[Xenon]

as i can see, this will go through all posts on your board and sum up the letters.
on a small board you're right, it wouldn't hurt, but if you have a lot of posts, this would be extremly harmfull..

enable debug mode in config.php then run index.php with &showqueries=1&explain=1 and you'll see how much time this query needs.

i won't use that hack on a great board, from what i can see, but if you use a sort of cache (like the todays birthday just a bit more complicated) it could be an intresting hack

in conclusion: it's no offend, but i think the negative aspect should be shown, too