--------------------------------
TSG Report 4
TSG Member Activity
by 'oscar51'
Current version: January 2009
Previous updates:
January 2008 / July 2007 / December 2005 / November 2003 / April 2003
Original release: September 2002
Introduction
This report presents the latest results of an ongoing statistical study of Tech Support Guy™ (TSG) member activity based on data obtained from the "Members List" available via the "Quick Links" tab at the top of each TSG forum page.
Data Set
For the current update of this report, the complete list of TSG members was downloaded during the early morning hours (Pacific Time) on Thursday and Friday, 1/2 January 2009. The data available from this list that was used to generate the information given below were user name, user ID, user type, join date, and number of posts for each member who joined between 12:01 a.m. 27 November 1998 and 11:59 p.m. 31 December 2008. Unless otherwise noted, all times and dates in this report are referenced to GMT.
Analysis and Results
Note: In this report, I frequently use the word "with" in the sense of "has made" or "have made." For example, the phrase "a member with 10 posts" is equivalent to the phrase "a member who has made 10 posts." Both phrases mean that a member has contributed a total of 10 posts to the TSG forums prior to the time the current data set was downloaded. Likewise, the phrase "members with one or more posts" is equivalent to the phrase "members who have made one or more posts." When used in this plural context, "with" and "have made" always imply "posts per member" or "posts each."
In addition, I frequently use the phrase "posting member" or "posting members" to refer to those members who have made at least one post. In the data set used in the current version of this report, there were 279,664 posting members.
Post-count Distribution
Tables I (a) through (d) show the number of members and the number of posts made by these members tabulated according to intervals called "post blocks". For example, row 2 in Table I (a), where the interval is 1,000 posts per block, shows that 279,085 members have made between 1 and 1,000 posts for a total of 2,558,438 posts. Rows 3 through 11 may be interpreted similarly. Row 1 shows the number of members with zero posts and row 12 shows the number of members with more than 10,000 posts. Table I (b), (c), and (d) are similar to Table I (a) except that the interval or number of posts per block is 100, 10, and 1, respectively.
Table I (a) - Post-count Distribution
| |
Posts per block = 1,000 |
| Row |
Post block |
Members |
Posts |
| 1 |
0 |
144,737 |
0 |
| 2 |
1 to 1,000 |
279,085 |
2,558,438 |
| 3 |
1,001 to 2,000 |
231 |
327,494 |
| 4 |
2,001 to 3,000 |
99 |
242,782 |
| 5 |
3,001 to 4,000 |
57 |
195,331 |
| 6 |
4,001 to 5,000 |
39 |
175,486 |
| 7 |
5,001 to 6,000 |
18 |
99,618 |
| 8 |
6,001 to 7,000 |
15 |
98,116 |
| 9 |
7,001 to 8,000 |
12 |
88,968 |
| 10 |
8,001 to 9,000 |
13 |
110,928 |
| 11 |
9,001 to 10,000 |
9 |
85,426 |
| 12 |
More than 10,000 |
86 |
2,187,588 |
| |
Total: |
424,401 |
6,170,175 |
Note in Table I (a) that 144,737 members (row 1), or 34.1% of the total number of members, have never made a post. This percentage may be compared with its corresponding values in previous versions of this report as follows: 30.6% in January 2008, 30.8% in July 2007, 31.3% in December 2005, and 34.5% in November 2003.
Also note in Table I (a) that the data are highly skewed, that is, the number of posts are very unevenly distributed throughout the members. As noted previously, row 2 shows that as a group the 279,085 members with 1,000 or fewer posts made a total of 2,558,438 posts. Expressed as percentages, these numbers indicate that 99.8% of the 279,664 posting members (those members with at least one post) made only 41.5% of the total number of posts. To account for the remaining members and posts, a summation of the number of members and posts in rows 3 through 12 of Table I (a) shows that as a group the remaining 579 members with more than 1,000 posts made a total of 3,611,737 posts. (These numbers are shown explicitly in Table I (b), row 12.) In other words, 0.2% of the posting members made 58.5% of the total posts. That ratio reflects a very uneven distribution of posts throughout the members.
