I was taking a look on the members list, and I saw that almost half the members on this forum didn't post one time? That means...
- 1944 members didn't write a post, 263 members wrote only one post, and 162 more wrote two posts, for a total of 2369 members in the Parking Lot.
- 650 members are on the Dirt Road, meaning they wrote between 3 and 24 posts.
- 185 members are on the Frontage Road (25-49 posts).
- 180 members are on the Arterial (50-99 posts).
- 202 members are on the County Road (100-249 posts).
- 137 members are on the State Route (250-499 posts).
The 316 last members are the most important, because they wrote 500 posts and more. They are on the leading ways called US Highway (500-999 posts), Expressway (1000-1499), Turnpike (1500-2999), Freeway (3000-4999), Interstate (5000-9999), and, for about a dozen of members, the ones who "Likes The Forum Way, Way Too Much" (10000+ posts). Thanks to all of you.
I want to thank especially the moderators and admins, who hold everything together since the beginning.
So, we have a great forum, here! The thing I want to tell to who don't post is... go ahead! Let us know about you! We all started somewhere, so come on! Don't be shy!
:wave:
The numbers are very typical for Internet forums.
Many folks ask a question, get their answer, and move on. Some just lurk and rarely post. Some members join multiple times — with varying degrees of intent — others are spammers or bots which would understandably have no (valid) posts. Some have a good reason to join, even if they don't post (search feature, for example). Some just never post and forget all about it.
It's quite typical that 95% of the posts will come from those with the highest number of posts, which is usually just 5% of the total forum membership.
I suspect many of those 1944 members who have never posted registered because they were curious about Fictional Highways, Travel, or other boards that aren't visible to non-members.
Why are people so fascinated with user statistics and post counts? This comes up about once a year in a series of thread and it seems so odd to me.
Zipf's Law states that e.g. rank #50 will have approximately twice as many posts as rank #100, and it follows a 1/x distribution in general. It seems to be valid on this forum if you look outside the top 20.
Quote from: Max Rockatansky on February 25, 2021, 08:12:59 AM
Why are people so fascinated with user statistics and post counts? This comes up about once a year in a series of thread and it seems so odd to me.
I think it's more about the curious user structure of a forum rather than "look at my post count".
I don't see why talking about forum statistics is a problem. It's like talking about census results in real life.
Quote from: formulanone on February 25, 2021, 08:30:14 AM
Quote from: Max Rockatansky on February 25, 2021, 08:12:59 AM
Why are people so fascinated with user statistics and post counts? This comes up about once a year in a series of thread and it seems so odd to me.
I think it's more about the curious user structure of a forum rather than "look at my post count".
There was a thread that popped up a couple days before this one that was about post counts and got modded out. It's hard not to have it at least pop into mind after seeing that.
Quote from: Max Rockatansky on February 25, 2021, 09:26:47 AM
Quote from: formulanone on February 25, 2021, 08:30:14 AM
Quote from: Max Rockatansky on February 25, 2021, 08:12:59 AM
Why are people so fascinated with user statistics and post counts? This comes up about once a year in a series of thread and it seems so odd to me.
I think it's more about the curious user structure of a forum rather than "look at my post count".
There was a thread that popped up a couple days before this one that was about post counts and got modded out. It's hard not to have it at least pop into mind after seeing that.
The whole post count thing seems to be a bit of a penis measurement contest among a few people who are obsessed with who posts and how much they post.
As for non-participatory forum members, my wife registered here a few years ago, more or less out of curiosity to see what we talked about. I'm not sure that she ever posted, and truth be told, she's probably forgotten that she's a member and most likely can't recall her login credentials.
Quote from: hbelkins on February 25, 2021, 09:51:19 AM
can't recall her login credentials.
Heck, you just described Jake Bear!
As a newbie I honestly have to say I have no idea how some of the people are on here as much as they are, not that there's anything wrong with that. Anyways I lurked and found this forum several times before I joined. I registered in August, posted several things then once again took a break because I was spending way too much time here, plus I had some other things that took up much of my free time. Since this year started though I look at this forum every day but with so much stuff I still have not looked at everything. I have signed up to a few other forums where I didn't feel right and never posted and am not even sure if I still am registered, if I could remember what they were. This forum is pretty accepting, I like this forum.
I would say something like this thread Things Every Roadgeek Should Know (https://www.aaroads.com/forum/index.php?topic=21815.0) being pinned somehow for people who are new to this would be helpful. In particular the stuff posted by formulanone at reply 22.
