This is always one of the most interesting threads of each year -- the two six-month lists of extrapolated top 50 posters! Numbers are not my thing and usually when confronted with statistics my eyes tend to glaze over, but this information is always so interesting I can't resist seeing it each time!
I first started reading MR back in the early autumn of 2005; I was away from home for an (unexpected) extended time and using someone else's computer temporarily while my own Windows machine was sitting at home. Somewhere along the way a friend emailed me burbling with excitement about the new iMac (G5 rev B) she'd just bought and how much she loved it, how superior it was to her old Windows machine. I thought, "huh.....gee I hope she hasn't made a terrible mistake!" I looked online to learn a little more about Macs, as my exposure to them was limited and I only had vague ideas about them. Of course I found MR and started reading the various posts and threads. I was surprised, because I'd genuinely thought I'd find a forum where everyone was complaining about this, that and the other on their machines and that wasn't the case at all. Gee, these people really LOVED their Macs?
I returned home a few weeks later and discovered that my Windows machine, which had already started showing some problems even before I'd left, was not especially cooperative as I tried to get things up and running again. It was annoying and frustrating. I was still reading MR and one day I ventured over to the mall to the Apple store. The experience was less than helpful, as the saleswoman insisted on showing me everything rapid-fire instead of letting me just have some time to tinker with the machines myself. I went home, still not knowing a whole lot more about what made the Mac system that much better than Windows. My friend was still talking about how much she loved her new Mac. I'd already determined that apparently she hadn't made some terrible mistake after all, and my curiosity was definitely aroused by this point. A trip to Microcenter one afternoon was far more productive than the Apple store experience, as there was no one in the Apple department to bother me as I sat down and looked at each machine, played with each machine, figured out what happened when I did "x" and what happened when I did "y." Came home mulling things around in my head, especially as I was still wrestling with the old Windows machine.
To make a long story short, by this time I had a few questions and it was then that I joined MR, using a name which reflected my current state of mind at that time: "On the Brink." LOL! I kept reading, asked questions, read some more..... Then there was the keynote in which Steve announced the new G5 iMacs with the first built-in iSight camera. A thought flashed through my mind: "oh, I don't need any camera in there -- I like that other model just fine!"
BOOM!!! That was it. The next day I went to the Apple store and bought my first Mac, the G5 rev B iMac.
Eventually I changed my user name and became a Demi-goddess and have been hanging around here ever since. Sometimes I post more extensively than at other times, depends upon what's going on. I definitely have noticed changes through the years since 2005 -- the switch to Intel, the iPhone, etc., etc..... This community isn't quite the same as it was in the early days, but it is certainly still flourishing and is still a valuable resource for anyone who is contemplating buying or using a Mac.