Table I (b) - Post-count Distribution (continued)
| |
Posts per block = 100 |
| Row |
Post block |
Members |
Posts |
| 1 |
0 |
144,737 |
0 |
| 2 |
1 to 100 |
275,344 |
1,606,559 |
| 3 |
101 to 200 |
2,086 |
289,418 |
| 4 |
201 to 300 |
724 |
175,962 |
| 5 |
301 to 400 |
328 |
113,012 |
| 6 |
401 to 500 |
184 |
82,301 |
| 7 |
501 to 600 |
138 |
75,673 |
| 8 |
601 to 700 |
97 |
62,600 |
| 9 |
701 to 800 |
80 |
60,018 |
| 10 |
801 to 900 |
63 |
53,795 |
| 11 |
901 to 1,000 |
41 |
39,100 |
| 12 |
More than 1,000 |
579 |
3,611,737 |
| |
Total: |
424,401 |
6,170,175 |
Table I (c) - Post-count Distribution (continued)
| |
Posts per block = 10 |
| Row |
Post block |
Members |
Posts |
| 1 |
0 |
144,737 |
0 |
| 2 |
1 to 10 |
240,653 |
671,799 |
| 3 |
11 to 20 |
18,339 |
263,971 |
| 4 |
21 to 30 |
66,94 |
166,268 |
| 5 |
31 to 40 |
3,389 |
118,628 |
| 6 |
41 to 50 |
2,080 |
93,862 |
| 7 |
51 to 60 |
1,429 |
79,065 |
| 8 |
61 to 70 |
983 |
64,034 |
| 9 |
71 to 80 |
720 |
54,154 |
| 10 |
81 to 90 |
596 |
50,853 |
| 11 |
91 to 100 |
461 |
43,925 |
| 12 |
More than 100 |
4,320 |
4,563,616 |
| |
Total: |
424,401 |
6,170,175 |
Note in Table I (c), row 2, that 240,653 members, or 86.1% of the posting members, have made from 1 to 10 posts. In my opinion, a large percentage of posting members with 10 or less posts is healthy because it indicates that many members are actually asking for help, as opposed to not posting at all or posting only in the "Community" forums -- where, incidentally, about 32% of the total posts go. (This percentage is the same as in the previous version of this report.) Of course, those members with more than 10 posts also ask questions, but their posts are more likely to be answers to questions, especially for those members with more than 100 posts.
Table I (d) - Post-count Distribution (continued)
| |
Posts per block = 1 |
| Row |
Post block |
Members |
Posts |
| 1 |
0 |
144,737 |
0 |
| 2 |
1 |
94,670 |
94,670 |
| 3 |
2 |
51,773 |
103,546 |
| 4 |
3 |
29,654 |
88,962 |
| 5 |
4 |
19,219 |
76,876 |
| 6 |
5 |
13,316 |
66,580 |
| 7 |
6 |
9,859 |
59,154 |
| 8 |
7 |
7,725 |
54,075 |
| 9 |
8 |
5,848 |
46,784 |
| 10 |
9 |
4,738 |
42,642 |
| 11 |
10 |
3,851 |
38,510 |
| 12 |
More than 10 |
39,011 |
5,498,376 |
| |
Total: |
424,401 |
6,170,175 |
Finally, note in Table I (d), row 2, that 94,670 members, or 33.9% of the posting members, have posted only once. While it might be interesting to tabulate how many days elapsed from the date these members joined until they made their one-and-only post, such data are beyond retrieval by any feasible method of searching the TSG data base.
Join Date By Month and Year
To illustrate how the number of TSG members and the number of posts have accumulated over the years, Table II (a) through (k) show the following information for each month from 27 November 1998 to 31 December 2008:
A. The total number of members who joined during the indicated month, called herein 'new members'.
B. The number of new members who have made at least one post, called herein 'posting members'.
C. The percent of new members who have made at least one post.
D. The total number of posts made by the posting members. Note that these posts could have been made during any month including and subsequent to the month in which each member joined. The data in Table II do not reveal when these posts were made.
E. The average number of posts made per posting member per month.
F. The number of posting members who have accumulated 2,000 or more posts, i.e., 'Distinguished Members'.
Table II (a) - Join Date By Month: 1998
| Column A: Number of members who joined during indicated month. |
| Column B: Number of members in column A with at least one post. |
| Column C: Percent of members in column A with at least one post. |
| Column D: Total number of posts made by members in column B. |
| Column E: Average number of posts per member in column B per month. |
| Column F: Number of members in column B with 2,000 or more posts. |
| Month |
A |
B |
C |
D |
E |
F |
| Nov* |
3 |
1 |
33.3% |
1 |
0.01 |
0 |
| Dec |
183 |
30 |
16.4% |
3,864 |
1.07 |
1 |
* I have no data prior to 27 November 1998.
|
December 1998.- For example, in the second row of Table II (a), column A shows that 183 members joined during the month of December 1998 and column B shows that out of those 183 new members, 30 have made at least one post. Column C shows that 30 is 16.4% of 183. Column D shows that as a group, these 30 posting members have made a total of 3,864 posts from the day each member joined through the day the current data set ends, 31 December 2008. Column E shows that the average number of posts made per posting member per month was 1.07. Column F shows that only one of the 30 posting members who joined during December 1998 has made 2,000 or more posts as of 31 December 2008. The rows in Table II (b) through (k) below may be interpreted similarly.