Jim
Quote from: Max Rockatansky on February 25, 2021, 08:12:59 AM
Why are people so fascinated with user statistics and post counts? This comes up about once a year in a series of thread and it seems so odd to me.
It's just interesting to look at. I like numbers and lists in general. I wish the forum still had the forum statistics tab. I don't really care about my post count anymore.
Quote from: tq-07fan on February 25, 2021, 11:08:04 AM
I have no idea how some of the people are on here as much as they are
Easy: we get less done at work than we otherwise might. [/true]
I actually had to check. I didn't realize I had posted so much. There were some years I know I didn't post much. Some one even had me on a list of have not heard from in a while.
I found a new resource to find major road projects. Is the EPA EIS database . You can pick FHWA and the state. The most recent have the full pdf.
FHWA used to have one but discontinued it.
They do have studies back to the ninities though not digitized yet.
Oh I have time. My wife and I are mostly retired and are in Covid lockdown.
Quote from: kphoger on February 25, 2021, 11:20:40 AM
Quote from: tq-07fan on February 25, 2021, 11:08:04 AM
I have no idea how some of the people are on here as much as they are
Easy: we get less done at work than we otherwise might. [/true]
Speaking for myself I'm bored at work about 90% of the time which is when I mostly am on here. I don't know how I did what I do now for so long when things like Smart Phones weren't around. My wife probably appreciates that I'm on this forum at work more than I am at home.
Quote from: Roadgeekteen on February 25, 2021, 11:12:31 AM
Quote from: Max Rockatansky on February 25, 2021, 08:12:59 AM
Why are people so fascinated with user statistics and post counts? This comes up about once a year in a series of thread and it seems so odd to me.
It's just interesting to look at. I like numbers and lists in general. I wish the forum still had the forum statistics tab. I don't really care about my post count anymore.
Same here. I am a proud useless stats nerd.
Quote from: kphoger on February 25, 2021, 11:20:40 AM
Quote from: tq-07fan on February 25, 2021, 11:08:04 AM
I have no idea how some of the people are on here as much as they are
Easy: we get less done at work than we otherwise might. [/true]
Yeah, same here. I'll be the first to admit that I spend too much time on here. It's not because I'm bored... it's just because this is one of the many tabs I have open, and once I've posted something, I can't help but check back every so often.
Quote from: SectorZ on February 25, 2021, 11:34:58 AM
I am a proud useless stats nerd.
+1
Damn. This thread was kinda similar to asking mine.
Like agentsteel53 hasnt posted in years
Quote from: tolbs17 on February 25, 2021, 11:54:42 AM
Damn. This thread was kinda similar to asking mine.
Like agentsteel53 hasnt posted in years
Yet Jake is very active in the road world still, there is a lot more out there than just AAroads.
Quote from: Max Rockatansky on February 25, 2021, 11:57:32 AM
Quote from: tolbs17 on February 25, 2021, 11:54:42 AM
Damn. This thread was kinda similar to asking mine.
Like agentsteel53 hasnt posted in years
Yet Jake is very active in the road world still, there is a lot more out there than just AAroads.
He's too busy running his replica-shield empire out in the desert to bother with the likes of us ;)
Quote from: tolbs17 on February 25, 2021, 11:54:42 AM
Damn. This thread was kinda similar to asking mine.
Like agentsteel53 hasnt posted in years
He was just recently passed for user with the most posts by Kphoger.
Quote from: Scott5114 on February 25, 2021, 03:00:22 PM
Quote from: Max Rockatansky on February 25, 2021, 11:57:32 AM
Quote from: tolbs17 on February 25, 2021, 11:54:42 AM
Damn. This thread was kinda similar to asking mine.
Like agentsteel53 hasnt posted in years
Yet Jake is very active in the road world still, there is a lot more out there than just AAroads.
He's too busy running his replica-shield empire out in the desert to bother with the likes of us ;)
Yes, I've purchased some customs myself from him this past year. I was kind of surprised to see that CA 25 ended up in his regular product line up after I ordered one custom from him.
Quote from: Scott5114 on February 25, 2021, 03:00:22 PM
Quote from: Max Rockatansky on February 25, 2021, 11:57:32 AM
Quote from: tolbs17 on February 25, 2021, 11:54:42 AM
Damn. This thread was kinda similar to asking mine.
Like agentsteel53 hasnt posted in years
Yet Jake is very active in the road world still, there is a lot more out there than just AAroads.
He's too busy running his replica-shield empire out in the desert to bother with the likes of us ;)
Thought he moved to New England...
