[packetjunkie]

The post count reflects the level of a users active participation on a board (most boards that I know have them). Users who "lurk" are not actively involved will naturally have a lower post count as they are just spectators.

The use of a post count to determine eligability for polling is simply a way to make sure that the active membership is involved and not ids which may have been setup for the sole purpose of voting a particular way or allow voting from people who dont really use the board in an active way.

In some cases, people might consider registration date as being more important.

Seems like it doesnt matter either way if you display them as people will interpert them as they please.

You can "rate" a user in their Profile by clicking on their name. There is a drop down box for you to use to rate a user. Since the number is an average, the number of votes will determine an overall value. If alot of people vote low, then you'll have a low number (just one low vote wont effect your average).

Pesonally, I dont care for User Profile votes - which is why they werent there in the first place. Seems more like a populatity contest to me and not very important. I only put them in place (3 lines of code in two files) so that you could see for yourself how they are used and make your own decision on how they might be used.