Table II (b) - Join Date By Month: 1999
| Column A: Number of members who joined during indicated month. |
| Column B: Number of members in column A with at least one post. |
| Column C: Percent of members in column A with at least one post. |
| Column D: Total number of posts made by members in column B. |
| Column E: Average number of posts per member in column B per month. |
| Column F: Number of members in column B with 2,000 or more posts. |
| Month |
A |
B |
C |
D |
E |
F |
| Jan |
179 |
23 |
12.8% |
702 |
0.25 |
0 |
| Feb |
292 |
66 |
22.6% |
84,528 |
10.81 |
4 |
| Mar |
363 |
55 |
15.2% |
3,685 |
0.57 |
0 |
| Apr |
436 |
80 |
18.3% |
3,483 |
0.37 |
0 |
| May |
533 |
68 |
12.8% |
4,267 |
0.54 |
0 |
| Jun |
521 |
65 |
12.5% |
2,621 |
0.35 |
0 |
| Jul |
544 |
86 |
15.8% |
18,136 |
1.85 |
1 |
| Aug |
445 |
83 |
18.7% |
8,699 |
0.93 |
1 |
| Sep |
427 |
68 |
15.9% |
4,355 |
0.57 |
0 |
| Oct |
461 |
90 |
19.5% |
5,924 |
0.60 |
1 |
| Nov |
566 |
143 |
25.3% |
14,978 |
0.96 |
2 |
| Dec |
546 |
140 |
25.6% |
15,802 |
1.04 |
1 |
February 1999.- In Table II (b), the value in column E for February 1999 -- an average of 10.81 posts per posting member per month -- is the second highest value for this parameter in the current data set. (See December 2008 for the highest value.) Out of the 66 members who joined during February 1999 and have posted at least once (column B), four members have made 2,000 or more posts (column F). These four members together accounted for 78,913 of the 84,528 total posts (column D) and are chiefly responsible for the high average value in column D. For the record, these four members are "Mulderator" (49,770), "Anne Troy" (11,527), "TechGuy" (8,945), and "Dan O" (8,671).
Table II (c) - Join Date By Month: 2000
| Column A: Number of members who joined during indicated month. |
| Column B: Number of members in column A with at least one post. |
| Column C: Percent of members in column A with at least one post. |
| Column D: Total number of posts made by members in column B. |
| Column E: Average number of posts per member in column B per month. |
| Column F: Number of members in column B with 2,000 or more posts. |
| Month |
A |
B |
C |
D |
E |
F |
| Jan |
588 |
238 |
40.5% |
7,013 |
0.27 |
1 |
| Feb |
672 |
486 |
72.3% |
4,163 |
0.08 |
0 |
| Mar |
431 |
331 |
76.8% |
8,821 |
0.25 |
1 |
| Apr |
495 |
364 |
73.5% |
23,330 |
0.61 |
2 |
| May |
638 |
467 |
73.2% |
13,412 |
0.28 |
2 |
| Jun |
688 |
511 |
74.3% |
24,661 |
0.47 |
3 |
| Jul |
645 |
493 |
76.4% |
8,889 |
0.18 |
1 |
| Aug |
782 |
585 |
74.8% |
21,781 |
0.37 |
4 |
| Sep |
662 |
503 |
76.0% |
16,513 |
0.33 |
1 |
| Oct |
782 |
597 |
76.3% |
17,084 |
0.29 |
2 |
| Nov |
831 |
614 |
73.9% |
31,051 |
0.52 |
2 |
| Dec |
955 |
730 |
76.4% |
55,849 |
0.79 |
2 |
February 2000.- In Table II (c), the value in column E for February 2000 -- an average of 0.08 posts per posting member per month -- is the lowest value for this parameter in the current data set.
Table II (d) - Join Date By Month: 2001
| Column A: Number of members who joined during indicated month. |
| Column B: Number of members in column A with at least one post. |
| Column C: Percent of members in column A with at least one post. |
| Column D: Total number of posts made by members in column B. |
| Column E: Average number of posts per member in column B per month. |
| Column F: Number of members in column B with 2,000 or more posts. |
| Month |
A |
B |
C |
D |
E |
F |
| Jan |
1,402 |
1,022 |
72.9% |
157,310 |
1.62 |
6 |
| Feb |
1,031 |
746 |
72.4% |
30,052 |
0.43 |
3 |
| Mar |
1,143 |
872 |
76.3% |
75,876 |
0.93 |
6 |
| Apr |
1,089 |
863 |
79.2% |
19,309 |
0.24 |
2 |
| May |
981 |
753 |
76.8% |
20,433 |
0.30 |
1 |
| Jun |
1,792 |
1,089 |
60.8% |
67,433 |
0.68 |
2 |
| Jul |
1,477 |
999 |
67.6% |
63,021 |
0.71 |
5 |
| Aug |
1,307 |
883 |
67.6% |
40,126 |
0.51 |
4 |
| Sep |
1,080 |
745 |
69.0% |
32,107 |
0.49 |
4 |
| Oct |
1,449 |
949 |
65.5% |
135,234 |
1.65 |
8 |
| Nov |
1,528 |
1,039 |
68.0% |
33,846 |
0.38 |
2 |
| Dec |
1,631 |
1,082 |
66.3% |
50,553 |
0.55 |
4 |
January 2001.- In Table II (d), one member, "AcaCandy", has made 103,592 of the 157,310 posts made by all 1,022 posting members who joined during January 2001. Member "crjdriver" has made 18,385 of the remaining 53,718 posts.
