Bean counter slows down?

[aberry5555]

Hi, this isn't really a big deal and maybe it's the way it's meant to work but since I reached 200 beans it seems every other or every three posts I receive a bean rather than every post. Is this the way it's meant to work? Not that I'm really fussed just interested to know :p

[kebes]

I think posts made in the Cafe or Backyard (and maybe a few others) do not count towards the "bean count." That is, only technical discussions are meant to count, not "community discussions." This means that the bean count won't exactly reflect your post count.

[bapoumba]

From this sticky (http://ubuntuforums.org/showthread.php?t=239560) in this sub-forum:
EDIT: By the way, you don't get beans for all posts, just for posts in the support areas. Posts in places like the cafe and the Backyard will not add to your bean count.

[aberry5555]

oh ok, well now I know, hehe

[MS-DOS4]

It says I have 10 or so beans and that I've had 1 cup of unbuntu! There also seems to be a bean-o-meater, and a lot of people have different pictures in place of the coffee beans. Apparently I've earned one bean. Can somebody explain this system? Do I earn beans when I make posts? :-k

[ticopelp]

It's in the FAQ.

http://ubuntuforums.org/announcement.php?f=48

What's the deal with coffee cups/beans and the funny titles?
Beans are posts. The post/bean count can be turned off by the user if so desired.

There tends to be a close connection between geeks and coffee, so that's where the theme came from. Yes, we know not everyone likes coffee, but it's just a silly thing.

The images, their colors, and the changing icons don't have any special meaning. They simply change as time goes by. You will see (among other things) green coffee beans, roasted (brown) coffee beans, various sorts of coffee cups and mugs and so on. Like the titles, nothing specific is implied by the presence of specific images or titles (in almost all cases that is...staff, admins and banned users are some of the exceptions). These items are for fun, and are not serious. They are not a rank of any kind. They don't tell anyone how long you've been here nor how many posts you've made. The sayings and the images are a semi-random feature we have to provide a little kick. There is some structure to it, but only on the implementation side. We did this on purpose - because it was fun and whimsical.

There isn't a list of what you get, and when, because that's not the point. The reason for the secrecy was/is this: while we want to reward people who participate in these forums with titles and changing symbols we really don't want them to become some sort of gauge that people use to determine whether someone is speaking with more/less authority on a support topic. Other forums use the title/icon system that way and more power to them. However, there are people here with less than 20 posts who can code circles around much of the staff and are capable of giving amazing and useful responses to support questions...and there are some of us here with thousands of posts who might get lucky with a good and helpful reply on occasion. The fear is that people might use post count and titles/symbols as a means of judging the validity of a post's content rather than the content itself. We had a long discussion about this in the forums when they were first started and this subject has been revisited among the staff several times. Some forum members and staff wanted to eliminate the post count and title/icon system completely, some have gone the other way wanting a complete ranking system that is clear and gives honorific titles with great meaning to those with higher post counts (that particular group is in the extreme minority). The current system is a compromise that has been working pretty well for a while. With the compromise of meaningless titles/icons, post count can be hidden in UserCP. Anyway, this is why we don't publish how many posts are necessary for a change in title/icon...it's just a silly reward. The post numbers needed for title changes is something that is easy to modify so it gets modified on occasion, when the admins don't have better things occupying their time, merely to maintain the surprise factor. Bottom line: it just a trivial, whimsically amusing little thing. Don't read too much into it...it really isn't worth the slightest emotional involvement.

[MS-DOS4]

I've also have stopped receiving new beans after 10. I want my damn coffee

[PriceChild]

Posts in non-support areas (and a few others) don't count towards your beans :)

posts != beans

People with more beans aren't better than those without. "Relax" :)

[djchandler]

As the post previous to yours says, your beans are not necessarily a measure of a user's contribution. I had my bean count turned off for most of the time I've been a forum member without realizing that it not only hid my beans, but also didn't add any. I made way more posts my first night here than are showing now. I just today decided to turn it back on just to see what it really does, and then this thread caught my eye. For some, I'm sure it indicates some sort of pecking order. We humans are inclined to such behavior, and people with limited social skills have a tendency to rely on such to validate themselves. From what I've observed so far, some of the higher bean counts belong to users that are quick with the one-liners, with the edge going to posts tending to add little if anything other than a quick insult, snide remark, or criticism, usually reflecting a quick judgment on the topic at hand. So original thinking, helping others, having fun, and making general solid contributions would seem to me to have little to do with accumulating beans. Having an original thought and putting it into words takes time, and therefore probably results in fewer posts. Be yourself, hang in there and contribute till it feels good anyway. You'll make friends that way, which is a much better representation of who you in fact are.

BTW, my wife says I talk too much, so this is also therapeutic for me.

Have fun!

[Kobalt]

Are you kidding me ? This bean counter is all that makes me post on these forums :D

[jamescox84]

Hey these beens are different colours!!!? We'll that's lost on me, I'm colour blind, and hadn't noticed. :roll: It's surprising home much stuff slips by that I don't even see!!! Not that beens are particularly important!

[LaRoza]

The colours are not radical, brownish green and greenish brown, you are not missing any thing.