Can one just eliminate Ranks entirely?

[raincat]

Hi there.  I don't think my board needs Ranks when I'm already doing some stuff with Groups that appear next to the user's name on posts.  They seem a bit extraneous now for my board, especially if I don't do something more interesting with them than Newbie, Member, and Advanced Member, but I don't think much else makes sense for my board either.  I did manage to eliminate the appearance of the Rank name for the user next to their posts via a template edit, but they're still showing up in the user profiles.

I'd rather them not be in there at all, but I'm wondering how best to accomplish that . . . more template edits to try to remove them from the user profile, or . . . something else?

I'm noticing inside ACP > Members > Ranks that there are buttons to delete the default Ranks that are in there already.  Yes, I could just delete them all and see what happens next, but I've already had some messed up technical problems with my board in the recent past and not wanting those to repeat, I'm nervous about just hauling off and doing that, lest some other annoying problem take its place.

So I guess I'm asking:

1.  Is there some important reason some Ranks really DO need to remain in there, some reason I probably can't imagine in advance?

2.  What will happen if I just delete all the current Ranks from ACP > Members > Ranks?  Do they disappear from the user profiles too, or would the user profile still say "Rank" next to a blank space?  Or would the whole board just EXPLODE? (that actually seems kind of likely today, see technical problems)

3.  Or is there a relatively easy template edit to get them out of the user profiles but just . . . leave 'em going on the background but not displayed?  Is that actually the better idea?

 

Advice would be most appreciated, thanks!

 

[Woodsman]

You can disable or eliminate ranks in your ACP - Members - Ranks. By deleting them they are gone from topic posts as well the user profiles...

[raincat]

And . . . I just did so, nothing exploded, and they're now no longer in the profile.  Awesome!  Thanks!

[Woodsman]

Your Welcome! I also never saw the importance to them with all the other more descriptive information. Pips as far as I am concerned are a long time thing of the past that we can do without like other out dated rubble from the past and present.

[Zone Plate]

Has anyone else ditched ranks or do others still find value in rewarding members this way?