Table II (e) - Join Date By Month: 2002
| Column A: Number of members who joined during indicated month. |
| Column B: Number of members in column A with at least one post. |
| Column C: Percent of members in column A with at least one post. |
| Column D: Total number of posts made by members in column B. |
| Column E: Average number of posts per member in column B per month. |
| Column F: Number of members in column B with 2,000 or more posts. |
| Month |
A |
B |
C |
D |
E |
F |
| Jan |
1,544 |
1,045 |
67.7% |
35,053 |
0.40 |
3 |
| Feb |
1,504 |
1,056 |
70.2% |
36,399 |
0.42 |
3 |
| Mar |
1,514 |
1,013 |
66.9% |
85,747 |
1.04 |
7 |
| Apr |
1,532 |
996 |
65.0% |
177,098 |
2.21 |
5 |
| May |
1,235 |
831 |
67.3% |
41,933 |
0.63 |
3 |
| Jun |
1,519 |
982 |
64.6% |
75,774 |
0.98 |
5 |
| Jul |
1,791 |
1,185 |
66.2% |
96,865 |
1.06 |
4 |
| Aug |
1,749 |
1,221 |
69.8% |
52,782 |
0.56 |
5 |
| Sep |
1,431 |
981 |
68.6% |
50,787 |
0.69 |
3 |
| Oct |
1,618 |
1,068 |
66.0% |
147,931 |
1.86 |
7 |
| Nov |
1,912 |
1,285 |
67.2% |
80,330 |
0.85 |
6 |
| Dec |
1,866 |
1,301 |
69.7% |
112,578 |
1.20 |
4 |
Table II (f) - Join Date By Month: 2003
| Column A: Number of members who joined during indicated month. |
| Column B: Number of members in column A with at least one post. |
| Column C: Percent of members in column A with at least one post. |
| Column D: Total number of posts made by members in column B. |
| Column E: Average number of posts per member in column B per month. |
| Column F: Number of members in column B with 2,000 or more posts. |
| Month |
A |
B |
C |
D |
E |
F |
| Jan |
2,537 |
1,724 |
68.0% |
90,547 |
0.73 |
3 |
| Feb |
2,138 |
1,511 |
70.7% |
96,926 |
0.91 |
5 |
| Mar |
1,930 |
1,356 |
70.3% |
50,258 |
0.53 |
6 |
| Apr |
1,891 |
1,303 |
68.9% |
39,498 |
0.44 |
2 |
| May |
2,589 |
1,774 |
68.5% |
59,149 |
0.49 |
6 |
| Jun |
3,348 |
2,389 |
71.4% |
56,908 |
0.36 |
5 |
| Jul |
4,954 |
3,587 |
72.4% |
116,139 |
0.49 |
7 |
| Aug |
6,210 |
4,327 |
69.7% |
209,895 |
0.75 |
12 |
| Sep |
3,191 |
2,211 |
69.3% |
77,233 |
0.55 |
7 |
| Oct |
2,941 |
2,064 |
70.2% |
60,244 |
0.47 |
4 |
| Nov |
3,081 |
2,246 |
72.9% |
55,444 |
0.40 |
4 |
| Dec |
3,275 |
2,353 |
71.8% |
42,035 |
0.30 |
2 |
August 2003.- In Table II (f), the value in column D for August 2003 -- 209,895 total posts -- is the highest value for this parameter in the current data set. Also, the value in column F for August 2003 -- 12 members with 2,000 or more posts -- is the highest number of Distinguished Members who joined during the same month. (See July 2004 for the second highest number.) For the record, this August-2003 group includes "Cookiegal", "Elvandil", "SIR****TMG", "kiwiguy", "clskrk", "MaryBeth", "XL Guru", "winchester73", "CoasterFreak", "compushlep", "replay", and "MustBNuts".
