I learned a new term..."Post Spreeing."

Post Spreeing:
The posting of unnecessary, redundant, or superfluous contributions in order to increase a user's personal contribution count.

This is usually accomplished by making several edits to a page when only one is necessary or making no change at all, but saving the editor any way. Post Spreeing can also occur when a user posts the same, or a very similar, response to many threads at once.

WetPaint initially gave the wiki community personal contribution counts so that contributors could feel proud of their accomplishments on a given wiki. There was the hope that users could be recognized in some small way for their dedication and specific knowledge of a wiki subject. Now, however, because of "Post Spreeing," contribution counts are being largely ignored. As a result, the "Top Contributor" cloud has little meaning. My fear is that such occurrences will diminish our pride in our community. I'm sure that users with genuine contributions are still proud of their contributions, and those that "Post Spree"... well, how can you be proud of cheating?

Because of problems like "Post Spreeing," it is a good idea to rely on the "Signal to Noise Ratio" philosophy. This means contributions that yield something useful are far more valuable than formatting or spacing changes.

Concessions:
There are potential "Post Spreeing" instances where one could empathize. When I first started using the WetPaint editor, many of my contributions came from "learning" the interface. I would make a change that I thought would work and eventually realize that it did not. Therefore, I would have to undo my edit (which yielded another "contribution").

In addition, WetPaint's vertical spacing doesn't always turn out the way you expect. You end up with three or four more "contributions" than you intended, just by getting your page to look exactly the way you want.

Also, I have been having problems adding images and links in the same edit. Sometimes, if I add 10 pictures or so and then convert those pics to links...the system errors out and I lose all my changes. In response, I've resorted to doing two or three pictures at a time in between saves. This usually results in about five or six edits for each new page, thus gaining me five or six new "contributions." However, I feel that most of these circumstances are the exception, rather than the rule.

So, as a BrickiWiki user, if you feel targeted by this article, ask yourself why? If you aren’t "Post Spreeing"...well then you aren't "Post Spreeing." You have absolutely nothing to feel guilty about.

After all..."Post Spreeing" really only hurts the person doing it.

~JeremyLego