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What I was getting at with the whole post count was that it gives us milestones. Now whether we hit 1K posts and go “whee 1000 posts!!“, get a slight feeling of accomplishment, or we simply look at it and smile, it gives us a numerical value to rate how we have been spending our time. Imagine for a minuet the myth of Sisyphus(Wikipedia). In this myth Sisyphus, Sisyphus was condemned by the gods to roll a rock up a steep hill for all of eternity, however before reaching the top the rock would inevitably overcome him and it would roll back to the bottom of the hill where it had started. For most of us this is our daily lives, our lives are filled with meaningless tasks that we get no appreciation for and when we think that we are finally starting to see progress the light at the end of the tunnel starts to creep further and further away. Our feelings of accomplishment are to few and to far in between to show any meaning to our lives.

Now what if we went back and changed up Sisyphus’s situation a bit, what if instead of him almost reaching the top and the rock over coming him, what if he did make it to the top of the mountain and the rock rolled down the other side and he was presented with a slightly larger mountain to over come? While it’s obvious that Sisyphus still isn’t getting anywhere, this task is much more rewarding than the original one. There are moments of great achievement that repeats it’s self at a regular interval. There is both a since of control and a feeling that something is actually getting done, which are great feelings. Sisyphus is at last able to give meaning to his actions.

This “meaning” is part of the reason that MMORPG’s like World of Warcraft, Everquest, and all of the other games of that nature have gained so much popularity. Unlike real life where our accomplishments are noticed to far in between, in games like this you gain a level just to be presented with another level that will be slightly more difficult to obtain. The rock rolls down the hill and you are a little bit stronger than before. You see the lowbie struggling to get there level and you can look back and smile remembering when you were that level, while they are looking at you in your shinny armor with envy realizing that you have been over that mountain and many others. The interaction between players gives the whole process meaning, there is an understanding that the more you work at it the more powerful you will become.

This same concept can be used for our post count, especially so on sites with some sort of “star“ system in place. Our post count shows us and the community of the forums how much we have interacted with others on the forums and can be interpreted as a status symbol. The new people look at the people with high post counts and know that they have been around a while and are more than likely well respected members of the site. While these people with the high post counts will do there quick welcome to the site posts reflecting on when it was them making there introductory post. Now whether we think of these things on a conscious or unconscious level is immaterial, we strive for meaning to our lives and for recognition which our post counts give us to at least some degree. With our post counts we can see ourselves gaining ground in the social rankings of the community of that forum.

There are quite a few features other than just the post count on this site that help us move up that social ranking and give us this recognition that we desire, we have our anime lists, footers, avatars, profiles, clubs, friends, comments, ect which effect what others think of you and give you a since of purpose. When you think that a post count doesn’t matter ask yourself if you have ever looked at another persons anime count on there profile and just said “dam, they have seen a lot of anime” or have checked your panel just to see how many have viewed your profile/list?? These things aren’t really all that different from a post count when you think about it. The thought that someone else might read our posts, and that the more we post the more people will end up reading what you have to say gives us purpose to post and our post count is a record of that progress.

"why do you go on forums"

For threads like this.

To be less vague, I like watching the interactions between people. And even though I seldom post or comment about concepts others have made, I still enjoy reading everything as a kind of personal study on the social interactions of people from different places. I find it especially interesting when I can see how people from different countries interact with one another.

When I post, typically I don't expect to be read, or acknowledged, because no matter how long I stay on a forum, I'm never really noticed. But for me it's worth it if someone like me who primarily lurks can read my thoughts and expand their own. Though there are two exceptions to this rule. I'm a frequent poster in a number of art forums where I'm interested in legitimate feedback and try to give the same to those seeking it, and I tend to write sometimes borderline diatribes when I feel someone has stepped out of line for not thinking something through. It makes me seem like an ass I realize, and because of this I often don't post things that I sometimes spend hours writing and developing. ^^;

And I digress. For the record though, I did read every post in this thread. All of every post, and I found it all interesting, specifically Hadden's Sisyphus analogy, which gave me a view of both forum post counts and MMO's that I've never really thought of before. *nods*

Ah, brilliant posts Twitchy_F and Hadden! I am kind of tired of tryping right now because of blog (and I'm sleepy), and I could respond but it would prboably be a tired unjust response... hehe.. So I WILL come back and edit this post! I'll probably have to reread it all again though, ahha.

I go on the fourms simply because I can and I have nothing better to do.

Bringing this topic back up due to something funny I read

* 90% of users are lurkers (i.e., read or observe, but don't contribute).
* 9% of users contribute from time to time, but other priorities dominate their time.
* 1% of users participate a lot and account for most contributions: it can seem as if they don't have lives because they often post just minutes after whatever event they're commenting on occurs.

+1

But seriously. Nicely said, Hadden, internet sociology sounds really interested! I think I'll buy that book :x

Not that I can answer for anyone else, but I come here looking for stimulation. The kind of charge you get from getting together with people and you're all into the same stuff, yea? It's kind of mindless in a way, but it's fun. It's nice to sort of make a place for yourself in a community, and honestly the actual RL community doesn't really have a community feel :x

And I used to spam out of sheeeer boredom. Didn't feel like watching anime, didn't feel like anything... So I boosted my post count. '''XD

I feel like I could answer this better, but I'm tired.

I'D like to know where you got those percentages. They seem incorrect to me.

