Do people dismiss new/low post members?

[Carrington666]

I'd like to think that I judge every post only on its own merrit, but I have to admit that I give more credence to people that I remember wrtiting well thought out posts before.

Which is kind of hypocritically of me, since I want my posts to be judged based solely on their content and this is only my 7th post. At least I added a profile picture after reading this thread ;-)

Then again, I only start ignoring/dismissing people if theiy have a history of pointlessly agressive and/or bigoted posts, so post count is a bit of a mixed bag for me.

 

[lunavixen]

I generally read their posts just to see what they're saying, if I don't agree with it, I will dismiss it, but not the person, unless they've proven to be nothing but inflammatory in their post history. My lurker tendencies mean I try not to comment unless I have something significant I really want to add to the discussion, even though I usually get ignored anyway, so there's that.

 

[zen5887]

You betcha. Especially if they are new.

And considering how long I've been here, most of you are new.

 

[GinraiPrime]

I have a low post count here but in terms of other forums I've been involved with over the years, no I don't dismiss them. Like many others have said its the content of your posts that shows what type of person your are, not your post count. If someone has a low count but at least has made a profile and added an avatar then I'd say they're gonna be here for awhile.
Personally, I just pop onto the forum on and off for afew years now, only posting when I see a topic that interests me. The recent Gamersgate thing I never bothered with because it seemed like a shitstorm so I avoided it. I normally tend to go for fluff topics or topics that I'm interested in, not just ones that EVERYONE is going for.

 

[agent9]

It depends. If people only post to talk about a specific issue then I may ignore them simply because they could be astroturfing. If they are reasonable and polite, willing to really look at the subject, then I'll pay attention.

 

[DestinyCall]

I'm sure plenty of people do care about post count and give less weight to newer members. Personally, I don't pay much attention to it.

However, if someone has been around for a long time and posts frequently, I am more likely to notice and remember their name. Eventually, I'll start to form an opinion about the quality of their posts - either good or bad. From that point onward, when I notice who is writing a particular point, I'll be influenced by my opinion of their past postings.

Obviously, if they are a new or infrequent poster, I won't be aware of their history so they will be a "blank slate" and judged purely on the content of the current post. This can work in their favor if it is a well-written post, but if it is poorly phrased, I'm less likely to give them the benefit of the doubt because I don't know that they can do better.

But, I don't hold it against someone if they have fewer than a certain number of posts - quantity and quality are not related. Plus, that would be pretty hypocritical of me considering I've been here five years and barely broken 100 posts.

 

[IceForce]

It's kind of sad but a lot of people will discount what you have to say by your profile alone. They'll disregard you because you're perceived as a noob in their eyes or as a no-lifer in their eyes. Only those in the middle ground of their personal accepted range matter.

I assume you're talking about profile info as a whole, and not just post count?

I've deliberately not filled out any of my profile details (age, occupation, country, etc), because each detail you provide about yourself is just another potential ad hominem that people can use against you.

And some users on this forum have a really bad habit of attacking the person or something about the person, rather than attacking the argument that person has made.
I'd rather not give them the opportunity to make that mistake.

 

[Darth Rosenberg]

Of course not - that seems ever so slightly ridiculous. I don't consult the post count number for an opinion... I use the werdzes on the screen. Nothing else should colour how you respond to or approach a post from someone you're not familiar with yet.

If I have a bias, it's with people with no avatar. Those are the people you've really got to keep an eye on... Highly suspicious folk, that lot.

 

[GamerKT]

That's a silly bias. Some of us just don't post much, y'know.

 

[Andy Shandy]

I'll only tend to dismiss someone's post if they have a low post count, default avatar AND a recent join date combined.

Anything other than that, and I try to avoid doing so.

 

[Something Amyss]

Woohoo! I'm old guard!

Oh, right, there was a topic here. Umm...Carry on.

I don't tend to look at join dates or post counts often. If I recognise a name, I will respond based on my history with them, be it a friendly face, someone I think offers insight, or someone I think is full of crap. But I will pay more attention to people like Fappy, Colour Scientist, Zukhov (whose name I might spell right one day without 30 tries) or MarsAtlas (to name a few) because of who they are or things they've said. And Vault, but I think that's because of her avatars. >.>

This is definitely a form of bias, but it has nothing to do with their join dates. Been chatting with a couple of newbies of late, who I won't name because it's not fair to drag them down when they're so young and full of hope. I tend to evaluate people I don't know by their ideas. Someone who posts a thoughtful response as their first post is more interesting to me than someone who POST LIEK THIS ALL THE TIME!!!!!

Also, they must absolutely agree with me on everything, as is only reasonable. <.<

I've been doing this ">.>" a lot. <.<

I think I'm up to something.

 

[Punkster]

Well I just joined so I hope this isn't true?

The reason I have joined is because I am really sick of the Gamespot community, of which I've been a member for years, now I just can't stomach all the idiocy that goes on daily.

I wanted to join a site with more decent people/gamers that can argue a point without being a complete child.

Well anyway, this is my first post and I just wanted to say hello to you all and I hope you kind, lovely, honourable folks give me a chance or I will take my pram toys and go elsewhere!?

