There are too many people who literally seek forums out that have to do with areas they either are or that think they are knowledgeable in just to "help" others. By help, I mean a competition or race to see who can post the answer first, leading to post/comment counts and this higher "status" that you speak of. Valuable, small points that could have built up a more concrete reply, or facts from those who feel truly confident in the subject being questioned over versus those who think they might know and just post quickly to take a shot at it and the additional "bonuses" will be entirely missed. On top of this, more topics about absolute nonsense will arrive, with people perpetuating them consistently, as that's something almost anyone can "relate" and reply to.

It seems like a good idea, but after a while (or a short time, for those who are already involved in this sort of thing elsewhere) people will lose sight of the original intention of the forum if they get caught up in big numbers and forum bling.