I was not, but at TAPS, we got stars with our member/post count
Ah. There, the stars were given out like prizes for being witty or snarky, at least at first. So you had to impress the writers/editors to get one. People actually started having avatars of the Star Bellied Sneetches in protest.
"The plain bellied sneetches have none upon thars!" I love the sneetches. When I was a kid my mom taped the sneetches and the original lorax movie on one tape for me so I always associate them with each other.
<shakes Gisa> You can't leave! Who else will appreciate the beautiful simplicity that is PB with me!