(please be gentle)

EDIT: I joined here because I follow The Escapist for Jimquisition and Zero Punctuation on You Tube, not because of the Gamergate thing, must of which I know very little about since Gamespot has said nothing on the matter. I just wanted to point that out.

 

[Dr. Crawver]

Well I just joined so I hope this isn't true?

The reason I have joined is because I am really sick of the Gamespot community, of which I've been a member for years, now I just can't stomach all the idiocy that goes on daily.

I wanted to join a site with more decent people/gamers that can argue a point without being a complete child.

Well anyway, this is my first post and I just wanted to say hello to you all and I hope you kind, lovely, honourable folks give me a chance or I will take my pram toys and go elsewhere!?

(please be gentle)

Well, not a bad community to come to. I may find it easier to dismiss/ignore newer members, but I won't outright pretend they don't exist or not read what they write.

Come at topics from a levelheaded perspective (which it sounds like you will do) and you'll be fine.

-Edit-

As you edited your post, it's also clear you aren't here for gamergate, since it is your first post and this has nothing to do with that whole issue.

 

[Dr. Crawver]

I'm more likely to dismiss really high post members because there's no way someone who spends that much time on this site has enough experience in the real world to give an opinion that means anything.

Awww, be nice to the elderly. It's not like there's an old escapist home we can send them to.

 

[Super Cyborg]

Can't really condemn you for ignoring new people, especially if that newbie is me. Not sure about others, but I'm still overall new to being part of forums in general (with this and a Manga forum I joined shortly before this). I don't think I get ignored because I'm new, though that could be part of it. My main problem is that my posts are usually terrible (around 90% of the time, but that might be generous). I'm slowly learning, and maybe one day my percentage will reach to 80%. I can dream can't I?

As for the actual topic, maybe new posters, especially when it comes to ones that come only for controversial topics, really have nothing to say overall. Not saying that all of them are bad, but you probably get a number of them who are just there to be part of the chaos.

 

[JoJo]

Anyway what's your opinions on real life pictures as avatars? More respect? Less? No effect?
Hmmm, I should probably update mine, I just keep getting better looking all the time.

I find real life faces are the easiest type of avatar to remember, though it doesn't necessarily have to be the user in question's actual face of course. It won't affect my opinion of the user though.

OT: I don't dismiss anyone for low post count or a recent join date but I do treat any controversial posts by newer users with more scrutiny, especially OPs. There's an undeniable trend of threads being made by first-post users often being flamebait (yes, just what we need, another thread about sexism), borderline spam or just plain trolling. Unfortunate but true.

 

[Fappy]

Woohoo! I'm old guard!

Oh, right, there was a topic here. Umm...Carry on.

I don't tend to look at join dates or post counts often. If I recognise a name, I will respond based on my history with them, be it a friendly face, someone I think offers insight, or someone I think is full of crap. But I will pay more attention to people like Fappy, Colour Scientist, Zukhov (whose name I might spell right one day without 30 tries) or MarsAtlas (to name a few) because of who they are or things they've said. And Vault, but I think that's because of her avatars. >.>

This is definitely a form of bias, but it has nothing to do with their join dates. Been chatting with a couple of newbies of late, who I won't name because it's not fair to drag them down when they're so young and full of hope. I tend to evaluate people I don't know by their ideas. Someone who posts a thoughtful response as their first post is more interesting to me than someone who POST LIEK THIS ALL THE TIME!!!!!

Also, they must absolutely agree with me on everything, as is only reasonable. <.<

I've been doing this ">.>" a lot. <.<

I think I'm up to something.

Stop being so shifty, Zachary! We don't want people catching on to machinations of our Old Guard Illuminati!

 

[AkaDad]

Woohoo! I'm old guard!

Oh, right, there was a topic here. Umm...Carry on.

I don't tend to look at join dates or post counts often. If I recognise a name, I will respond based on my history with them, be it a friendly face, someone I think offers insight, or someone I think is full of crap. But I will pay more attention to people like Fappy, Colour Scientist, Zukhov (whose name I might spell right one day without 30 tries) or MarsAtlas (to name a few) because of who they are or things they've said. And Vault, but I think that's because of her avatars. >.>

This is definitely a form of bias, but it has nothing to do with their join dates. Been chatting with a couple of newbies of late, who I won't name because it's not fair to drag them down when they're so young and full of hope. I tend to evaluate people I don't know by their ideas. Someone who posts a thoughtful response as their first post is more interesting to me than someone who POST LIEK THIS ALL THE TIME!!!!!

Also, they must absolutely agree with me on everything, as is only reasonable. <.<

I've been doing this ">.>" a lot. <.<

I think I'm up to something.

Stop being so shifty, Zachary! We don't want people catching on to machinations of our Old Guard Illuminati!

You have a lot of balls even mentioning the Ill*******. It's been a pleasure knowing you. You'll be missed.

 

[Simonism451]

I don't really care much for either but considering that I rarely find discussions outside R&P worth following the number of posters that I pay attention to is small enough as is that I can't really afford to discriminate much.
Also, to me about 90% of you are tiny forum babies barely out of the phase of crapping your tiny forum diapers, so suck it, I guess.