Table II (g) - Join Date By Month: 2004
| Column A: Number of members who joined during indicated month. |
| Column B: Number of members in column A with at least one post. |
| Column C: Percent of members in column A with at least one post. |
| Column D: Total number of posts made by members in column B. |
| Column E: Average number of posts per member in column B per month. |
| Column F: Number of members in column B with 2,000 or more posts. |
| Month |
A |
B |
C |
D |
E |
F |
| Jan |
3,852 |
2,679 |
69.5% |
66,343 |
0.42 |
6 |
| Feb |
3,039 |
2,150 |
70.7% |
38,675 |
0.31 |
1 |
| Mar |
3,098 |
2,207 |
71.2% |
147,831 |
1.16 |
6 |
| Apr |
4,238 |
2,927 |
69.1% |
56,569 |
0.34 |
5 |
| May |
4,216 |
3,068 |
72.8% |
47,875 |
0.28 |
3 |
| Jun |
5,525 |
4,023 |
72.8% |
92,853 |
0.42 |
8 |
| Jul |
6,196 |
4,509 |
72.8% |
124,245 |
0.51 |
11 |
| Aug |
6,437 |
4,714 |
73.2% |
153,039 |
0.62 |
7 |
| Sep |
5,733 |
3,981 |
69.4% |
132,495 |
0.65 |
3 |
| Oct |
5,990 |
4,152 |
69.3% |
51,341 |
0.25 |
4 |
| Nov |
6,497 |
4,658 |
71.7% |
50,618 |
0.22 |
1 |
| Dec |
5,897 |
4,220 |
71.6% |
69,357 |
0.34 |
5 |
July 2004.- In Table II (g), the value in column F for July 2004 -- 11 members with 2,000 or more posts -- is the second highest number of Distinguished Members who joined during the same month in the current data set. (See August 2003 for the highest number.) For the record, this July-2004 group includes "DiSaidSo", "Guyzer", "MightyQueenC", "Chicon", "I Fix 4 U", "StumpedTechy", "burf", "Zack Barresse", "Bush Lady", "dugq", and "bizzt".
Table II (h) - Join Date By Month: 2005
| Column A: Number of members who joined during indicated month. |
| Column B: Number of members in column A with at least one post. |
| Column C: Percent of members in column A with at least one post. |
| Column D: Total number of posts made by members in column B. |
| Column E: Average number of posts per member in column B per month. |
| Column F: Number of members in column B with 2,000 or more posts. |
| Month |
A |
B |
C |
D |
E |
F |
| Jan |
5,691 |
4,110 |
72.2% |
57,064 |
0.29 |
2 |
| Feb |
5,057 |
3,647 |
72.1% |
62,267 |
0.37 |
2 |
| Mar |
5,507 |
3,875 |
70.4% |
84,584 |
0.48 |
7 |
| Apr |
4,493 |
3,234 |
72.0% |
49,853 |
0.35 |
4 |
| May |
4,214 |
3,077 |
73.0% |
60,527 |
0.45 |
6 |
| Jun |
5,107 |
3,511 |
68.7% |
59,828 |
0.40 |
6 |
| Jul |
4,524 |
3,213 |
71.0% |
81,339 |
0.61 |
4 |
| Aug |
4,254 |
3,110 |
73.1% |
44,867 |
0.36 |
4 |
| Sep |
3,498 |
2,474 |
70.7% |
52,254 |
0.53 |
4 |
| Oct |
4,199 |
3,100 |
73.8% |
76,382 |
0.64 |
3 |
| Nov |
3,817 |
2,751 |
72.1% |
45,781 |
0.45 |
2 |
| Dec |
3,527 |
2,516 |
71.3% |
27,871 |
0.30 |
1 |
Table II (i) - Join Date By Month: 2006
| Column A: Number of members who joined during indicated month. |
| Column B: Number of members in column A with at least one post. |
| Column C: Percent of members in column A with at least one post. |
| Column D: Total number of posts made by members in column B. |
| Column E: Average number of posts per member in column B per month. |
| Column F: Number of members in column B with 2,000 or more posts. |
| Month |
A |
B |
C |
D |
E |
F |
| Jan |
3,433 |
2,440 |
71.1% |
33,880 |
0.39 |
2 |
| Feb |
2,674 |
1,892 |
70.8% |
105,402 |
1.60 |
2 |
| Mar |
3,877 |
2,422 |
62.5% |
93,902 |
1.16 |
4 |
| Apr |
4,075 |
2,959 |
72.6% |
51,449 |
0.53 |
3 |
| May |
3,192 |
2,158 |
67.6% |
58,029 |
0.85 |
3 |
| Jun |
3,188 |
2,245 |
70.4% |
36,118 |
0.53 |
2 |
