An issue with the automatic numbering of replies in SMF threads

[Sparks]

Why does this happen? In long threads it's bothersome, because if someone refers to a post only by its number, you cannot easily be certain what post they mean, unless the context makes it obvious.

On my screen it's Reply #14, not #13. That's a quirk with all Simple Machines Forums (SMF). Sometimes, the first post is counted as Reply #1 (like on my screen). And sometimes the counting starts with post #2 which is then labelled Reply #1, which is more logical. Why this changes I don't know. This erratic behaviour creates a lot of misunderstandings, i have noted over several years, having written more than 5,000 posts in several different SMF forums.