Number of members.

[Sunken Valley]

The little statistic box at the bottom of the main forum says there are 52,900 members, but the Member's list only has 37,300 listed. Where did 15,000 members go?

[Zherog]

*whistles innocently*

[Serpentine]

Banned people aren't listed in the Members List. I guess they still count towards the stats, though...

[happyturtle]

My wildly uninformed guess is 14,900 banned spam accounts and 100 genuine accounts that were either banned or closed.

[Vaynor]

Members with no posts are also not on the member's list.

[Eldrys]

Also, I'm pretty sure members that haven't been active in six months(probably longer) aren't listed either.

[Gadora]

Also, I'm pretty sure members that haven't been active in six months(probably longer) aren't listed either.

Nope, just checked and found someone who hasn't been active for one day over four years.

[Trixie]

My wildly uninformed guess is 14,900 banned spam accounts and 100 genuine accounts that were either banned or closed.

My wild guess would be that ratios are precisely the other way around, seeing how rarely spambots get in due to custom account creation question :smallamused:

[EagleWiz]

They broke out of the mind contr- THERE IS NO MIND CONTROLL CITIZEN, GO BACK TO YOUR FUN.

[Rawhide]

Ghosts are not visible in that list. This includes people who have registered and never posted as well as those who have not posted outside of SMBG.


As for the ban ratio, the initial suggestion is far closer to the truth. There are far more spambots that have been banned than posters. This is mainly due to the lack of the custom account creation questions in the past. Though spambots can and will get through any such system, the number has been greatly reduced because of it.

[Trixie]

Ah, sorry then. Must have been before my time, when I started noticing the rare spambots the ratio already was about that way :smallwink:

[happyturtle]

My wild guess would be that ratios are precisely the other way around, seeing how rarely spambots get in due to custom account creation question :smallamused:

I'm now trying to imagine 15,000 people going through all the warning and infraction stages to get banned and all the moderation work that would take. ._.

[Elder Tsofu]

Ever wondered why we only had Rawhide and Roland St.Jude for such a long time? Sure there are "retired" moderators around, but that is just a cover-up by the administrators.

In reality these retired moderators fought and perished in the great forum-wars, the hitherto darkest chapter of the playground. But they did go down fighting, taking 15 000 spammers and trolls with them in this attempt to cleanse the playground from their taint.

I've only managed to reason out this much from traces left around in the boards, but I imagine that in the moderators board there are pages and pages recording the valiant deeds performed during this time.
My belief is that Roland himself near the end faced of against a especially nasty and renowned user going by the name "bananas", leading to the famous "no discussion" stance later taken on the subject.

[Trixie]

I'm now trying to imagine 15,000 people going through all the warning and infraction stages to get banned and all the moderation work that would take. ._.

My dear, remember the Einstein's saying about stupidity? :smalltongue:

Plus, 8 years is plenty of time for this, and some offenses are instantly bannable, I believe.

[Alarra]

Ever wondered why we only had Rawhide and Roland St.Jude for such a long time?
:smallfrown: At no point did we ever have 'only' Roland and Rawhide. I was always here.

[Spiryt]

I am not a number! I'm a free man!

[Zherog]

:smallfrown: At no point did we ever have 'only' Roland and Rawhide. I was always here.

But your beauty is too much to gaze upon. And you know the saying: out of sight, out of mind. ;)

[Elder Tsofu]

I see that someone poked a hole in my thesis - at the first line no less! I'll have to retire and think some more on this.

[WampaX]

I've been here since . . . <looks at the cave wall> day 2 or 3, tough to remember when that first post was.

Somewhere around here I've got the population trend for the first few years of the site, before the spam bots started inflating the numbers.

Let me see if I can dig that up.

[MoonCat]

WHOA! It' s an old timer! From like old times. What brought you to post again?

[Zeb The Troll]

I've been here since . . . <looks at the cave wall> day 2 or 3, tough to remember when that first post was.

Somewhere around here I've got the population trend for the first few years of the site, before the spam bots started inflating the numbers.

Let me see if I can dig that up.Wampa! I haven't seen you aaaaaaaaaaages! They told us you were DEAD! :smalltongue:

[NineThePuma]

Wampa! I haven't seen you aaaaaaaaaaages! They told us you were DEAD! :smalltongue:

Yes, slain in a mighty war against trolls, as Elder Tsofu tells us in the stories!