Quote from: hbelkins on February 25, 2021, 07:06:02 PM
Quote from: Scott5114 on February 25, 2021, 03:00:22 PM
Quote from: Max Rockatansky on February 25, 2021, 11:57:32 AM
Quote from: tolbs17 on February 25, 2021, 11:54:42 AM
Damn. This thread was kinda similar to asking mine.
Like agentsteel53 hasnt posted in years
Yet Jake is very active in the road world still, there is a lot more out there than just AAroads.
He's too busy running his replica-shield empire out in the desert to bother with the likes of us ;)
Thought he moved to New England...
He did.
Whoa, I had no clue he'd moved. Haven't heard from him since December 2017, though, and I'm assuming his number has changed since then, considering he never replied to a question I sent him in January of last year.
Quote from: kphoger on February 26, 2021, 12:21:13 PM
Whoa, I had no clue he'd moved. Haven't heard from him since December 2017, though, and I'm assuming his number has changed since then, considering he never replied to a question I sent him in January of last year.
Yeah, that's something isn't it? Turns out we had some mutual Facebook groups in common and that's how I got back in touch with him. He had a clearance sale on some of his stock on hand as he was moving and I bought a couple things.
I can, I tried a few times in the 2010s to register an account here and it wasn't until a few months ago that I realized that it actually worked, so I didn't actually post until then.
Quote from: kphoger on February 26, 2021, 12:21:13 PM
Whoa, I had no clue he'd moved. Haven't heard from him since December 2017, though, and I'm assuming his number has changed since then, considering he never replied to a question I sent him in January of last year.
Same here; shows how much I pay attention to Facebook! Last I heard he was living in a shipping container out in the Mojave somewhere or something like that.
Quote from: Scott5114 on February 26, 2021, 07:29:07 PM
Quote from: kphoger on February 26, 2021, 12:21:13 PM
Whoa, I had no clue he'd moved. Haven't heard from him since December 2017, though, and I'm assuming his number has changed since then, considering he never replied to a question I sent him in January of last year.
Same here; shows how much I pay attention to Facebook! Last I heard he was living in a shipping container out in the Mojave somewhere or something like that.
He just sent me a sign so I have his current shipping address and can attest it's not Shipping Container, CA.
I don't know, man. I could be living out of a van down by the river and ship you something with a legitimate return address on the label. :biggrin:
Heck, it could even be office space I was leasing.
Funny you should mention the fact that so many don't post at all. I registered as a member 7 1/2 years ago then I guess in a move of my office to another part of the house caused me to lose some of my old internet information. I had forgotten all about this website until this evening when I was looking through a book of websites and passwords I had kept before smart phones. AA Roads was on the list and I figured, why not try it. After that long, I wasn't even sure it would still be around. But, here it is and here I am. It's going to take me some time to re-familiarize myself with the website but, not to worry, once I have had a chance to get acquainted with the different areas of this site, will probably become more active. I am truly glad to see AA Roads is still here. I think that 80% of all the websites I had recorded in 2013, I have discovered to be gone or missing. I can't wait to see what has been going on in my 7 1/2 year absents!
Quite a lot has happened in 7½ years, but it's cool to see you rediscovered your old account. Funnily enough, you joined about 2 months after I did. Welcome back!
Quote from: Richard3 on February 25, 2021, 06:55:42 AM
I was taking a look on the members list, and I saw that almost half the members on this forum didn't post one time? That means...
- 1944 members didn't write a post, 263 members wrote only one post, and 162 more wrote two posts, for a total of 2369 members in the Parking Lot.
- 650 members are on the Dirt Road, meaning they wrote between 3 and 24 posts.
- 185 members are on the Frontage Road (25-49 posts).
- 180 members are on the Arterial (50-99 posts).
- 202 members are on the County Road (100-249 posts).
- 137 members are on the State Route (250-499 posts).
The 316 last members are the most important, because they wrote 500 posts and more. They are on the leading ways called US Highway (500-999 posts), Expressway (1000-1499), Turnpike (1500-2999), Freeway (3000-4999), Interstate (5000-9999), and, for about a dozen of members, the ones who "Likes The Forum Way, Way Too Much" (10000+ posts). Thanks to all of you.
I want to thank especially the moderators and admins, who hold everything together since the beginning.
So, we have a great forum, here! The thing I want to tell to who don't post is... go ahead! Let us know about you! We all started somewhere, so come on! Don't be shy!
:wave:
in all honesty, i lurked here for quite a while before posting anything. i am admittedly clueless about a lot of this stuff.
but equally fascinated with road and highway oddities.
