I'm saying that people probably enjoy appreciation for funny/informative/helpful posts - getting thanks for completely normal posts on the basis that they folded/rode a bike/owned a cat wouldn't provide any satisfaction, and therefore people wouldn't really care that they had thanks.
It's a bit like how receiving a birthday email from your family will probably make you feel happy, but the 500 birthday emails you get from forums, websites and shops probably won't instil the same kind of emotion. I'm not talking so much about the system as a whole as querying why anybody would feel better with the thanks than they did before!
Anyway, I thought folding was meant to be somewhat altruistic? That plus a mention on the main site should be more than adequate really. The only other thing I can think of is if you wanted to make some sort of glory banner - an avatar or something that says "folder of the month" or something like that, for either the best contributor or the most improved newcomer, or someone helping out with advice and the like.
Then if people wanted to advertise their folding prowess they could sport the new shiny avatar, otherwise it would just sit in the folding forum as a testament to their greatness
