Exactly 3 months after Reggie kicked off this feature, the results are in (by # of Thanks):

1. Say 'Thanks!' to other members with one click / Announcements by Reggie

2. Download and Repository Issues! / 2008 OS by admjo

3. Nokia Releases First Official OS2008 Update / News by Noneus

4. KDE/Koffice Install made easy for everyone / KDE by penguinbait

5. ATTENTION: How to fix Maemo Extras Repository / 2008 OS by technut

6. mplayer_1.0rc1-maemo.21 / Apps by Serge

7 (tie). Nokia Releases First Official OS2008 Update / News by anidel

7 (tie). How to mount USB CDROM on 2008 OS / General by penguinbait

7 (tie). AIM/MSN/Yahoo/etc.. without needing to install Pidgin / General by zerojay

7 (tie). To upgrade or not to upgrade, that is the question / Nokia N800 by dblank

Enjoy!

P.S.: Nokia, make sure these ITT users get approved for the next round of developer discounts.

8. dkwatts putting that list together.

2008/03/15 -- Two new posts top the all-time "Most Useful" charts:

1. Advanced Backlight Statusbar Applet / Apps by rm_you

2. [Announce] OS2008 Statusbar Clock / Apps by fiferboy

3. Say 'Thanks!' to other members with one click / Announcements by Reggie

4. KDE/Koffice Install made easy for everyone / KDE by penguinbait

5. Download and Repository Issues! / 2008 OS by admjo

6. Nokia Releases First Official OS2008 Update / News by Noneus

7. [Announce] OS2008 Personal Menu / Apps by fiferboy

8. New Port: Duke Nukem 3D / Gaming by ArnimS

9. ATTENTION: How to fix Maemo Extras Repository / 2008 OS by technut

10. mplayer_1.0rc1-maemo.21 / Apps by Serge

Enjoy!

Just out of curiousity, how can one make such list? I poked around in 'advanced search' form now but cannot find how to sort by thanked posts or search for most thanked posts, threads or people or whatever.

I dunno, fanoush. I'm wondering how to put together a list of who has Thanked the most. I think I have that one covered.

I don't think that a post about advanced backlight applet can possibly be the most "useful" post. This shows how deceptive statistics can be. The most useful post would have to be one that helps many people not brick their device, or something of that nature. I have never seen anyone say they were returning their N8xx to the store because they don't like the way backlighting works.

good point, geneven. further, while the 'thanks' feature is nice, it's tantamount to a popularity contest. I wouldn't necessarily dub a post "most useful" just because it garnered the most thank-yous...

hey I made #4 and a tie on #7, two in the top ten, woohoo!!

Not necessarily, because very few people brick their tablets, or would without any particular post. But many people gained a lot of utility (though less per capita) by being able to turn the backlight down.

There is the possibility that lives were saved, of course. I don't have a GPS, so I don't use Maemo Mapper much in the car anyhow. But I have occasionally, and at night, the display is blinding on "level 1" from the Nokia applet. I consider it dangerously bright, as it impairs my ability to see anything coming from the side of the road (until it's in my headlights' main beam, and too late to do anything). But that's a stretch; most people simply didn't use it while driving at night, I'd guess.

While I think the backlight applet (thanks to a program announcement post reflects on the program, not the post) could be the most useful, I agree that these statistics aren't necessarily helpful. It's too easy to click thanks; there's no reason to select only the top few useful posts. If thanks were limited (receive an allotment of 1 per day), or if you had to go to some trouble to thank someone (even a captcha), then these statistics would be more reliable by far.