Who is first in line to catch agentsteel53? I assume NE2, but I know hbelkins has a ton of posts as well.
Quote from: thspfc on March 15, 2021, 07:49:03 PM
Who is first in line to catch agentsteel53? I assume NE2, but I know hbelkins has a ton of posts as well.
kphoger was first; hbelkins was second. They both already passed him.
Quote from: 1 on March 15, 2021, 07:50:28 PM
Quote from: thspfc on March 15, 2021, 07:49:03 PM
Who is first in line to catch agentsteel53? I assume NE2, but I know hbelkins has a ton of posts as well.
kphoger was first; hbelkins was second. They both already passed him.
Oh, I didn't even realize. I don't think we can be mad about kphoger being the forum's top poster. His posts are generally pretty lengthy and high-quality.
In the wee hours of the morning once, I briefly added 100,000 to agentsteel's post count just to screw with people who care about who has the most posts on the forum, but then I realized it would prematurely display what comes after "Likes the forum way, way, too much", so I backed the change out.
Quote from: Scott5114 on March 15, 2021, 07:54:07 PM
In the wee hours of the morning once, I briefly added 100,000 to agentsteel's post count just to screw with people who care about who has the most posts on the forum, but then I realized it would prematurely display what comes after "Likes the forum way, way, too much", so I backed the change out.
I didn't know there was something after "Likes the forum way, way too much". Guess we'll wait until the first person actually reaches the number of posts needed (which idk the post count need for either, but my guess is either 25k, 50k or 100k) to see what it's called.
Quote from: Scott5114 on March 15, 2021, 07:54:07 PM
In the wee hours of the morning once, I briefly added 100,000 to agentsteel's post count just to screw with people who care about who has the most posts on the forum, but then I realized it would prematurely display what comes after "Likes the forum way, way, too much", so I backed the change out.
Now I'm intrigued. What comes next?
Quote from: thspfc on March 15, 2021, 08:00:27 PM
Quote from: Scott5114 on March 15, 2021, 07:54:07 PM
In the wee hours of the morning once, I briefly added 100,000 to agentsteel's post count just to screw with people who care about who has the most posts on the forum, but then I realized it would prematurely display what comes after "Likes the forum way, way, too much", so I backed the change out.
Now I'm intrigued. What comes next?
"Get this person a therapist."
Quote from: Rothman on March 15, 2021, 08:02:05 PM
Quote from: thspfc on March 15, 2021, 08:00:27 PM
Quote from: Scott5114 on March 15, 2021, 07:54:07 PM
In the wee hours of the morning once, I briefly added 100,000 to agentsteel's post count just to screw with people who care about who has the most posts on the forum, but then I realized it would prematurely display what comes after "Likes the forum way, way, too much", so I backed the change out.
Now I'm intrigued. What comes next?
"Get this person a therapist."
That's accurate.
Quote from: Scott5114 on March 15, 2021, 07:54:07 PM
In the wee hours of the morning once, I briefly added 100,000 to agentsteel's post count just to screw with people who care about who has the most posts on the forum, but then I realized it would prematurely display what comes after "Likes the forum way, way, too much", so I backed the change out.
Woah now I'm curious. Maybe Kophger or HB will get it when they are 90, it's probably 100000 posts.
Quote from: thspfc on March 15, 2021, 07:52:32 PM
Quote from: 1 on March 15, 2021, 07:50:28 PM
Quote from: thspfc on March 15, 2021, 07:49:03 PM
Who is first in line to catch agentsteel53? I assume NE2, but I know hbelkins has a ton of posts as well.
kphoger was first; hbelkins was second. They both already passed him.
Oh, I didn't even realize. I don't think we can be mad about kphoger being the forum's top poster. His posts are generally pretty lengthy and high-quality.
/me breathes a sigh of relief.
(Are my posts generally lengthy? I figured most of my posts were about this long. Maybe they just appear longer because I nearly always include a quote.)
Quote from: Scott5114 on March 15, 2021, 07:54:07 PM
In the wee hours of the morning once, I briefly added 100,000 to agentsteel's post count just to screw with people who care about who has the most posts on the forum, but then I realized it would prematurely display what comes after "Likes the forum way, way, too much", so I backed the change out.
Now you're just trolling us. There probably isn't anything after 'Likes the forum way, way, too much'.
Quote from: thspfc on March 15, 2021, 08:02:47 PM
Quote from: Rothman on March 15, 2021, 08:02:05 PM
Quote from: thspfc on March 15, 2021, 08:00:27 PM
Quote from: Scott5114 on March 15, 2021, 07:54:07 PM
In the wee hours of the morning once, I briefly added 100,000 to agentsteel's post count just to screw with people who care about who has the most posts on the forum, but then I realized it would prematurely display what comes after "Likes the forum way, way, too much", so I backed the change out.