| Jul |
3,626 |
2,652 |
73.1% |
66,886 |
0.85 |
4 |
| Aug |
3,590 |
2,621 |
73.0% |
43,893 |
0.59 |
2 |
| Sep |
3,627 |
2,562 |
70.6% |
25,878 |
0.37 |
1 |
| Oct |
3,724 |
2,699 |
72.5% |
32,444 |
0.45 |
2 |
| Nov |
3,839 |
2,758 |
71.8% |
28,731 |
0.41 |
1 |
| Dec |
3,570 |
2,547 |
71.3% |
60,089 |
0.96 |
4 |
Table II (j) - Join Date By Month: 2007
| Column A: Number of members who joined during indicated month. |
| Column B: Number of members in column A with at least one post. |
| Column C: Percent of members in column A with at least one post. |
| Column D: Total number of posts made by members in column B. |
| Column E: Average number of posts per member in column B per month. |
| Column F: Number of members in column B with 2,000 or more posts. |
| Month |
A |
B |
C |
D |
E |
F |
| Jan |
4,024 |
2,842 |
70.6% |
24,499 |
0.37 |
0 |
| Feb |
3,547 |
2,534 |
71.4% |
20,501 |
0.36 |
0 |
| Mar |
4,413 |
3,206 |
72.6% |
22,895 |
0.33 |
0 |
| Apr |
7,744 |
5,465 |
70.6% |
63,998 |
0.57 |
4 |
| May |
7,457 |
5,043 |
67.6% |
45,080 |
0.46 |
1 |
| Jun |
6,918 |
4,882 |
70.6% |
54,598 |
0.60 |
2 |
| Jul |
9,335 |
6,547 |
70.1% |
47,672 |
0.42 |
1 |
| Aug |
10,694 |
7,607 |
71.1% |
61,454 |
0.49 |
2 |
| Sep |
10,009 |
7,000 |
69.9% |
44,329 |
0.41 |
1 |
| Oct |
11,217 |
7,766 |
69.2% |
63,859 |
0.57 |
5 |
| Nov |
6,710 |
4,713 |
70.2% |
31,085 |
0.49 |
0 |
| Dec |
3,722 |
2,526 |
67.9% |
19,181 |
0.60 |
0 |
October 2007.- In Table II (j), the value in column A for October 2007 -- 11,217 new members -- is the highest value for this parameter in the current data set. To help put this value in perspective, 11,217 new members in a 31-day period is about 362 new members per day or, roughly, one new member every four minutes.
Table II (k) - Join Date By Month: 2008
| Column A: Number of members who joined during indicated month. |
| Column B: Number of members in column A with at least one post. |
| Column C: Percent of members in column A with at least one post. |
| Column D: Total number of posts made by members in column B. |
| Column E: Average number of posts per member in column B per month. |
| Column F: Number of members in column B with 2,000 or more posts. |
| Month |
A |
B |
C |
D |
E |
F |
| Jan |
6,730 |
4,402 |
65.4% |
25,699 |
0.51 |
0 |
| Feb |
6,678 |
4,269 |
63.9% |
23,621 |
0.53 |
0 |
| Mar |
6,766 |
4,195 |
62.0% |
23,980 |
0.60 |
0 |
| Apr |
6,289 |
3,910 |
62.2% |
17,718 |
0.53 |
0 |
| May |
5,640 |
3,070 |
54.4% |
13,142 |
0.57 |
0 |
| Jun |
7,031 |
3,613 |
51.4% |
14,119 |
0.60 |
0 |
| Jul |
8,160 |
4,240 |
52.0% |
25,102 |
1.07 |
0 |
| Aug |
8,278 |
4,202 |
50.8% |
16,351 |
0.87 |
0 |
| Sep |
8,840 |
4,155 |
47.0% |
15,845 |
1.11 |
0 |
| Oct |
10,692 |
4,511 |
42.2% |
18,246 |
1.63 |
0 |
| Nov |
9,670 |
4,537 |
46.9% |
15,798 |
2.45 |
0 |
| Dec |
9,938 |
4,800 |
48.3% |
14,379 |
13.56 |
0 |
December 2008.- In Table II (k), the value in column E for December 2008 -- an average of 13.56 posts per posting member per month -- is the highest value for this parameter in the current data set. This exceptionally high average rate will eventually decrease as the members who joined during December 2008 establish a longer-term posting rate.
Join Date By Year
Table III shows a summary by year of the data presented above in Table II. The column assignments are given in the table header. Even though it has no values, column E is included in Table III to make its format compatible with that in Table II.
