React scores and number of posts are a distraction from the discussions. The forum isn't a social media popularity contest, but react scores and post counts dredge up that kind of extraneous stuff which has no bearing on what the forum is about.
Even discussing why one is or isn't bothered by it has nothing to do with what the forum is about, but there have been a lot of discussions and debates about the topic. I've even gotten emotionally caught up in how much I don't
want to be viewed in certain ways based on how long I've been a member or how much I post, because that kind of thing happens -- that is, people being perceived in certain ways based on numbers and longevity. I'm responsible for my own feelings, but having that kind of stuff in my face means I have to keep working on those feelings when I'm trying to focus on other, more important shit. I'm not here for fluff or for power, and numbers often end up for many being perceived as being about one or the other, whether consciously or subconsciously.
Now I feel relaxed that such info isn't right there with my name or anyone else's, whether they're new or have been here for a minute, or whether they post a lot or a little, and maybe the forum can finally move on from this subject. I feel like now we're all on more equal footing, just peers seeking the same or similar goals -- information, support, and acceptance.
Those numbers sometimes, for some, lead to suspicion of members seeking power, or they can even be used to gain power if that's what someone's into, and on rare occasion, they have been into it for various reasons, hence the suspicion. That kind of shit drives me nuts, and I get distracted with worrying that I'll be viewed as suspicious based on what a very small number of others have done in the past, and I in fact have been suspected, and rode it out. This is the last place that kind of crap belongs, the power and the popularity fluff. So now, with the numbers being gone, I feel instantly calmer, and I think it's possible that the overall tone of the forum may experience some positive shifts, such as less battles that have nothing to do with the reasons for why we're all ostensibly here, and I just feel like repeating what those are -- information, support, and acceptance.
I hope that sufficiently answered your two-word question.
If you are utterly unaffected by and/or unaware of any of this, I hope that maybe you can accept that others
are affected by it, and even if you don't get it, at least get that it sucks for them just as other things you are affected by suck for you. I hope that didn't sound rude or defensive, I didn't quite know how to say it right. I just know some people don't get that it's an issue or why it is.
