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Top 50 Posters Extrapolated, January 2018

Doctor Q

Doctor Q

Administrator
Original poster
Staff member
Sep 19, 2002
40,459
9,351
Los Angeles
This is the 30th and final edition of my semi-annual analysis of the MacRumors Top 50 Posters.

I've decided to switch from this statistics-gathering hobby to other pursuits, but forum member chown33 has shown interest in producing similar statistics in the future. If you've shared my interest in these threads and MacRumors navel-gazing, thank you for your comments!

Previous "Top 50 Posters Extrapolated" threads:
2003 (July); 2004 (January, July); 2005 (January, July); 2006 (January, July); 2007 (January, July); 2008 (January, July); 2009 (January, July); 2010 (January, July); 2011 (January, July); 2012 (January, July); 2013 (January, July); 2014 (January, July); 2015 (January, July), 2016 (January, July), 2017 (January, July)​

The legend of column headings follows each chart. Measurements were taken January 3, 2018.


Chart #1: Current Top 50 Posters

Computed by Doctor Q in January 2018

Code: 
                          Cur     Cur    Delta   Prev  Delta                              6-Mo   Foll-
Rank  A Current Top 50    Posts   Rate   Rate    Rank  Rank   Average of one post every   Likes  owers
----  - ----------------  ------  -----  ------  ----  -----  --------------------------  -----  -----
  1   * maflynn           56,340  12.24   -1.63    1     0                1 hr, 57.7 min  3,808     20
  2   * GGJstudios        43,943   0.38   +0.30    2     0       2 days, 15 hrs, 5.1 min     44     14
  3   * C DM              41,430  21.18   +4.42    4    +1                   1 hr, 8 min  2,451     20
  4   * Applejuiced       40,661   7.51   -1.10    3    -1               3 hrs, 11.7 min  1,616    144
  5   * GoCubsGo          35,731   0.06   +0.05    5     0     16 days, 17 hrs, 27.3 min     11      8
  6   * Doctor Q          34,464   1.52   -0.31    6     0              15 hrs, 49.7 min    355     42
  7     mad jew           32,194   0.00    0.00    7     0                           ---      0      4
  8     mkrishnan         29,641   0.00    0.01    8     0                           ---      2     11
  9   * Eidorian          29,059   0.00    0.02    9     0          2 mos, 11 hrs, 0 min      3     63
 10   * Scepticalscribe   28,115  15.99   -6.46   11    +1                  1 hr, 30 min  3,218     31
 11   * rdowns            27,324   0.11   -0.15   10    -1         9 days, 4 hrs, 48 min  2,140     22
 12   * Weaselboy         25,731   8.11   -0.34   15    +3               2 hrs, 57.5 min  1,239     69
 13     robbieduncan      24,480   0.00    0.00   13     0                           ---      2     23
 14   * Abstract          24,308   0.11   +0.09   14     0      8 days, 18 hrs, 17.1 min     14      7
 15   * SandboxGeneral    23,251   0.56   -0.28   16    +1       1 day, 18 hrs, 52.4 min    109     23
 16   * jsw               22,813   0.01    0.01   17    +1    6 mos, 1 day, 9 hrs, 0 min      2      2
 17     Mr. Anderson      22,409   0.00    0.00   18    +1                           ---    ---      3
 18     Hellhammer        22,076   0.00    0.00   19    +1                           ---      2     53
 19     Blue Velvet       21,643   0.00    0.00   20    +1                           ---      2      2
 20   * Dagless           21,540   0.65   -0.13   21    +1         1 day, 12 hrs, 48 min    567     14
 21   * alphaod           21,358   1.23   +0.75   22    +1              19 hrs, 32.4 min    160      5
 22   * MacNut            20,277   1.53   +0.67   23    +1              15 hrs, 39.6 min  2,183      6
 23   * Apple fanboy      20,207  14.74   -0.31   38   +15                1 hr, 37.7 min  2,751     13
 24     Jaffa Cake        19,801   0.00    0.00   24     0                           ---      0     16
 25     bartelby          19,790   0.00    0.00   25     0                           ---      0     23
 26     iGary             19,583   0.00    0.00   26     0                           ---    ---      6
 27     miles01110        19,264   0.00    0.00   27     0                           ---      3    ---
 28     PlaceofDis        19,232   0.00    0.00   28     0                           ---      1      3
 29     iBlue             19,174   0.00    0.00   29     0                           ---      1     11
 30   * Peace             19,082   0.88    0.02   32    +2        1 day, 3 hrs, 25.7 min    973      4
 31     edesignuk         19,078   0.02    0.03   30    -1                           ---    ---      1
 32   * balamw            19,026   0.24   -0.26   31    -1       4 days, 4 hrs, 21.8 min     44     12
 33   * Intell            18,733   0.31   -0.94   33     0       3 days, 5 hrs, 28.4 min     32     25
 34   * MacDawg           18,404   0.57   +0.36   35    +1       1 day, 18 hrs, 27.7 min    628    ---
 35     ~Shard~           18,385   0.00    0.00   34    -1                           ---      0      1
 36   * Nermal            18,272   1.39   +0.23   36     0                17 hrs, 15 min    221     14
 37   * eyoungren         18,157   9.33   -2.14   45    +8               2 hrs, 34.4 min  2,392    113
 38   * dukebound85       17,798   0.30    0.03   37    -1       3 days, 6 hrs, 51.4 min    123      3
 39   * Rogifan           17,703   4.07   +1.00   41    +2               5 hrs, 54.2 min  2,871     17
 40   * IJ Reilly         17,557   2.26   +0.14   40     0              10 hrs, 36.9 min    371      2
 41     DoFoT9            17,486   0.00   -0.13   39    -2                           ---      0    122
 42   * Relentless Power  17,346  38.41  +11.79  ---   ---                      37.5 min  9,157     12
 43   * kdarling          16,979   5.51   +2.00   49    +6               4 hrs, 21.6 min  1,470     18
 44     -aggie-           16,715   0.00    0.02   42    -2                           ---      1     19
 45   * AidenShaw         16,678   2.42   -1.68   48    +3               9 hrs, 54.1 min    414     13
 46   * Newtons Apple     16,644  14.13   +5.46  ---   ---                1 hr, 41.9 min  2,813     20
 47     wdlove            16,570   0.00    0.00   43    -4                           ---    ---    ---
 48   * samcraig          16,542   0.29   -0.18   44    -4      3 days, 11 hrs, 19.2 min  6,115      6
 49   * ucfgrad93         16,507   0.91   -0.85   46    -3        1 day, 2 hrs, 17.1 min    782      7
 50   * WildCowboy        16,362   0.55    0.01   47    -3       1 day, 19 hrs, 17.6 min    150     13

