It's the internet. When you put a bunch of people on equal footing, they will ALWAYS look for a way to stratify themselves. On these forums, if it's not title bars or join date, it will be followers. If it's not followers, it will be something else. The fact is that everybody is the same and nobody is better than anyone else. If you buy into the myth that having followers is of utmost importance, you're not going to have a good time here.