View Full Version : Beans: What they really mean!
user1397
December 18th, 2009, 10:03 AM
So I know this has been a topic of much controversy over the past few years (depending on how you view controversy), but I just really disagree with forum policy at the moment concerning bean count.
Personally, I think bean count just means how many posts you've made period, not how many posts you've made in the 'support' categories.
I knew a time when every sub-forum in ubuntuforums.org counted for beans, even the community cafe.
I know that in the end it doesn't really matter, but then again why do we speak of so many trivial things all the time in the first place...might as well bring this up.
So yea what do you guys think about this, should the community cafe count for bean-count or not?
Crunchy the Headcrab
December 18th, 2009, 10:05 AM
I dunno. It doesn't really matter to me either way. I definitely do most of my posting in the Cafe, but I don't really care about beans.
All I want is for people to recognize my name. You know, so when I come into a forum, people will think to themselves:
"Oh crap! Not that guy again!"
HappinessNow
December 18th, 2009, 10:08 AM
So yea what do you guys think about this, should the community cafe count for bean-count or not?or Not.
My bean count would be artificially bloated from cafe post and I could be mistaken for a Ubuntu Technical Guru.
Keep it as is.
I would vote for doing away with the bean counting system all together, including the large beans and bean-like sayings above users avatars. It would help to make the forums more minimalistic and pleasing in an aesthetic way.
hidinginthemountains
December 18th, 2009, 10:08 AM
I don't have a problem with how it is now. Though I see your point of view, if it were to remove "bean counts" for any closed or otherwise downwardly mobile threads, there would still be an issue with "technically incompetent" users looking SMRT'r than they are in technical threads.
I'm guessing that the reason non-support threads don't count now is because they don't want a socially affluent idiot elbowing in on a technical thread and devaluing the input of a more technically competent user.
That's just my guess though, please link the discussion that lead to the change.
hidinginthemountains
December 18th, 2009, 10:09 AM
All I want is for people to recognize my name. You know, so when I come into a forum, people will think to themselves:
"Oh crap! Not that guy again!"
ok... crunchy FTW
Crunchy the Headcrab
December 18th, 2009, 10:11 AM
ok... crunchy FTW
Why do you have to hurt me like that :confused:
user1397
December 18th, 2009, 10:15 AM
I don't have a problem with how it is now (though I see your point of view) as long as it removes "bean counts" for any closed or otherwise downwardly mobile threads.
I'm guessing that the reason non-support threads don't count now is because they don't want a socially affluent idiot elbowing in on a technical thread and devaluing the input of a more technically competent user.
That's just my guess though, please link the discussion that lead to the change.I can't find it as it was like 2 years ago or something...
But anyways, that exact reasoning you mentioned is pretty flawed...there can be a user with like 3 beans that knows more than a user that has 1,000 beans simply because he just signed up for the ubuntuforums and he was also one of the lead developers of debian while the 1,000 post guy could be a newbie that just gives a bunch of wrong advice.
Exodist
December 18th, 2009, 11:35 AM
or Not.
My bean count would be artificially bloated from cafe post and I could be mistaken for a Ubuntu Technical Guru.
Keep it as is.
I would vote for doing away with the bean counting system all together, including the large beans and bean-like sayings above users avatars. It would help to make the forums more minimalistic and pleasing in an aesthetic way.
Got my vote.
I have had over 10k plus votes on both the old SuSE forums before they was shutdown and moved to the newer Novell openSUSE one. So whats that mean when I come here, not a damn thing. But the lack of beans may make my post seem less important even though I been using linux for 10 years.
So basically bean counting in racist!
Grenage
December 18th, 2009, 11:40 AM
Beans mean nothing of importance. I've soon many 1-2 bean posts from people who were clearly very knowledgeable, and just as many from people with thousands spouting tosh. That's why so many people here 'hide' their beans.
cholericfun
December 18th, 2009, 11:47 AM
Beans mean nothing of importance. I've soon many 1-2 bean posts from people who were clearly very knowledgeable, and just as many from people with thousands spouting tosh. That's why so many people here 'hide' their beans.
agree
i think its just a measure of how much spare time one is killing here on the forum.
hidinginthemountains
December 18th, 2009, 11:48 AM
ubuntuman & Exodist (& maybe others while I slowly compose my response),
I know what you mean about the potential for someone just joining but being truly authoritative, but we're not Slashdot, it's not like I wouldn't see their response. A truely smart response stands out anyway. That said, I appreciate the equivalent of post counts. At a skiing related site I frequented for more years than Ubuntu has been around for they recently changed their forum system. among the changes was the fact that there was no longer any meaningful way to distinguish a total newb to the site from an 8 year veteran. It's certainly not the only problem with their changes over the last couple years (it's gone from being "the" place for Canadians to get their freeski fix to lost amongst a bunch of places that don't to that geographic market), but it is a significant one. when someone who has posted for most of a decade has to go through the "troll jousting" all over again with every newb who shows up and thinks they know better it pushes regulars away.
hidinginthemountains
December 18th, 2009, 12:20 PM
that exact reasoning you mentioned is pretty flawed...there can be a user with like 3 beans that knows more than a user that has 1,000 beans...
No argument from me there. Newness (especially as indicated by an ID) doesn't inherently indicate a lack of knowledge. That said, there are cases where I would trust some "seniority" over a new name. matters of protocol in the forums would be the first example that comes to mind. There would be many more instances where simply having been around a while would mean you're more likely to know the quick way to get things done.
It's a funny balance. I can say from experience that there were many times I was glad my >1post/day for 7 years count meant I could simply ignore an obviously bad idea from a new poster, or that I could "shut down" a soon to be troll-fest of a thread despite lack of mod powers just by weighing in on the side of non-trolliness.
Being a pretty fresh user here (2 years old and not that man posts) I appreciate having my comments taken seriously, but I have no problem when a more "senior" user weighs in after me. As I said, it's not like it's Slashdot (http://slashdot.org/~Silent+Node/) and it means my response gets filtered for most users (yes, that is my little-used-for-posting Slashdot ID).
Bölvağur
December 18th, 2009, 01:30 PM
just as many from people with thousands spouting tosh.
Sounds like I fit the bill perfectly.
forrestcupp
December 18th, 2009, 02:23 PM
We need to separate them. We need a "post count" for your total posts in all subforums, and a separate "bean count" that is specialized to only the support forums, like it is now.
user1397
December 18th, 2009, 09:10 PM
We need to separate them. We need a "post count" for your total posts in all subforums, and a separate "bean count" that is specialized to only the support forums, like it is now.
Hmm, the more I think about this idea, the more I like it...way to think outside the box forrestcupp!
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