Columns:
  • Rank = Position in order by post count, 1 (highest) to 50.
  • NEW COLUMN! A = * for currently active users (at least 1 post over the last 6 months).
  • Current Top 50 = members with the 50 currently highest post counts.
  • Cur Posts = # of posts by that member.
  • Cur Rate = average # posts per day by that member over the last 6 months.
  • NEW COLUMN! Delta Rate = amount by which daily post rate has changed from the previous 6-month period to the latest 6-month period.
  • Prev Rank = previous rank, as of 6 months ago (July 2017), or "---" for those who are new to the Top 50.
  • Delta Rank = change in rank, i.e., # of slots +higher or -lower in rank since 6 months ago.
  • NEW COLUMN! "Average of one post every" = average time between member's posts, based on a 24-day. Multiply this number by 2/3 for the average time between member's posts within waking hours (assuming 16 waking hours/day).
  • NEW COLUMN! 6-Mo Likes = number of likes received in the last 6 months.
  • NEW COLUMN! Followers = current number of forum followers.
I've added 5 new measures to the list. See the explanations above. I've also increased the precision shown for post rates, so the differences between low-posting and non-posting members can be observed.

Observations
  1. The minimum post count required to reach the Top 50 has increased by 443 posts (from 15,919 to 16,362) since 6 months ago.

  2. C DM, with a significantly increased post rate, has moved past Applejuiced, whose post rate dropped slightly.

  3. GoCubsGo held onto slot #5 despite making only 11 posts.

  4. Scepticalscribe's diminished post rate was still sufficient to pass slow-and-steady rdowns for slot #10. rdowns had been in the Top 10 since July 2010.

  5. Most other members in the rest of the Top 25 changed positions in the list, some by post counts and some because member MRU, formerly #12, departed the forums for the alleged real world.

  6. Our two new Top 50 members -- Relentless Power and Newtons Apple -- bumped former moderator yellow off the list.

  7. Of the fifty members of the Top 50, 34% make at least 1 post per day, 36% post less frequently, and only 30% are inactive. Last time a whopping 42% were inactive.

  8. Largest rise in rank: Apple fanboy, up 15 slots, eyoungren, up 8 slots, and kdarlingp, up 6 slots. No other member gained more than 3 positions in the list.

  9. Largest drop in rank: wdlove and samcraig, each down 4, near the bottom of the list. Amazingly, wdlove is still in the Top 50 after being inactive for over 10 years! I expected him to drop off the list by now.

  10. Speeding up: Relentless Power's post rate increased by 11.79 posts/day. Newtons Apple' rate increased by 5.46 posts/day. C DM's rate increased by 4.42 posts/day. Other changes were more modest.