I cannot even remember now.....
It made me laugh because that 1%=me (and others) on MAL... "it can seem as if they don't have lives because they often post just minute after whatever event they're commenting on occurs"
I wasn't trying to say they were right :P

To quickly say something (since I don't have time to write much else), I used to go on forums a lot before but I stopped because I seemed to have outgrown them. But I've recently picked up this forum now and like someone said earlier, it's exciting to discover that someone like you is closer than you think. Especially for me since I am so far the only person I know around me who likes anime as much as I do :(

I just go to recent post. Most just happen to be spam.
I go to recent post because hopefully someone will respond to my post.

I like forums for several reasons.

- I like the idea of forums for discussing things that I like. The idea is better than the reality of what forums actually tend to be, always, however. I generally only frequent one or two forums at once. I stay away from the temptation to get sucked into gaming forums nowadays though; there's not a lot nastier than posting for months on a forum only to realise one day that everyone on it is a fool, in your estimation. Still, I've had some fascinating discussions and read some other fascinating discussions on forums, and it's that sort of thing I'm most looking for on forums, an interesting conversation, a well-reasoned debate, a fun random fact, a bit of information or even a good old fashioned argument, as long as it's fact-based.

- I've never found a forum where I felt properly 'at home'. I suppose I'll always be looking for it, just like I'm looking for the woman I feel right with, the place I feel like I am at home in, the job I am happy doing.

- There's a hell of a lot of interesting and useful information on forums. You just have to dive in and find it.

- I like to know what other people think, not only to see whether they agree with what I think (usually they don't, by and large) but so I can get some kind of handle on what's popular and unpopular in a given field, so I can gain some kind of understanding of what does well and what doesn't, and why. Forums are a perfect place to do this; you get all kinds of people, ignorant and knowledgable, articulate and monosyllabic, reasonable and reactionary, and from all corners of the world and all walks of life - a self-formed focus group. Not that I can do anything with what I learn, mind you; still, it's interesting.

- This probably makes me seem really lonely and miserable, but honestly I'm not...I have never met anyone who it struck me appeared to think like I do. Every now and then I wonder if there's actually anyone else in the world with the same attitudes, ideas and outlook on life as me, reached via some other route. It sort of makes sense that if there were, they'd maybe look in similar places to me...

- The "Wikipedia Factor". I decide to look in on Recent Topics and hey, that looks interesting. Ohh, a link. Hey, this site is fantastic! (half an hour passes). Oh yes. MAL forum, that's right. Aha, episode discussion! (half an hour passes while I read everyone's thoughts, then another fifteen minutes while I write a response, read what I wrote, totally scrap and rewrite 75% of it, post it, edit out the grammar error and repost it) Ooo, a funny youtube thing. (half an hour passes while I watch that and four other things related). Anyway...oh, that guy. Let's see what HE thought of Elfen Lied. Hey, nice list, but you have no taste. What the hell IS that thing, anyway, I keep seeing it mentioned. Oh right, that.
...and so on. A quick look at the forum sometimes quite by chance turns into a more enjoyable evening's entertainment than what you would have done if the idea hadn't occured to you to look at the forum.

I go on forums to meet new people who like anime too and to discover great anime series.

I go on forums if I have the time. Forums, to me, are fun in a way. But I don't see the point why people like to spam. :/ They're pointless and people most probably would get annoyed if you spam. ^^; But there are different types of spam, so I don't know which type you're focusing on.

Anyway, because this is a topic that everyone makes super-long paragraphs, someone like me can't really think up of much like others do. xDD

^ ya thats pretty much my reason too. If my 360 wasnt dead i'd be on XBL.

I am the 0.0000001%. Who tries (sometimes) to disturb others and tries to get everyone out the mood of posting but (rarely) tries contribute to the community. Most odd part is I have the path of destruction.

Actually, I have no idea. I used to join almost every forum I saw without thinking. Just had fun posting stuff, getting help/helping others ect. ect. Had to stop using computer for +6 months for personal reasons. When I got back, almost all of those boards I used to go to are dead or just sux now. =P I come here to kill time while waiting people to post on other forums. =P

I go to forums for many reason but the main reason is because I'm bored. They're quite entertaining if you find the right boards with the right questions. People will say the darnest (and stupidest) things on boards; I've often almost spewed my drink on the screen. I also go to educate myself on a topic; this tends to take place with my hobbies a lot. And to offer my assistance to people whom I can help. Other times it's to go and be social, like finding out if friends are online, or to participate in forum actives.

And yes I'm a proud lurkers.

Most of the time, I'm a lurker, and I go looking for information or something that I'm interested in. If there happens to be something I would like to pry more info from the brains of the posters, then yeah, I post. Post count is something more of a byproduct. XD; It just kind of happens.

Then there are the rarer occasions when I might actually KNOW something relevant to the thread that hasn't been posted, or I can elaborate on what someone else already, or correct it or something. Those are always fun, as everyone has a chance to learn something new. Of course, oft-times, it's me getting corrected, but I can deal with that. Better to get corrected than go around with incorrect information. >O<

Places like this, I absolutely love being able to learn more about this thing that I got so rabidly interested in, because so many people enjoy it too, so there's a huge chance that they know something you don't. I originally went to school to be a journalist, so knowing all the facts and the stories is kind of a passion. X3

And rarer still,it's to see if I can help someone in a post too. Most often, I'm pretty useless for that, so who knows? It's worth a look anyway.

I can't stand posting things that are probably irrelevant or don't really contribute; it feels like I waste my time. On the other hand, sometimes I get completely carried away and start going off on long-winded tangents like I'm doing right now. DX

Did any of that garbled mess make sense?