Originally Posted by
magiciansampras
It's not posts that are relevant, it is experience. And posts simply say nothing about flying experience; they say something about posting experience.
Posts are no absolute guarantee of flying experience, but on a frequent flyer board, there tends to be some correlation, a,beit not an absolute one, between posting and experience.
This, I think, is very dangerous and wrong. I've been given very bad information by folks with lots of posting experience and very good information by folks with little posting experience.
# of posts, IMHO, has nothing to do with actual knowledge.
In the same way as walking the streets of Paris has nothing to do with linguistic ability. If I was in the street of Paris and I want to address a passer-by, there is no absolute guarantee that that passer-by will speak French. It could be an American tourist who does not speak a word of French beyond "Bonn-joor", but, on the whole, it makes more sense for me to start off from the assumption that the average passer-by in the street of Paris is more likely to speak French than not.
Similarly, there are some 70-year old who are in much better physical condition than some 20-year old. Should you conclude from that that age has no connection and no impact whatsoever with physical condition?
Like in all situations of uncertainty, you form a view on the basis of a number of clues, not just a single one. And post # is ALSO one on which you base your decision.
Are you really telling me that, all other things being equal, you would attach
exactly the same weight to an answer given by 5 FTers with 10 posts each and an answer given by 5 FTers with 1000+ posts?
If you can honestly answer yes to this, then your allegation that absolutely no expertise inference can be derived from post count is true.
If you hesitate the slightest bit before answering yes, then you have to admit that there is some linkage, however imprecise and indirect, between post count and expectation of expertise.
But let us admit that I am totally wrong and that absolutely nobody should make even the remotest hint of inference from post count.
Now, if you think that there should be a disclaimer that no inference should be drawn from post count, are you not implicitly recognising that some people will make such inferences? If that is so, do you seriously believe that a disclaimer would have much impact on this?
It seems to me that this leads you to only two possible conclusions:
1) post counts should not be displayed because they will mislead
2) there should be greater approximation between expectations and actual significance of post counts. Disclaimers will go some way towards that, but only partially. It would make sense therefore to increase the likelihood of match between expectations and reality. And having post counts reflect activity in FFP-related fora, even if it is no absolute guarantee, will get us somewhat closer to our aim.
In other words, starting from your assumption, we end up with the conclusion that either there should be no post count displayed at all or, failing that, as a second best solution, that posts in non-FFP related should not count.