how does "90k posts" compare to writing a masterpiece that is then voted as amazing?
I'm glad you "asked". Let's break it down!!
~Rarity~
17 people have entered a winning short story in the contest's history. Only 1 has ever achieved 90k posts. With rarity comes value.
Winner: 90k posts
~Visibility & Grandeur~
Both achievements have dedicated threads, so let's compare them:
We're looking at 56 replies versus 3,964 replies and 21,607 views versus 530,832 views. That is already definitive, but that's not all:
The forum features a special area highlighting the top posters:
https://lustria-online.com/members/ . The short story contest carries no such distinction.
Additionally, for each and every post one makes, the forum proudly (and automatically) displays their post count.
Winner: 90k posts
~Longevity and durability~
Another short story contest winner will eventually come along. Within only a single contest they can (potentially) make it on to the winners list. On the other hand, the mark of 90k posts will either never be recreated or at the very least it will be a very, very, very, very, very long time before it is matched. It is by far the more enduring achievement.
Winner: 90k posts
~Quantitative versus Qualitative measure~
The short story contest is a subjective achievement. A relatively small group of voters (in the ballpark of 5 to 10) decide the contest. If another group of voters replaced them, then you might end up with an entirely different set of winners. So you've got both a subjective measure and an extremely small sample size of voters. Those two concurrent factors are problematic from a statistical point of view. If you know anything about statistical analysis, then I don't have to remind you that it is extremely hard to achieve statistical significance under those conditions.
On the flip side, post count is a quantitative record. Objective > Subjective. There are no if's, and's or but's about it. Pure mathematical precision. The difference between my 90k and the next most prevalent poster is so vast that it leaves no room for doubt or statistical fuzziness.
But if you miss the subjective flavour, I've got 277,680 (and counting ) little reasons to justify my 90k mark.
Winner: 90k posts
So to bring it all together and to answer your question, the mark of 90k posts is rarer and a more acclaimed distinction that is both more enduring and carries greater statistical significance.