Table III - Join Date By Year
| Column A: Number of members who joined during indicated year. |
| Column B: Number of members in column A with at least one post. |
| Column C: Percent of members in column A with at least one post. |
| Column D: Total number of posts made by members in column B. |
| Column E: [Not used] |
| Column F: Number of members in column B with 2,000 or more posts. |
| Year |
A |
B |
C |
D |
E |
F |
| *1998 |
186 |
31 |
16.7% |
3,865 |
- |
1 |
| 1999 |
5,313 |
967 |
18.2% |
167,180 |
- |
10 |
| 2000 |
8,169 |
5,919 |
72.5% |
232,567 |
- |
21 |
| 2001 |
15,910 |
11,042 |
69.4% |
725,300 |
- |
47 |
| 2002 |
19,215 |
12,964 |
67.5% |
993,277 |
- |
55 |
| 2003 |
38,085 |
26,845 |
70.5% |
954,276 |
- |
63 |
| 2004 |
60,718 |
43,288 |
71.3% |
1,031,241 |
- |
60 |
| 2005 |
53,888 |
38,618 |
71.7% |
702,617 |
- |
45 |
| 2006 |
42,415 |
29,955 |
70.6% |
636,701 |
- |
30 |
| 2007 |
85,790 |
60,131 |
70.1% |
499,151 |
- |
16 |
| 2008 |
94,712 |
49,904 |
52.7% |
224,000 |
- |
0 |
| Totals: |
424,401 |
279,664 |
65.9% |
6,170,175 |
- |
348 |
* Partial year only; see Table II (a) above.
|
1998 - 1999.- Because of several system crashes in late 1999 and early 2000, much of the data for 1998 and 1999 were lost. Therefore the numbers for those years in Tables II and III are not reliable. They are included in this report only because they are available and not because of their significance.
2008.- In Table III, the value in column A for 2008 -- 94,712 new members -- is the highest value for this parameter in the current data set.
Concluding Remarks
1. 144,737 members, or 34.1% of the total membership, have never made a post.
2. 579 members, or 0.2% of the posting membership, have made more than 1000 posts. These members have contributed 58.5% of the total number of posts.
3. The highest number of new members who joined during one month was 11,217 during October 2007.
4. The highest number of new members who joined during one year was 94,712 during 2008.
Miscellaneous somewhat trivial information about selected TSG members is in Appendix A.
Miscellaneous really trivial information about TSG user names is in Appendix B.
----------------
Appendix A
Miscellaneous Information About Selected TSG Members
Highest Average Daily Posting Rates
Table A1 shows the average daily posting rate, user name, join date, and number of posts for each of the ten TSG members with the highest values of average-posts-per-day as of 31 December 2008.
Table A1 - Ten Highest Average Daily Posting Rates
| Rate |
User name |
Join date |
Posts |
| 76.09 |
dotty999 |
03-Feb-2006 |
80,809 |
| 43.99 |
wordsmith |
22-Mar-2006 |
44,650 |
| 41.13 |
Cheeseball81 |
03-Mar-2004 |
72,556 |
| 36.29 |
JohnWill |
19-Oct-2002 |
82,199 |
| 35.78 |
AcaCandy |
27-Jan-2001 |
103,592 |
| 34.59 |
poochee |
21-Aug-2004 |
55,117 |
| 33.57 |
angelize56 |
17-Apr-2002 |
82,268 |
| 31.11 |
MFDnSC |
07-Sep-2004 |
49,033 |
| 29.97 |
brett888 |
25-Nov-2008 |
1,079 |
| 29.77 |
Blackmirror |
05-Dec-2006 |
22,536 |
Highest Number of Posts
Table A2 shows the number of posts, user name, join date, and average daily posting rate for each of the ten TSG members with the highest number of posts as of 31 December 2008.
Table A2 - Ten Highest Number of Posts
| Posts |
User name |
Join date |
Rate |
| 103,592 |
AcaCandy |
27-Jan-2001 |
35.78 |
| 82,268 |
angelize56 |
17-Apr-2002 |
33.57 |
| 82,199 |
JohnWill |
19-Oct-2002 |
36.29 |
| 80,809 |
dotty999 |
03-Feb-2006 |
76.09 |
| 72,556 |
Cheeseball81 |
03-Mar-2004 |
41.13 |
| 62,422 |
cybertech |
16-Apr-2002 |
25.46 |
| 56,191 |
Cookiegal |
27-Aug-2003 |
28.77 |
| 55,117 |
poochee |
21-Aug-2004 |
34.59 |
| 52,781 |
hewee |
26-Oct-2001 |
20.12 |
| 49,770 |
Mulderator |
20-Feb-1999 |
13.81 |
Type of Membership
Table A3 shows the various types of TSG membership and the number of members assigned to each type.
