Originally Posted by
beltway
I agree with the general sentiment here, but OP status seems like a pretty poor proxy for overall helpfulness/value to the community. Plenty of people add value not by starting threads, but rather by providing useful replies, maintaining wikis, etc. Others have suggested upthread the idea of liking or up/downvoting posts, which seems like a better metric.
Excellent points, beltway.
I think we are talking about two different types of value -- "discussion starters" and "helpfulness". Communities need both, so it would be great if FT could recognize both....just as FT recognizes longevity and high post counts.
It seems to me that counting replies to recognize "discussion starters" is something that could be done using data FT already has, while measuring "helpfulness" would require implementing a new mechanism (such as a "like" button).