I'm not one that could qualify for dispensation to tattoo my posts, and I suppose may never be considering the august crowd here on PM. Nor would I object to such markings for those who clearly "should be allowed to do so" (uhoh). When Merlyn began using them unobtrusively, it certainly was no big distraction - except they stood out against the other plain chars - and which may have been part of the plan.

If more and more "pile on", will any of them then stand out?

OTOH, if these users have a bot or other automaticity that's spotting their descendent threads, it may not matter whether human eyes can pick one symbol from a crowded symbol field.

Maybe there's another way for any of us to bookmark or ask for notifications of any extension of any identified thread? Looks like a fad in the making... lol