(Is it bad that I'm seeing an awesome action flick on the premise?)

[WampaX]

WHOA! It' s an old timer! From like old times. What brought you to post again?

Why else? To post about a topic that I have a passing knowledge of that others might find interesting. :smallbiggrin:

Its been awhile and I've forgotten how to post tables, but here are the highlights of my tracking from 8/2003 to 11/2006 (one month after the old boards were retired). If I recall, I tried to only include active posters, no ghosts.

- 22 people joined in the first month
- largest % jump was 5/2004 when the board population increased by 42%
- largest member increase was 1358 in 7/2005
- Broke 1000 in 9/2004
- Broke 5,000 in 7/2005
- Broke 10,000 in 1/2006
- Broke 15,000 in 7/2006
- I don't have the numbers, but I would guess 20,000 in 12/2006

I wish I had put some of the other milestones on the spread sheet to give it all a better context. Things like book publication dates, web comics polls, external links to the site, etc. :smallannoyed:

[Serpentine]

Holy balls it's WampaX.

[Kumori]

- Broke 5,000 in 7/2005

:smalleek: wow, I didn't realize there were so few people around when I joined...

[Elder Tsofu]

Holy balls it's WampaX.

Couldn't have said it better myself. Seriously. ^^

But it seem like you had a quite steady increase of 10.000 members a year then, quite impressive!
*knows nothing to compare it to but thinks it is impressive regardless*

[WampaX]

But it seem like you had a quite steady increase of 10.000 members a year then, quite impressive!
*knows nothing to compare it to but thinks it is impressive regardless*

Sadly, I don't have any stats on attrition. So to the original poster's question, we just don't have the stats on "active" posters. I'm pretty sure that there are only 2-3 people who were in that initial 22 who post anymore.

I would wager that member entropy is rather balanced by the new posters cycling in. Despite the steady initial growth, the tag at the bottom lists about 50K. So the trend of growth is increasing at a much shallower angle now. Decrease in market drive, saturation, and the increase of social networking sites definetly have something to do with the leveling off.

I would also wager that only about half of that 50K are active posters, but I have no facts or factors to back that up.

[Sunken Valley]

Hey Wamp, do you know what the website looked like before it was re-designed? Nobody else does.

[Zherog]

Sadly, I don't have any stats on attrition. So to the original poster's question, we just don't have the stats on "active" posters. I'm pretty sure that there are only 2-3 people who were in that initial 22 who post anymore.

I think I'm the oldest non-mod on the forum. If so, that would mean all the initial 22 that weren't given mod status are gone.

Also... *waves* How you doin'? Long time, no see!

[Alarra]

Why else? To post about a topic that I have a passing knowledge of that others might find interesting. :smallbiggrin:

Its been awhile and I've forgotten how to post tables, but here are the highlights of my tracking from 8/2003 to 11/2006 (one month after the old boards were retired). If I recall, I tried to only include active posters, no ghosts.

- 22 people joined in the first month
- largest % jump was 5/2004 when the board population increased by 42%
- largest member increase was 1358 in 7/2005
- Broke 1000 in 9/2004
- Broke 5,000 in 7/2005
- Broke 10,000 in 1/2006
- Broke 15,000 in 7/2006
- I don't have the numbers, but I would guess 20,000 in 12/2006

I wish I had put some of the other milestones on the spread sheet to give it all a better context. Things like book publication dates, web comics polls, external links to the site, etc. :smallannoyed:

Wampa! *hugs* long time no see!
I can help a bit with some of that.... well... 5/2004, rather, was when Rich did a guest comic on 8-bit. I would guess most of erm... us that joined then came from that.

[WampaX]

Hey Wamp, do you know what the website looked like before it was re-designed? Nobody else does.
It was very similar to the current design just less so. It was a YaBB implementation with copyright infringing avatars (I was Ernest Penfold for a couple of days). Rich quickly modded it with footprints and sand and once the comic was underway, stick-atars became the norm. The main nav on the right has always been there with some changes over the years. Since Rich had a lot to say about game design, that used to dominate the nav bar. Then a few months later (October, I think) he uploaded the comic and the snowball started rolling.


I think I'm the oldest non-mod on the forum. If so, that would mean all the initial 22 that weren't given mod status are gone.

