Bird,
I too don't know much about computers. Currently I'm using Firefox. I was using IE but had too many viruses sneak in even with a firewall and anti virus program. Firefox has been much better keeping out the bad guys. I don't really care if the count shows up immediately as long as it shows up. It may be the way something is set. I hate to try and make changes to my browser when I'm not sure what I'm changing. As long as I can get to the site, log in, and reply to threads, thats all I'm concerned about. Posting this reply my post count went up right away so maybe I have it set right.