Claiming credit for post #100 may be a "tradition," but isn't it a very recent tradition?

I had been frequenting Mudcat for YEARS before the first time I noticed this phenomenon. I think it may have begun during my post-Katrina absense (Aug '05 - spring '06). If I'm wrong, so be it ~ but I find it hard to believe I would have failed to notice this game if it had really been going on all along.

I have noticed the "Messages" column on the list-of-threads page, but the few times I've checked, it wasn't accurate. On several occasions when the number of messages was shown as "1," I've opened the thread to find two posts, and maybe more than than once or twice. Is the number on display the number of responses, not counting the original post? Maybe the counting function for each newly created thread performs inconsistently at first, takes a while to "shake down," and later becomes reliable well before the magic number is reached.

I have no interest in participating in this activity and think it's kinda stupid, but it's certainly harmless and I don't begrudge anyone their enjoyment, such as it is. At least, it only interrupts these earthshakingly serious discussions very briefly.