Hope you guys don't apply this type of research to your own trading.
With that said, here are some obvious flaws in your theory:
* Posters makes most of his/her posts before the market, after the market and weekends.
* Posters only trade part of the trading day and spends the remaining of the market day surfing trading forums.
* Posters with high post counts of quality posts versus poster with high post counts of arguing, attacking and non-market discussions.
* Members with low post counts that contain non trading discussions versus members with high post counts that contain trading discussions.
I can continue but I think you get my point.
Here's a better idea.
Take the time to read the members most recent posts to judge the merit of their market knowledge.
I think the most recent 25 posts should be able to give you a good indicator about any ET member for whatever it is that your looking for.
Therefore, if there's some gems/tips or whatever within those most recent 25 message posts that you think your already successfully applying in your own trading (if your trading) or you see other traders that you respect as traders agreeing with that trader...
You should have an easy answer about whom is real and whom is not real in comparison to your current research theory.
However, based upon your theory, a member with 150 posts in 3 years in which most of those posts are chit chat like material has more merits (most likely a real trader) in comparison to a ET members with 2000 posts in 3 years in which almost all the posts are market related and helping other traders...
Due to the fact the content of the message posts are being
ignored.
My point, there are many ET members that fit the latter above (high post counts that's trading related and insightful about what actually is occurring in the markets).
Lets put it this way, lets encourage Baron to
ban all the ET members with high post counts and keep all the ET members with low post counts.
After he does that...you will see the obvious problem with your theory.
However, if it still bothers you if someone is a fake or not...
Send him/her a copy of your profit/loss statement of today's market action
(you do it first because your the one that's concerned about this issue) and then request him/her to do the same.
I mean, we don't want to see a fake trader complain about other ET members that are fake traders.
Mark