It really does, my partner on the forum that i run researched this and it reduced spamming by 33% as people had nothing to aim for, just to chat and get information. Post count can be visible on profiles though or you can see your average posts per day.
I think its a good idea and makes everyone equal, rather than classifying their status as to how much they post, which is not a true representation on how they influence the site, i.e contribute excellent information or just poop like sarnie, Liam and me