Now I'm intrigued. What comes next?
"Get this person a therapist."
That's accurate.
They're gonna need it if they put up with everyone here for that long. :-P
Quote from: Scott5114 on March 15, 2021, 07:54:07 PM
In the wee hours of the morning once, I briefly added 100,000 to agentsteel's post count just to screw with people who care about who has the most posts on the forum, but then I realized it would prematurely display what comes after "Likes the forum way, way, too much", so I backed the change out.
Let me guess: Instead, you just changed mine to 4444 (from 444).
(I'm not sure what's more embarrassing, the fact that I cared that much about my post count, or the fact that I've spent so much time here that I've blown well past 4444....)
Quote from: webny99 on March 15, 2021, 08:56:38 PM
I'm not sure what's more embarrassing ... or the fact that I've spent so much time here that I've blown well past 4444....
Now imagine how I feel.
For what it's worth, post count does not equal value of contribution. In many ways, I'm a bit of a misfit on this forum. In fact, let me count the ways:
I've only met anybody else on here one time, at a local roadmeet here in Wichita. I've only driven outside the Central and Mountain time zones four times. I don't collect old maps. I'm fine with US-400's number, and I-99's number doesn't make me angry. I've never bought a road sign. I don't know how highways are funded. My sign illustration skills don't extend beyond MSPaint. I usually vote Republican. I'm kind of glad I was never on m.t.r., and I don't think the moderation on this forum is too heavy-handed. I don't dream up fictional route numbering systems. I find stoplight timing to be a big yawn. And, most egregious of all, I like Clearview.
But they haven't kicked me out yet. There are others with more knowledge than I have, more experience, and more respect. But what those members
don't have is the same unhealthy level of online time wasting that I've managed to achieve. That, after all, is what post count
really measures.
Quote from: Roadgeekteen on March 15, 2021, 08:38:35 PM
Quote from: Scott5114 on March 15, 2021, 07:54:07 PM
In the wee hours of the morning once, I briefly added 100,000 to agentsteel's post count just to screw with people who care about who has the most posts on the forum, but then I realized it would prematurely display what comes after "Likes the forum way, way, too much", so I backed the change out.
Woah now I'm curious. Maybe Kophger or HB will get it when they are 90, it's probably 100000 posts.
Nah. If my overall daily average holds steady, I stand to reach 100k posts at age 87. I probably won't even live that long.
Quote from: kphoger on March 16, 2021, 09:12:08 AM
For what it's worth, post count does not equal value of contribution. In many ways, I'm a bit of a misfit on this forum. In fact, let me count the ways:
...
But they haven't kicked me out yet. There are others with more knowledge than I have, more experience, and more respect. But what those members don't have is the same unhealthy level of online time wasting that I've managed to achieve. That, after all, is what post count really measures.
I think we're all misfits in our own way. The roads are what connect us.
Point taken regarding post count being mostly a measure of online time-wasting. However, you're certainly not locked in as the biggest online time-waster once you factor in how long someone has been around. My posts per day of 4.1 is comparable to your 4.8, for example, and there's a lot of members in that range.
You've also shown that you
can stay away for months at a time, but you're very active when you're here, while some members might browse around for hours and post nothing. Each to their own in this regard.
Quote from: kphoger on March 16, 2021, 09:12:08 AM
Quote from: webny99 on March 15, 2021, 08:56:38 PM
I'm not sure what's more embarrassing ... or the fact that I've spent so much time here that I've blown well past 4444....
Now imagine how I feel.
For what it's worth, post count does not equal value of contribution. In many ways, I'm a bit of a misfit on this forum. In fact, let me count the ways:
I've only met anybody else on here one time, at a local roadmeet here in Wichita. I've only driven outside the Central and Mountain time zones four times. I don't collect old maps. I'm fine with US-400's number, and I-99's number doesn't make me angry. I've never bought a road sign. I don't know how highways are funded. My sign illustration skills don't extend beyond MSPaint. I usually vote Republican. I'm kind of glad I was never on m.t.r., and I don't think the moderation on this forum is too heavy-handed. I don't dream up fictional route numbering systems. I find stoplight timing to be a big yawn. And, most egregious of all, I like Clearview.
But they haven't kicked me out yet. There are others with more knowledge than I have, more experience, and more respect. But what those members don't have is the same unhealthy level of online time wasting that I've managed to achieve. That, after all, is what post count really measures.