Table A3 - Type of Membership
| Type |
Number |
Junior Members |
407,450 |
| Members |
10,009 |
| Senior Members |
3,960 |
| Registered Users |
1,207 |
| Distinguished Members |
308 |
| Moderators |
15 |
| Community Moderators |
4 |
| Administrators |
6 |
| Banned Members |
448 |
| Accounts Disabled |
983 |
| Account Reinstated |
1 |
| Removed by request |
3 |
| Removed per request |
1 |
| TechGuy's Wife |
1 |
| Test Account |
1 |
| Robot (not a real person) |
1 |
| Guest |
1 |
| Moderator - Gone, but never forgotten |
1 |
| Always remembered in our hearts |
1 |
| Total: |
424,401 |
Join Date Daily Frequency
Table A4 shows the number of members who joined on a given day of the month. There seem to be no general trends in this data other than the very slight drop on days 29 and 30 due to the fact that February usually has only 28 days and the significant drop on day 31 due to the fact that day 31 occurs only 7/11th as often as days 29 and 30 in months other than February. The number of members who joined on a February 29th (2000, 2004, and 2008 combined) is 277.
Table A4 - Join Date Daily Frequency
| Day |
Members |
| |
Day |
Members |
| 1 |
13,718 |
| |
17 |
13,983 |
| 2 |
13,830 |
| |
18 |
14,000 |
| 3 |
13,558 |
| |
19 |
13,955 |
| 4 |
13,601 |
| |
20 |
13,947 |
| 5 |
13,769 |
| |
21 |
13,902 |
| 6 |
13,840 |
| |
22 |
13,680 |
| 7 |
13,780 |
| |
23 |
13,887 |
| 8 |
14,006 |
| |
24 |
13,713 |
| 9 |
13,902 |
| |
25 |
13,776 |
| 10 |
13,895 |
| |
26 |
14,193 |
| 11 |
13,741 |
| |
27 |
14,154 |
| 12 |
14,054 |
| |
28 |
14,531 |
| 13 |
14,088 |
| |
29 |
13,563 |
| 14 |
13,861 |
| |
30 |
13,248 |
| 15 |
14,035 |
| |
31 |
8,266 |
| 16 |
13,925 |
| |
Tot: |
424,401 |
----------------
Appendix B
Miscellaneous Information About User Names
Number of Characters In The User Names
Table B1 shows the number of members who have a user name with the indicated number of characters. For example, row one shows that 13 members have user names with only one character and 5,956 members have user names with 14 characters. The other rows in Table B1 may be interpreted similarly.
Table B1 - Number of Characters In The User Names
| Characters |
Members |
| |
Characters |
Members |
| 1 |
13 |
| |
14 |
5,956 |
| 2 |
134 |
| |
15 |
4,104 |
| 3 |
5,348 |
| |
16 |
3,276 |
| 4 |
13,001 |
| |
17 |
70 |
| 5 |
28,994 |
| |
18 |
53 |
| 6 |
55,390 |
| |
19 |
35 |
| 7 |
65,079 |
| |
20 |
26 |
| 8 |
70,018 |
| |
21 |
17 |
| 9 |
56,010 |
| |
22 |
14 |
| 10 |
46,370 |
| |
23 |
5 |
| 11 |
32,357 |
| |
24 |
6 |
| 12 |
29,257 |
| |
25 |
6 |
| 13 |
8,829 |
| |
Total: |
* 424,368 |
| * Note that 33 user names are not included in this table because they contain characters beyond the 256-character set. These 33 names are: |
| Μеġатяøи |
Русский |
Петра |
iPαwd |
Kropáček |
| compΓex |
dλMiλη |
elaaslı |
эnder |
ʞɔnɟ |
| ↕WhOKnEw↕ |
♥vhazardv♥ |
phatphılqc |
♫Coder♫ |
♪♫ in my ♥ |
| 6الاسيف |
عاصم حسين عرابى |
مدرعم |
سعيد حسن |
[Ɵ.Ƒ]ÇƟɘ |
| Frϊction |
Rafał |
ํัyuwadee |
stručko |
テツジン |
| Japan Man |
使用名字 |
视窗抽掉 |
王珏寅 |
午睡の淚 |
| ÐÅяҚπ |
★☆★☆★☆ |
ｂａｔｍａｎｗｏｎｗｏｎ |
| The code for the characters in these names can be seen by viewing the source for this file. |
The average number of characters in a user name is 8.37.
The thirteen one-character user names are:
0 (zero), A, C, E, G, J, K, m, p, R, T, V, X.
The six 25-character user names are:
agoodjohn.freeserve.co.uk
john@taylorj33.fsnet.co.u
michaelpalmer@nethost.com
m.livingston@flashcom.net
grandpadalton@netzero.net
Dark Angel Silent-Thunder
Character Frequency In The User Names
291,817 user names begin with a lower-case letter, the three most common being
s (29,260), m (24,362), and j (20,573).
128,952 user names begin with an upper-case letter, the three most common being
S (12,274), M (10,524), and D (9,416).
2,796 user names begin with a numeral, the three most common being
1 (789), 2 (457), and 4 (293).
803 user names begin with a character other than a letter or a numeral, the three most common being
- (150), _ (126), and [ (80).
--------------------------------