Counting Game Threads ... Spam or Harmless Fun?

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I assert that the plethora of "Count to ..." threads on this website qualify as spam. They are all essentially the same topic, with essentially the same opening post, and essentially the same replies.

What do you think?

I think they are fine but should not be shown in posts since last visit. If you're into that, more power to you, but I don't want to see tons of these things when seeking an active discussion.

No reason people shouldn't be able to play whatever dumb game they want, but don't clog up the discussions

They probably 'count' (lol) as 'games' in some sort of sense, but they have no creative element. The point has been made in the past that they do fulfil a valid function on a site like this by giving the participants a sense of involvement, progression and self-worth (proof of existence?), and I'd go along with that. But I would like to see them somehow 'hived off' into a sub-forum of some description, so they don't push the other games off the first page of the section, as often happens.

Fnord doesn't like games, no way, I refuse to believe it!

I'm not a big fan, but they do flood active discussions so sometimes if nothing else is going on I'll post in one with something I find humorous. It's generally a poor choice, since they flood my "your posts" section too.

I like games, but these are not games. They are exercises in elementary arithmetic, and nothing more.

They clutter up the "View Posts Since Last Visit" pages and obscure the titles of posts that are more important and more interesting.

Otherwise, they are spam.

I chose the "Lock them all and throw away the key" option, by the way.

Now a new thread can be made about counting by voting "POST MORE COUNTING THREADS!" in this poll.

as far as i'm concerned, they're spam. they clog up the forum

All it takes is one person to go through them all and add a post to each, and everyone who uses the new posts page ends up haveing to scroll or click to another page.

The entire games section should be excluded from the new posts page.

Extremely annoying. I thought of going through all of them and putting the wrong answer just to see if it would be caught.

The repetitive nature of posting in the counting forums really appeals to me. I'm glad those forums are available when I need to zone out for a bit.

If it's beneath everyone else here then I say move it to another area where it doesn't annoy all the uppity ups. Let the counting folks be.

I guess I am one of the snooty uppity ups!

To me the counting threads are both brain dead, and redundant ( counting to "ten by point one" is the same thing as counting to a 100 by one). And seem like spam.

Either (a) allow one "count to infinity by one" thread. Or make it so that these type of threads are exempt from adding to your post count (participate all that you like- but it wont add to your post count). I get the impression that the main reason folks participate in count threads is that it beefs up their post count ( and thus their social standing here on WP for some odd reason). So if certain counting threads were blocked from adding to the person's post count the popularity of that whole genre of thread would collapse over night because it would take away the whole reason they exist! Or thats my theory.

Maybe you could convince me that its therapeutic for some autistics to participate in "counting to a zillon by threes" type threads. But I havent seen enough testimonials to convince me of that therapeutic need yet.

Spam. Only this, and nothing more.

All the definitions of spam I have seen mention sending messages "indiscriminately". When I post in the counting threads I'm replying directly to the person before. I'm not sending out that post indiscriminately. I have no interest in anyone seeing it but the person I am replying to in that thread. How is that spam?

Also, naturalplastic, you are making a lot of assumptions about why people participate in the counting threads and I'm glad you at least realize they are assumptions. I think your suggestion about removing those posts from a person's post count is a great idea. It wouldn't make a difference to me. I could give two flips what someone's post count is on this site. Also, why do we have to convince you counting is therapeutic? If it's brain-dead to you then it's brain-dead to you but maybe someone else doesn't feel that way.

It really bugs me that on a site where many of us have experienced bullying or exclusion that we have so many folks who do exactly that to other members. You don't understand it or you don't see the value so you dismiss it. WTF?!

Attacking a person for their practices and ideas is a form of bullying.

It is not bullying to attack a practice or an idea.

Disagreeing with others' opinions or claims is not bullying.

Expressing one's own opinions regarding ideas or practices is not bullying.

Stating valid empirical facts is not bullying.

Asking others for their opinions on a idea or practice is not bullying.

Counting threads are spam.

Fnord, I'm not arguing with your definition of bullying but there's an implied message in this thread that there is no value in the counting threads (it's been called "brain-dead" and "dumb" so far). How do you think that makes people feel who actually derive value from the counting threads?

I am all for moving this to some area where it doesn't bother "normal" posters. I'm also for removing it from counting toward post counts. Also, I would be all for not including counting thread responses in the "posts since your last visit" alerts.