Quote from: Roadgeekteen on March 15, 2021, 08:38:35 PM
Quote from: Scott5114 on March 15, 2021, 07:54:07 PM
In the wee hours of the morning once, I briefly added 100,000 to agentsteel's post count just to screw with people who care about who has the most posts on the forum, but then I realized it would prematurely display what comes after "Likes the forum way, way, too much", so I backed the change out.
Woah now I'm curious. Maybe Kophger or HB will get it when they are 90, it's probably 100000 posts.
Nah. If my overall daily average holds steady, I stand to reach 100k posts at age 87. I probably won't even live that long.
Someone might hit it, maybe that Max guy with over 10,000 posts and an average of 7 a day.
Anyone else have a distorted posts per day number like mine? I made an account in 2019, but didn't start posting until mid December 2020.
Quote from: SkyPesos on March 16, 2021, 11:21:50 AM
Anyone else have a distorted posts per day number like mine?
No clue. I'd never even looked at my post count until someone mentioned I was "on the leader board". I neither know nor care if it's distorted.
Quote from: SkyPesos on March 16, 2021, 11:21:50 AM
Anyone else have a distorted posts per day number like mine? I made an account in 2019, but didn't start posting until mid December 2020.
Alps does. 34.118 posts per day thanks to the fake join date of 2020-02-02.
(Other than that, though, it's not really "distorted". Factoring in the days spent browsing, offline, or otherwise away from the forum is part of what makes it relevant as a long-term metric.)
Quote from: webny99 on March 16, 2021, 11:27:43 AM
Quote from: SkyPesos on March 16, 2021, 11:21:50 AM
Anyone else have a distorted posts per day number like mine? I made an account in 2019, but didn't start posting until mid December 2020.
Alps does. 34.118 posts per day thanks to the fake join date of 2020-02-02.
(Other than that, though, it's not really "distorted". Factoring in the days spent browsing, offline, or otherwise away from the forum is part of what makes it relevant as a long-term metric.)
My post average would be closer to 7-10 posts per day but I take long breaks from the forum often.
Quote from: kphoger on March 16, 2021, 09:12:08 AM
For what it's worth, post count does not equal value of contribution. In many ways, I'm a bit of a misfit on this forum.
Being a misfit means you have more things to say that nobody else has said before.
Well given that I'm 17, still haven't gotten my drivers license, and have never met anyone on this forum, I'm probably a bigger misfit.
Quote from: webny99 on March 16, 2021, 11:27:43 AM
Quote from: SkyPesos on March 16, 2021, 11:21:50 AM
Anyone else have a distorted posts per day number like mine? I made an account in 2019, but didn't start posting until mid December 2020.
Alps does. 34.118 posts per day thanks to the fake join date of 2020-02-02.
(Other than that, though, it's not really "distorted". Factoring in the days spent browsing, offline, or otherwise away from the forum is part of what makes it relevant as a long-term metric.)
It was a really cool stat on 2020-02-03.
The results here are typical of most forums and groups. Most people like to lurk. On some of my Facebook groups, there may be several hundred or a few thousand people, but very few post actively. One or two of the township/community pages may have the most active participation % wise, but others I forget I'm even on because they're so quiet.
Quote from: webny99 on February 25, 2021, 08:00:55 AM
I suspect many of those 1944 members who have never posted registered because they were curious about Fictional Highways, Travel, or other boards that aren't visible to non-members.
Impossible, because non-members don't know those board exist. They're basically 'Easter Eggs' members find after they join. The new members that pay the initiation fee and bring bagels find even more goodies.
Quote from: jeffandnicole on March 17, 2021, 09:44:11 AM
The results here are typical of most forums and groups. Most people like to lurk. On some of my Facebook groups, there may be several hundred or a few thousand people, but very few post actively. One or two of the township/community pages may have the most active participation % wise, but others I forget I'm even on because they're so quiet.
Quote from: webny99 on February 25, 2021, 08:00:55 AM
I suspect many of those 1944 members who have never posted registered because they were curious about Fictional Highways, Travel, or other boards that aren't visible to non-members.
Impossible, because non-members don't know those board exist. They're basically 'Easter Eggs' members find after they join. The new members that pay the initiation fee and bring bagels find even more goodies.
We talk about these boards enough on the other ones so I found out pretty quick that they existed. Also some threads get moved there, and everyone can see that.
