To those of you saying "the more the merrier", "so what that you need to scroll through some rubbish", etc. I don't think you wholly understand the true nature of the issue.
It's not all about whether the newbie's opinion is perceived to carry any weight or not, it's that most of those people in fact
don't have an opinion / experience on the matter, but instead they simply mirror what was said by others before. And that's not only annoying, but also dangerous / misleading.
Imagine a scenario where someone asks a question, say "What's the best shop for buying a new computer?". Then, someone else replies and tells them that by far the best option is the hamburger kiosk down the road. They may do it because they didn't understand the question, or maybe they seriously believe that the hamburger shop down the road has kick-ass computers for sale, whatever the reason - doesn't matter.
But now a whole enchilada of people jump on the same thread saying "yes, yes, the hamburger shop down the road is awesome. You should definitely get your new PC from there".
I don't think I need to explain any further.
That's a bit of a lame example but I needed to somehow illustrate that the issue at hand isn't really all that innocent as some people believe it to be.
I guess we do need some way to keep up the quality of posts, steelballs idea makes sense.
Alternatively, maybe it would be worth lengthening the time requirements for certain privileges - ie if only post count stops you from being able to do certain things, thats going to fuel junk posts, but if it was mainly a time restraint, then people would have no way to overcome it, and thus would not be so worried about increasing post count.
I love it how this thread is turning into a brainstorming session! There have been some decent ideas thrown around (the more I think about streetballs' idea of imposing a character limit on newbies' posts the more I like it) and I'm sure there's more to come.
A time restraint could also be a decent thing to consider - it's already in place for Jr VIP and there haven't been many people complaining over having to wait 2 months before they can upgrade.
Just while I was typing this, my girlfriend glanced over my shoulder, asked me what the thread was all about and proposed an idea which actually sounds quite promising -
What if privileges weren't determined by post counts and time, but instead by thanks and/or rep? I kind of like the idea as this way only those who deserve to have certain privileges have them. On the other hand, I can see several issues with it:
a) Massive increase in begging for thanks/rep (a bit of a pseudo-issue, though. That's by far less annoying than pointless posts);
b) Possible fraud attempts (multiple accounts being created for the purpose of exchanging thanks/rep / "rep rings" popping up, etc.)
c) Most importantly, since privileges (such as the possibility to upgrade to Jr VIP) would be more difficult to come by, there would be less people upgrading and therefore less revenue for the forum.
I think this idea is something the forum as a whole would benefit from, and that there's a way of making it work, but "c" is probably the reason why it will never go through. At the end of the day, the forum is here for its owners to profit and there is no sane reason in the world for the owners to make a decision that would possibly reduce the revenue figures, in exchange for making a group of senior members a bit happier.
Just thought I'd throw the idea out there either way.