  11. Slowing down: Scepticalscribe's post rate dropped by 6.46 posts/day, which is undestandable given the starting point of over 21 posts/day. eyoungren's post rate dropped by 2.14 posts/day. Other changes were more modest.

  12. Total posts to date by the Top 50: 1,155,863, which is 4.5% of all posts ever made at MacRumors.

    Over the last 6 months, the Top 50 made 30,830 posts, which is 3.4% of all forum posts made during that period.

    Last time these figures were 4.6% and 3.7%, so the Top 50 posters had better watch out; the other 1,113,906 members are catching up!

Other stats and charts
 
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Thank you, Doctor Q, for all your hard work in producing these interesting stats over the years! It's good to see so many, including some new names, continuing to contribute so much to MR forums.
 
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I have always found these charts fascinating for a variety of reasons; my inner Mr Spock thrills to them.

Re my own "diminished post rate" (such things are relative) changed circumstances (mainly professional) are the explanation - which - as this topic comes up every so often, is probably the case for everyone to whom this applies.
 
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No 23! Just like my beloved West Ham, flying up the table!

Like others have said I'd like to thank Doctor Q for all his hard work over the years.
I've always found these a fascinating read. Even before I figured on any of the charts!

Good luck with your future endeavours. I hope they are pie related!
[doublepost=1515997683][/doublepost]
Scepticalscribe said:
Agreed.

I wonder what the asterisk in front of some of the names denotes?

Congrats to @Apple fanboy on making the top 25.
Click to expand...
Thank you kindly.
 
Doctor Q said:
[*]Largest rise in rank: Apple fanboy, up 15 slots, eyoungren, up 5 slots, and kdarlingp, up 6 slots. No other member gained more than 3 positions in the list.
Click to expand...
@Doctor Q

I don't mean to quibble, but the Delta Rank in your table (for me) shows a jump of +8. Am I interpreting that incorrectly, because your statement here only shows as +5?
[doublepost=1516027689][/doublepost]
Scepticalscribe said:
Re my own "diminished post rate" (such things are relative) changed circumstances (mainly professional) are the explanation - which - as this topic comes up every so often, is probably the case for everyone to whom this applies.
Click to expand...
This is the case with me, although circumstances in my case are the result of the forum changing and not my situation.

I still come here the same as I do every day, but the nature of the three forums I visit most has changed. In one forum, users have moved on from the state I am currently in, in another I have noting to offer on a major topic that is driving that forum, and in the third both the nature of the questions have become repetitive or can be found in sticky posts and fewer posters are using the things that forum covers.

I am unwilling to make irrelevant or frivilous posts just to maintain my post rate and add to my count. That's not why I am here (as I know you aren't here for that as well).

I contribute where I can, but it's less than what it was a couple of years ago.
 
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eyoungren said:
@Doctor Q

I don't mean to quibble, but the Delta Rank in your table (for me) shows a jump of +8. Am I interpreting that incorrectly, because your statement here only shows as +5?
[doublepost=1516027689][/doublepost]
This is the case with me, although circumstances in my case are the result of the forum changing and not my situation.

I still come here the same as I do every day, but the nature of the three forums I visit most has changed. In one forum, users have moved on from the state I am currently in, in another I have noting to offer on a major topic that is driving that forum, and in the third both the nature of the questions have become repetitive or can be found in sticky posts and fewer posters are using the things that forum covers.

I am unwilling to make irrelevant or frivilous posts just to maintain my post rate and add to my count. That's not why I am here (as I know you aren't here for that as well).

I contribute where I can, but it's less than what it was a couple of years ago.
Click to expand...

I joined the forum because I had bought a computer, an Apple computer, the MBP, was what is known as "a switcher" and thus, had questions I needed to have answered.

It was the first online community I have joined, and my first experience of social media.

I never expected to be someone who might become somewhat at ease in this world, still less someone who would contribute to - and more surprisingly still, actually feature in, as a subject - in such a thread.

Almost seven months ago, my professional circumstances changed, as I was offered a different job, one abroad in a challenging and testing (and yes, rewarding) environment. That coincided almost exactly with the marked decline in my posting - but, everything is relative, because, when I was working abroad some years ago, not long after having joined the forum, I had almost stopped posting entirely.

Whereas, here and now, I find myself merely posting less; mind you, the increase in my posting (@Doctor Q did an interesting graph on that some time ago, January 2017, I think) coincided almost exactly with my return home to take responsibility for my mother, - who has advanced Alzheimer's - after a prolonged period abroad. So, yes: Context and circumstances in people's lives matter.
 
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Scepticalscribe said:
I wonder what the asterisk in front of some of the names denotes?
Click to expand...
As GGJstudios explained, the asterisks indicate active users. I added that measure because knowing who is an active poster and who is not has been a frequent topic of discussion, and I'm always interested in how the ancient participants rank.