Quote from: jeffandnicole on March 17, 2021, 09:44:11 AMQuote from: Roadgeekteen on March 17, 2021, 09:54:31 AM
Quote from: webny99 on February 25, 2021, 08:00:55 AM
I suspect many of those 1944 members who have never posted registered because they were curious about Fictional Highways, Travel, or other boards that aren't visible to non-members.
Impossible, because non-members don't know those board exist. They're basically 'Easter Eggs' members find after they join. The new members that pay the initiation fee and bring bagels find even more goodies.
We talk about these boards enough on the other ones so I found out pretty quick that they existed. Also some threads get moved there, and everyone can see that.
Yes. Anytime someone links to a fictional thread, for example, non-members get an error message stating that what they're looking for is off-limits to them. This happens more than you might think, especially with the Place That Shall Not Be Named. Naturally, this makes people curious. I know it's one of several reasons why I decided to sign up.
There are other pages off-limits to non-members too, like (who would've guessed?) the members page. And yet, the username on every post links to that user's profile page, so if you try clicking any of those while logged out, you'll get the same off-limits message.
This means hundreds of people are joining the forum just so they can read a detailed history of Magical Place of Destiny and its secret war with Nimbya.
Quote from: Scott5114 on February 25, 2021, 03:00:22 PM
Quote from: Max Rockatansky on February 25, 2021, 11:57:32 AM
Quote from: tolbs17 on February 25, 2021, 11:54:42 AM
Damn. This thread was kinda similar to asking mine.
Like agentsteel53 hasnt posted in years
Yet Jake is very active in the road world still, there is a lot more out there than just AAroads.
He's too busy running his replica-shield empire out in the desert to bother with the likes of us ;)
Several years ago I asked Jake about why he stopped posting after being one of the most active members. He told me that he pretty much got what he needed out of the forum, i.e. sign finds, route histories, etc.
I text with him on occassion and he remains very busy with life, the sign business, etc.
Quote from: Scott5114 on March 15, 2021, 07:54:07 PM
In the wee hours of the morning once, I briefly added 100,000 to agentsteel's post count just to screw with people who care about who has the most posts on the forum, but then I realized it would prematurely display what comes after "Likes the forum way, way, too much", so I backed the change out.
With quite a few achieving it, there really should be another rank added with the "likes the forum way..." rank pushed further up in the required post tally. Was long lost Zeffy the one who came up with that rank?
I think I was the one who added it. I remember it initially topped out with Interstate, and I think I added "Likes the forum" as a sort-of-joke, since at the time it seemed doubtful anyone was going to reach it any time soon (I think I saw the same phrasing on some other forum I had visited). This was the same way the next rank was added.
I am of two minds when it comes to adding something between "Interstate" and "Likes the forum". While, yes, the forum has been around long enough that we are getting more and more people reaching 10,000 posts, that is still enough of a milestone that crossing it means being around for a several-year period, so I think only a small percentage of people will end up naturally crossing that threshold no matter how long the forum is around. Also, it's kind of hard to think of something road-related that's above "Interstate" and not already used.
It also still means you like the forum way too much. :nod:
Quote from: Scott5114 on March 18, 2021, 12:19:36 AM
... something between "Interstate" and "Likes the forum"
... hard to think of something road-related that's above "Interstate" and not already used.
Autobahn?
100,000 posts = Infinite Improbability Drive?
Quote from: GaryV on March 18, 2021, 10:16:44 AM
Quote from: Scott5114 on March 18, 2021, 12:19:36 AM
... something between "Interstate" and "Likes the forum"
... hard to think of something road-related that's above "Interstate" and not already used.
Autobahn?
Hypotenuse?
Fritzway?
Some forums have special ranks for exact post counts (such as 1337, which goes back to 1000-2000 as soon as you post again). Could something like that happen here?
Another forum that I participate in awards forum ranks by something called 'trophy points', which is based off milestones for post count and number of likes you received. This is their list of trophy points (https://imgur.com/mBurWVg). They stretch their forum ranks out a bit more, though their forum ranks aren't anything unique (like forum nerd), unlike here with road types and "like the forum way..."
Quote from: 1 on March 18, 2021, 10:59:54 AM
Some forums have special ranks for exact post counts (such as 1337, which goes back to 1000-2000 as soon as you post again). Could something like that happen here?
Which numbers? 238? 666?
Quote from: Roadgeekteen on March 18, 2021, 12:55:41 PM
Quote from: 1 on March 18, 2021, 10:59:54 AM
Some forums have special ranks for exact post counts (such as 1337, which goes back to 1000-2000 as soon as you post again). Could something like that happen here?