Most of them were Nifty alum, iirc.
Your assesment is correct, I believe, there are none left from the initial 22 who weren't a mod or administrator.

[Zherog]

Most of them were Nifty alum, iirc.
Your assesment is correct, I believe, there are none left from the initial 22 who weren't a mod or administrator.

Looking at the list, many were Nifty alum, but I'd say it's probably under half.

[HalfDragonCube]

*Attempts to bow in respect towards the elders*

*Slightly crumples one side and then falls over*

[Flame of Anor]

Ever wondered why we only had Rawhide and Roland St.Jude for such a long time? Sure there are "retired" moderators around, but that is just a cover-up by the administrators.

In reality these retired moderators fought and perished in the great forum-wars, the hitherto darkest chapter of the playground. But they did go down fighting, taking 15 000 spammers and trolls with them in this attempt to cleanse the playground from their taint.

I've only managed to reason out this much from traces left around in the boards, but I imagine that in the moderators board there are pages and pages recording the valiant deeds performed during this time.
My belief is that Roland himself near the end faced of against a especially nasty and renowned user going by the name "bananas", leading to the famous "no discussion" stance later taken on the subject.

Kind of odd that someone named Roland (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Roland) would survive such a terrible battle (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Battle_of_Roncevaux_Pass)...is he perhaps an impostor?!?


Also, wow! WampaX is here!!

[WampaX]

I now remember how I pulled all these numbers together (thanks Zherog) . . . and they do not take ghosts into account.

If I get bored, I may go ahead and continue to update the spreadsheet. See what the trend is like now.

Also,
/waves and *hug*s, where appropriate.

[Chess435]

Wow, so many mods! I'm humbled by your precense WampaX. Out of curiosity, do retired mods get to keep their modly powers?

[The Glyphstone]

Only if they can defeat a current mod in a children's card game.

[Maxios]

What if the retired mod has no knowledge of children's card games? Will they instead play the Ultimate Game (http://xkcd.com/393/)?
Also, I have finally solved the great riddle of why Roland has a no discussion about bananas stance.
A living-banana must have tried to kill him (but failed) and Roland gained a banana phobia, hence, no discussing bananas.

[Volthawk]

Most of them were Nifty alum, iirc.

Nifty alum? :smallconfused:

[WampaX]

Wow, so many mods! I'm humbled by your precense WampaX. Out of curiosity, do retired mods get to keep their modly powers?

if you ponder your question, I believe you will find it already contains the answer you seek.

Back to topic . . .
I'm curious if there is a way to track the entropic membership death of the message board. Not just how/what pulls in the members, but also what trends there are in members ceasing to post.

Other than pulling the list of members and tracking first and last posts, I can't see an elegant way to do it.

[Occasional Sage]

if you ponder your question, I believe you will find it already contains the answer you seek.

Back to topic . . .
I'm curious if there is a way to track the entropic membership death of the message board. Not just how/what pulls in the members, but also what trends there are in members ceasing to post.

Other than pulling the list of members and tracking first and last posts, I can't see an elegant way to do it.

If it's not elegant, it's not a good plan.

Inelegant = losing your hat?

[Asthix]

As the temporarily official keeper of the Birthdays, I split the list up when I updated it (Oct. '10 to Jan '11) into 'active' users and those who hadn't posted in over a year. At least with regards to people who wanted to be on the birthday list, the active users far outweigh the inactive ones.

I know this is not representative of the site as a whole but it's interesting to me. Also, there are 746 names on the birthday list in total, presumably all volunteered.

[Kobold-Bard]

Nifty alum? :smallconfused:

I assume it means they were all denizens of some place called nifty before moving to the Playground.

I thought it might be a website that may still exist (it'd be a sort of "living history" exhibit) so I figured I'd see if a quick Google search brought anything up.

However unless the first members of our beloved Playground all had a penchant for erotic fiction or mechanical lifts, I was sadly disappointed.

[Flame of Anor]

Also, I have finally solved the great riddle of why Roland has a no discussion about bananas stance.
A living-banana must have tried to kill him (but failed) and Roland gained a banana phobia, hence, no discussing bananas.

What about POINTED STICKS?


I assume it means they were all denizens of some place called nifty before moving to the Playground.

I thought it might be a website that may still exist (it'd be a sort of "living history" exhibit) so I figured I'd see if a quick Google search brought anything up.