I considered two ways to determine who is active. One choice was to check the last time a member visited the forums, which would show that they are still interested in the forums and following discussions. The other choice was to check for posts, which shows participation. I chose the latter because the other statistics are based on posts, not logins. As it turns out, some of the members marked inactive have visited in the last year, but none in the last 6 months.

Adding new statistics to these charts increased my preparation time, and it already takes me 2 to 3 days each 6 months to assemble all the information, but I couldn't resist putting in some extra work for a last hurrah.

eyoungren said:
the Delta Rank in your table (for me) shows a jump of +8. Am I interpreting that incorrectly, because your statement here only shows as +5?
Click to expand...
Fixed. Sorry.

eyoungren said:
I still come here the same as I do every day, but the nature of the three forums I visit most has changed.
Click to expand...
Scepticalscribe said:
I joined the forum because I had bought a computer, an Apple computer, the MBP, was what is known as "a switcher" and thus, had questions I needed to have answered.
Click to expand...
I joined to gather information in advance of a Mac purchase, and stayed for the community. Presumably, the same thing could have happened if I'd joined a lemur forum while shopping for a pet lemur, but talking to smart and technically minded "computer people" was part of the hook here.

Now I owe you some other statistics, so I'll get back to work.
 
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Doctor Q said:
As GGJstudios explained, the asterisks indicate active users. I added that measure because knowing who is an active poster and who is not has been a frequent topic of discussion, and I'm always interested in how the ancient participants rank.

I considered two ways to determine who is active. One choice was to check the last time a member visited the forums, which would show that they are still interested in the forums and following discussions. The other choice was to check for posts, which shows participation. I chose the latter because the other statistics are based on posts, not logins. As it turns out, some of the members marked inactive have visited in the last year, but none in the last 6 months.

Adding new statistics to these charts increased my preparation time, and it already takes me 2 to 3 days each 6 months to assemble all the information, but I couldn't resist putting in some extra work for a last hurrah.


Fixed. Sorry.



I joined to gather information in advance of a Mac purchase, and stayed for the community. Presumably, the same thing could have happened if I'd joined a lemur forum while shopping for a pet lemur, but talking to smart and technically minded "computer people" was part of the hook here.

Now I owe you some other statistics, so I'll get back to work.
Click to expand...

I started coming on here after advice about when the next iPhone was due out.
4 iPhones, 4 iPads, an iMac and a MacBook Air later in still here!

I spend quite a bit of my time in the Digital Photography forum where there is a lovely community.

Mostly I post a lot I guess, because there isn't much else going on in my life!
 
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The new Average of one post every column shows the average time between posts, assuming that you post at a steady rate over every 24-hour day. It's equivalent to the Cur Rate (current post rate) data, but shown in a very different way.

I find it surprising to see the data this way and to think about the online activity it represents. I wouldn't have guessed how many hours, on average, it is between my posts. Now it's clear. Perhaps these time spans are a surprise to you too. There's quite a difference between making a post every 6 months and making one every 37 minutes!

I'll compute this data for the End-of-Time chart too, since that chart is all about the highest current posting rates.

I wondered whether to base the averages on a 24-hour day, since people post only during their available hours. I don't know how long people are on the site each day. Another choice was to give everyone 8 hours to sleep and count their post rate assuming they are available the other 16 hours/day. That would be a wild guess, of course, since some people aren't at MacRumors when they are at work or school, and other are. And perhaps some members post in their sleep!

I decided that the 24-hour scale was the best choice. It's the raw data from which other computations can be made. If you want to know the average time between posts based on 16-hour availability per day, multiply the time shown by two thirds. For 12-hour days, divide the numbers in half.

For example, maflynn makes an average of 1 post every 1 hour, 57.7 minutes based on 24-hour days. At 16 hours of availability per day, he makes an average of 1 post every 1 hour 18.5 minutes. For Relentless Power, 37.5 minutes out of 24 hours becomes 25.0 minutes out of 16 hours. But changing the scale doesn't make as much sense for infrequent posters. For jsw, with a post every 6 months or so, saying that he makes a post every 4 months if he's online for 16 hours/day isn't a useful fact.
 
Also, that doesn't take into account that someone might peruse the forum every day, but only post a lot when keenly interested in a particular thread and/or subject. Say a hot topic pops up and a thread really takes off.....a member might begin posting really enthusiastically and frequently in just that one thread for a while and then when it slows down, as they usually inevitably do, he or she drifts off and perhaps doesn't post anything again for a while. That could throw off the averages, too, I would think....?
 
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In truth, I find that I tend to post in a cluster of posts on threads or areas that are of interest to me when I have a free half an hour or hour somewhere during the day.
 
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