Which numbers? 238? 666?
or 1234 or 2009 i'm sure.
Quote from: Roadgeekteen on March 18, 2021, 12:55:41 PM
Quote from: 1 on March 18, 2021, 10:59:54 AM
Some forums have special ranks for exact post counts (such as 1337, which goes back to 1000-2000 as soon as you post again). Could something like that happen here?
Which numbers? 238? 666?
yeahno
It might be nice to recognize post counts ending with -69. :evilgrin:
Quote from: 1995hoo on March 18, 2021, 06:00:29 PM
It might be nice to recognize post counts ending with -69. :evilgrin:
Trust me, that would be too much work. :-D
Quote from: rickmastfan67 on March 18, 2021, 10:59:16 PM
Quote from: 1995hoo on March 18, 2021, 06:00:29 PM
It might be nice to recognize post counts ending with -69. :evilgrin:
Trust me, that would be too much work. :-D
I've seen some accounts get deleted due to extreme inactivity in other forums.
Quote from: tolbs17 on March 23, 2021, 12:21:15 PM
Quote from: rickmastfan67 on March 18, 2021, 10:59:16 PM
Quote from: 1995hoo on March 18, 2021, 06:00:29 PM
It might be nice to recognize post counts ending with -69. :evilgrin:
Trust me, that would be too much work. :-D
I've seen some accounts get deleted due to extreme inactivity in other forums.
Yes, one of the Saturn forums I was on bans anyone who doesn't post every so often. That bugs me, as such a policy seems to encourage posts that don't add anything to the discussion.
Quote from: hbelkins on March 23, 2021, 01:20:45 PM
Quote from: tolbs17 on March 23, 2021, 12:21:15 PM
Quote from: rickmastfan67 on March 18, 2021, 10:59:16 PM
Quote from: 1995hoo on March 18, 2021, 06:00:29 PM
It might be nice to recognize post counts ending with -69. :evilgrin:
Trust me, that would be too much work. :-D
I've seen some accounts get deleted due to extreme inactivity in other forums.
Yes, one of the Saturn forums I was on bans anyone who doesn't post every so often. That bugs me, as such a policy seems to encourage posts that don't add anything to the discussion.
That's a stupid policy. I get that it consumes data to store accounts, but it also consumes data to store useless posts to keep accounts open.
I imagine that the data saved far outweighs the data used.
Don't you suppose most people who join a Saturn forum only join to ask a question about what's wrong with their car, then never post again? Only a small group of people are actually discussing things on an ongoing basis.
I'm not gonna install SMF just to check, but storing a user account probably takes no more than 1—2 kb of data. Not really enough to justify a deletion policy on that reason alone. I could see maybe doing it to allow desirable names (like common first names unadorned with numbers or other identifiers) to be reclaimed.
With the way relational databases work, the way it is stored in the database is that every account that is registered gets a unique ID number (I know that mine on this forum is 33). When you post, the post is stored along with the ID number of the poster (so this post would have "33" somewhere in the database row). Then, when that post is displayed, it looks up the user information for that user (user name, avatar, etc) and loads it into the page in real time. That's why whenever you change your avatar, it changes across the forum–the avatar is only loaded in whenever the forum sees a post with your user number, and it always pulls the currently-selected avatar.
This is also why we are extremely reluctant to delete user accounts, and usually advise people that don't want their account anymore to simply stop using it or to scramble their password. When we delete an account, the thread display script would try to look up an account that doesn't exist and throw an error. Therefore, the account-delete function goes through all of that user's posts and assigns them to an account ID of 0. This means that, should we need to restore the account because the person changed their mind, it would take a lot of work to extract the relevant posts from account #0 (which would have several dozen deleted accounts' posts to it) and change their user IDs to the new/restored account number.
We could probably go through the database and delete any users with 0 posts and no activity in the last year.
Quote from: Scott5114 on March 23, 2021, 03:24:02 PM
This is also why we are extremely reluctant to delete user accounts, and usually advise people that don't want their account anymore to simply stop using it or to scramble their password. When we delete an account, the thread display script would try to look up an account that doesn't exist and throw an error. Therefore, the account-delete function goes through all of that user's posts and assigns them to an account ID of 0. This means that, should we need to restore the account because the person changed their mind, it would take a lot of work to extract the relevant posts from account #0 (which would have several dozen deleted accounts' posts to it) and change their user IDs to the new/restored account number.
Not totally true. Deleted accounts leave their username/email in the posts instead. So, all you would have to do inside of SMF is attribute either the username or email to the new account, and the forum will do the rest to attach the old posts to the new account.