So, what's with all the counting threads?

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I don't understand the appeal of them myself. Can anyone explain why they are so popular?

No one knows why, they've been around the internet since the late 90s. People just get bored and play them to increase post count I guess.

I think it gives a sense of participating in something. Some people may find seeing the number go up or down itself fun. I used to regularly post in the man vs woman thread. I guess that that particular thread has the added purpose of beating the opponent. It was kind of fun.

But I don't think you can always understand other people's motivation to do something. I don't understand why some people want to talk about the difficulty in finding a partner etc. I also don't understand why some people have heated discussions about self-diagnosis. Those topics are rather boring for me.

I don't leave the house after getting up in the morning without making at least 5 posts in 'Off The Wall' (usually The Five Letter Word Game or Keep A Word, Drop A Word, but I draw the line at counting games. I think it gives me a sense of progression and keeping a routine, though there's probably something OCD about it!

It's therapeutic for me. It's a mindless, repetitive task on which I can hyper focus. It's also a way to have basic communication without the arguments or misinterpretations "regular posts" (with words) can cause. I need that some days. I've never felt unwelcome, misunderstood, or stupid in a counting forum. I'm sure the other folks in the counting forums have different reasons but those are mine. I could care less about my post count.