However unless the first members of our beloved Playground all had a penchant for erotic fiction or mechanical lifts, I was sadly disappointed.

:biggrin:

[Castaras]

What about POINTED STICKS?


SHADDUP!

AND NOW! I TEACH YOU HOW TO DEFEND YOURSELF AGAINST THE We do not talk about that fruit here. I will go back to my fun.

[Mercenary Pen]

Only if they can defeat a current mod in a children's card game.

I suppose its just as well that non-mods can't gain mod powers that way, otherwise I could name a handful of members who would end up promoted almost by default...

[Zherog]

I assume it means they were all denizens of some place called nifty before moving to the Playground.

I thought it might be a website that may still exist (it'd be a sort of "living history" exhibit) so I figured I'd see if a quick Google search brought anything up.

However unless the first members of our beloved Playground all had a penchant for erotic fiction or mechanical lifts, I was sadly disappointed.

Your assumption is correct, but your Google-fu is weak like a ninja (http://www.niftymessageboard.com/index.php).

[Kobold-Bard]

Your assumption is correct, but your Google-fu is weak like a ninja (http://www.niftymessageboard.com/index.php).

http://www.petcomments.com/ccimages/its-beautiful.jpg

[MoonCat]

What about POINTED STICKS?

I was waiting to see if that would show up! Thank you!


SHADDUP!

AND NOW! I TEACH YOU HOW TO DEFEND YOURSELF AGAINST THE We do not talk about that fruit here. I will go back to my fun.

I love you.

[WampaX]

I think there may be an issue . . .

Due to periodic purges, the board transition, and account merging
I think it may be impossible to get an accurate bead on when many users were last on the boards thus killing a key piece of information needed for the endeavor.

Crumbs

[Kuma Da]

Man, I love cruising the Board/Site issues subforum for exactly threads like this. I can't think of any other internet community where the "how do we fix these computery problems" section of the site is also a place of continuous wonder. :smallcool:

[drakir_nosslin]

I know that it's completely off topic, and for that I apologize, but Wampa, you got one of the cutest avatars I've ever seen. :smallbiggrin:

[WampaX]

I know that it's completely off topic, and for that I apologize, but Wampa, you got one of the cutest avatars I've ever seen. :smallbiggrin:

From this thread (http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showthread.php?t=44736)

Specific post

What about pokemon?

Best Roland Avatar
Roland as Ash Ketchum
http://i87.photobucket.com/albums/k125/Yitsockl/ashroland.gif

Best Alarra Avatar
Alarra as Chansey
http://i87.photobucket.com/albums/k125/Yitsockl/alarrachansey.gif

Best Grey Watcher Avatar
Grey Watcher as Pikachu
http://i87.photobucket.com/albums/k125/Yitsockl/pikachuwatcher.gif

Best Baron Avatar
Baron as Mewtwo
http://i87.photobucket.com/albums/k125/Yitsockl/baronmewtwo.gif

Best Gorbash Avatar
Gorbasaur
http://i87.photobucket.com/albums/k125/Yitsockl/gorbasaur.gif

Best Wampa Avatar
Wampa as Snorlax
http://i87.photobucket.com/albums/k125/Yitsockl/wampax.gif

Best Group
Gotta Catch Em All!!
http://i87.photobucket.com/albums/k125/Yitsockl/modgrouppicture.png

Back on topic, I'm probably going to proceed with the task at hand and just put anyone that doesn't have a surviving thread since the boardpocolypse as an outlier.

[Rockphed]

Wampa! I haven't seen you aaaaaaaaaaages! They told us you were DEAD! :smalltongue:

And you expect that to stop him how? I mean, sure, what with habitat transition and global cycles being messed up, not to mention the current heat wave, I am surprised to see a wampa up and about, but Wanpa is made of tougher stuff. Also, I wouldn't be surprised if he has the best air conditioning this side of the moon.

[HalfDragonCube]

And you expect that to stop him how? I mean, sure, what with habitat transition and global cycles being messed up, not to mention the current heat wave, I am surprised to see a wampa up and about, but Wanpa is made of tougher stuff. Also, I wouldn't be surprised if he has the best air conditioning this side of the moon.

For a moment I thought you were talking about some kind of zombie Wampa.

Wampa is too cute too zombify... *Hugs*

This is starting to stray off-topic. Maybe I should create some kind of hugging thread in the SMBG section.