OK, so I have posted on a related topic before. Having followed this thread and having great respect for many of its contributors, I would like to add one point that may not have occurred to most of us. Just as Matt observed that almost nobody has said they OBJECT to the titles, which slipped past me before, I have only recently noticed what might be the most significant phenomenon of all.

I speak of the enthusiastic newcomer phenomenon, the condition where you can't turn around without seeing some lowlife's opinion on just about everything. I have been that lowlife. Maybe this post shows that I haven't entirely escaped my enthusiastic past. But, when I see a person with a high post count whose work I haven't previously noticed, I do two or three things:
1) I consider the quality of his/ her posts- do they seem well reasoned, or at least reasonable? Do they seem to be in the spirit of this special place? Are they occasionally humble, or at least willing to consider another's point of view?
2) I check the longevity-to-output ratio as well as the post count.
3) I go back and see what contributions this person may have made before I noticed.

I might add, I try to see how my fellow X Markers regard this person and how frequently this person's posts stimulate useful conversation and exchange of ideas. And I like to follow how friendly this person is in exchanges.

Titles and post counts don't necessarily give a full picture of a person's worth. I think we all agree on that. But, if nothing else, they give a hint now and then that a person has some street cred and they invite the newcomer, enthusiastic or shy, to investigate further.

Cordially ( and almost humbly)
M'll