having a one word reply. Its happened to me (interestingly after starting this crusade of quality over quantity LOL) In the general community forum which counts for ? someone asked a direct question and I gave a direct answer (No) and got reported for it. Humorous to me.
 
Wow..two years for me and just over halfway there...going to step it up.

And like what was said in an earlier posts, I like avatars as well so I can instantly recognize some of my favorite or not so favorite posters.:(
 
If someone has been a member here for years and posts so little that they don't even have 500 posts, why do they even care if they have an avatar?

I post when I have something to say. There are many times when I feel my contributions may not add much more than noise, so I stay quiet.

I'm not sure what is gained by dangling avatars as an incentive for post frequency rather than by some qualitative ranking system (which MR doesn't have).

MR is about the only forum I've ever been on that dangles avatars. Most sites either don't care or encourage you to upload them soon as a way to personalize your presence and to make the board more dynamically interesting/useful.

The question I have is what is gained by withholding avatars? If it's a class thing, that's why you have user titles, which gives more information than just the on/off of above/below a single arbitrary line.

Why I want avatars for all:
Avatars are essentially user icons and are easier to see when scanning a thread than a short string of letters. I can read with some speed and have a fondness for list view, but avatars/icons provide handy information quickly. I don't care what the avatars are, but their presence is useful. (...and curse you apple for making all icons monochromatic.)

Ultimately, though, I don't lose sleep over it.
 
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I post when I have something to say. There are many times when I feel my contributions may not add much more than noise, so I stay quiet.

I'm not sure what is gained by dangling avatars as an incentive for post frequency rather than by some qualitative ranking system (which MR doesn't have).

MR is about the only forum I've ever been on that dangles avatars. Most sites either don't care or encourage you to put upload them soon as a way to personalize your presence and to make the board more dynamically interesting/useful.

The question I have is what is gained by withholding avatars? If it's a class thing, that's why you have user titles, which gives more information than just the on/off of above/below a single arbitrary line.

Why I want avatars for all:
Avatars are essentially user icons and are easier to see when scanning a thread than a short string of letters. I can read with some speed and have a fondness for list view, but avatars/icons provide handy information quickly. I don't care what the avatars are, but their presence is useful. (...and curse you apple for making all icons monochromatic.)

Ultimately, though, I don't lose sleep over it.

Why do they withhold? Not sure, myself. Probably a power thing. Mods love power. They thrive on it, makes them stronger.
 
500 is a good number but hey I've got a purdy picture lol

LOVE that movie!!!!

Here's the thing. I have seen about 100 threads on why the avatar limit should be lower. You are not going to see much sympathy from the older/more active members who earned theirs at 500. It has been this way for a long time and most of us don't see much need to change it.

Getting my avatar was a nice treat. Took me a long time to get it and I have never changed it since I first put it up. I didn't come here for the picture next to my name. I came hear to learn something. So if you can't think of something to say, I might suggest that you stop adding to the noise and listen. There is some incredible wisdom on this board - not only about computers, but also about life. Just take some time to listen.

Signed - the guy who has been around longer then most
 
I'm baffled by people who have thousands of posts (I'm averaging .27 per day since 2008, and participating less and less as the quality of discussion on this site declines year after year).

I agree that dangling the incentive of an avatar can make certain types post "fluff" that they normally wouldn't if, say all users got a 16x16 avatar after 100 posts (or 1 year of membership) and the full-sized avatar after 500 posts.
 
I think that up to 90% of posts on MacRumors are total fluff.

Somebody brings up a legitimate gripe about an Apple product or service, seeking advice and they are innundated with fanboy bs complaining about how could someone possibly have a problem with an Apple product?

"I've bought Apple products for years without a single problem (probably a lie) so how dare you even suggest that your iPod stopped working 1 day after the warranty expired?" etc, etc.

So if that's what it takes to get an avatar, then I can be an Apple fanboy airhead too :D
 
I think that up to 90% of posts on MacRumors are total fluff.
You've been spending too much time in the iPhone/iPod/iPad forums. There's a lot less "fluff" in the Mac forums (although even those aren't fluff-free). :D
 
I'm baffled by people who have thousands of posts (I'm averaging .27 per day since 2008, and participating less and less as the quality of discussion on this site declines year after year).

I agree that dangling the incentive of an avatar can make certain types post "fluff" that they normally wouldn't if, say all users got a 16x16 avatar after 100 posts (or 1 year of membership) and the full-sized avatar after 500 posts.

quite a few of the people who have the highest number of posts aren't even active anymore but the community seemed much more talkative and helpful back in the earlier days of the forums and things have gone downhill a bit in my opinion but i suppose it was going to happen with the growth that Apple has had over the years.
 
I'm really surprised to read that someone could generate 500 posts every 2-3 months.

I've been on this forum since 2003 and have yet to reach 500 posts.

The secret must be to post one line of bs on every topic, everyday.

Of course if you have a life, this is pointless.
 
I'm baffled by people who have thousands of posts (I'm averaging .27 per day since 2008, and participating less and less as the quality of discussion on this site declines year after year).
Well, you can accumulate thousands of posts by participating in those "fluff" discussions or talking about what someone's cat ate for breakfast, or you can accumulate them by answering a lot of technical questions and helping people. Quantity may or may not be accompanied by quality. It's up to each poster to decide which they prefer.

I'm really surprised to read that someone could generate 500 posts every 2-3 months.
The secret must be to post one line of bs on every topic, everyday.
Not necessarily. See above.
 
I'm really surprised to read that someone could generate 500 posts every 2-3 months
500 posts divided by 90 days (3 months) equates to 5.5 posts a day. With the news threads, OSX, applications and iPhone forums, never mind the community forums. Its quite easy to achieve and exceed 5 posts a day without BSing and still having a life.

I'm quite active in the macbook pro forum and I help out as much as I can with people asking questions. My point I can easily post over 5 times as I look to aide other members
 
Been a member for over four years and still at 28 posts. Just never feel the need to post. But I guess that also explains me not missing my avatar...
 
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