Since most of the folks here registered within the first week of FTM's existence, the distinction between "newbie" and "veteran" is a bit specious.
If your point is that as time goes by, that distinction will become more relevant, then registration dates, which are shown for all users, should be a way for newcomers to distinguish between newbies and veterans.
Er, to be a tad pedantic, "within the first week"? I didn't find this place for at least a couple of weeks. And that was only because I'd emerged from the mists to post a Mac question on what used to be MacFixit.
Regarding "newbies" and "veterans", I'd been using MacFixit since about 1995, how's that for a "veteran"? In those days (brrrr......) when a posted-question hadn't been replied-to within a couple of days the case was closed and marked SOLVED.
If you're worried that some folks will have been around for a long time without providing much troubleshooting help, well, they're likely to continue not to do so, so guarding against their unproven advice by publicizing their low post count is unlikely to be an issue.
I don't agree with this either: just because I don't post much does NOT mean that I do not know what I'm talking about when I do, frankly.
The point is to guard against the assumption that newbies are inclined to make that those with the highest post counts know the most—an assumption which is very difficult to temper when those with the highest post counts are statistically the most likely to reply to any post!
Sorry, don't agree with this surmise either. Some people have plenty of time to hang around messageboards and just love posting. That does not necessarily make them the best sources of technical advice. Not on post-count alone. Others (like me, for instance) have a full time job and other things to do in life. They only appear when in need of advice OR have time to spare and look to see who needs advice on a topic which they know about from experience. Low post counts are indicative of nothing in particular and certainly not indicative of a lack of interest or expertise.
Sometimes, the poster with the lowest post-counts provides the most cogent advice and is the most eagerly-sought after, in my experience elsewhere. IMHO. FWIW.
