Top 50 Posters Extrapolated, July 2007

[Doctor Q]

This is the 9th edition of my semi-annual analysis of the MacRumors Top 50 Posters.

Previous "Top 50 Posters Extrapolated" threads:

2003: July
2004: January, July
2005: January, July
2006: January, July
2007: January​

The legend of column headings follows the chart. My comments and analysis follow in the next posts.

Measurements were taken yesterday. I've computed these numbers just for fun and to be a point of discussion. As you know, the forum rules prohibit posting to pad your post count.

Chart #1: Current Top 50 Posters

Computed by Doctor Q on July 4, 2007

                      Cur     Cur   Prev  Delta
Rank  Current Top 50  Posts   Rate  Rank  Rank
----  --------------  ------  ----  ----  -----
  1   mad jew         27,140  27.8    2     +1
  2   Mr. Anderson    22,837   2.8    1     -1
  3   jsw             18,818  22.8    5     +2
  4   Doctor Q        17,020  12.3    4      0
  5   mkrishnan       16,716  19.6    7     +2
  6   wdlove          16,648   0.4    3     -3
  7   ~Shard~         15,487   8.4    6     -1
  8   bousozoku       13,362   5.2   10     +2
  9   edesignuk       13,036   2.9    9      0
 10   iGary           12,926   0.0    8     -2
 11   eyelikeart      12,116   0.0   11      0
 12   PlaceofDis      12,049  18.0   22    +10
 13   yellow          11,978   6.1   13      0
 14   Blue Velvet     11,826  11.6   15     +1
 15   Abstract        11,681   9.8   14     -1
 16   Rower_CPU       11,255   0.6   12     -4
 17   devilot         11,094  20.5   30    +13
 18   vniow           10,246   7.1   19     +1
 19   dmw007          10,044   6.9   21     +2
 20   emw              9,878  10.1   25     +5
 21   Nermal           9,788   3.7   17     -4
 22   jelloshotsrule   9,708   1.8   16     -6
 23   WildCowboy       9,658  13.4   31     +8
 24   Sun Baked        9,653   3.5   18     -6
 25   Mitthrawnuruodo  9,608   6.9   23     -2

                      Cur     Cur   Prev  Delta
Rank  Current Top 50  Posts   Rate  Rank  Rank
----  --------------  ------  ----  ----  -----
 26   raggedjimmi      9,456  10.2   27     +1
 27   CanadaRAM        8,971   9.8   32     +5
 28   jefhatfield      8,825   0.0   20     -8
 29   iMeowbot         8,669   6.5   28     -1
 30   Applespider      8,409   1.9   24     -6
 31   katie ta achoo   8,165   7.6   38     +7
 32   Chundles         7,794   4.3   35     +3
 33   arn              7,776   3.8   34     +1
 34   iGAV             7,747   3.3   33     -1
 35   Chip NoVaMac     7,689   0.4   26     -9
 36   nagromme         7,630   5.1   39     +3
 37   MacBandit        7,410   0.1   29     -8
 38   MacRumorUser     7,295  11.2  ---    ---
 39   Mord             7,119   5.7   43     +4
 40   iBlue            7,071  13.7  ---    ---
 41   scem0            6,993   0.1   36     -5
 42   MrMacman         6,954   0.1   37     -5
 43   kretzy           6,949   7.3   46     +3
 44   Counterfit       6,827   3.7   42     -2
 45   Lacero           6,635   0.0   40     -5
 46   bartelby         6,584   5.9  ---    ---
 47   Jaffa Cake       6,584   9.8  ---    ---
 48   robbieduncan     6,535   7.5  ---    ---
 49   dynamicv         6,466  14.5  ---    ---
 50   clayj            6,441   0.0   41     -9

Columns:

1. Rank = Position in order by post count, 1 (highest) to 50.
   
2. Current Top 50 = members with the 50 currently highest post counts.
   
3. Cur Posts = # of posts by that member.
   
4. Cur Rate = average # posts per day by that member over the last 6 months, or for the length of their membership if they joined less than 6 months ago.
   
5. Prev Rank = previous rank, as of 6 months ago (January 2007), or "---" for those who are new to the Top 50.
   
6. Delta Rank = change in rank, i.e., # of slots +higher or -lower in rank since 6 months ago.

Quick links to the other charts I prepare:

Chart #2: 6-Month Projected Top 50 Posters
Chart #3: "End of Time" Top 50 Posters​

 

[Doctor Q]

Length of membership

Mean average: 46.6 months (up 3.6 since 6 months ago)
Standard deviation: 16.5 months (up 1.0 since 6 months ago)

Longest membership among active Top 50 posters: arn, at 74.8 months. This honor has previously belonged to jefhatfield and eyelikeart, but both are no longer active posters. Since arn is unlikely to retire from the forums, and the others haven't hinted that they are returning to regular posting, the longest membership is likely to be arn's for the foreseeable future.

Second-longest: MrMacman, 72.0 months

Shortest: dynamicv, 16.0 months

Second-shortest: MacRumorUser, 22.3 months

Number of members in the Top 50 by length of membership:

less than 1 year: 0 members
between 1 and 2 years: 3 members
between 2 and 3 years: 13 members
between 3 and 4 years: 13 members
between 4 and 5 years: 9 members
between 5 and 6 years: 9 members
between 6 and 7 years: 3 members​

This chart shows the current distribution (blue) compared with the distribution from 6 months ago (red).

The former peak in the 4-5 year range has spread more evenly across both the 4-5 year and 5-6 year ranges.

 

[Doctor Q]

Comments on the Current Top 50 Posters chart

Changed members

Six new members joined the Top 50 list:
MacRumorUser (#38), iBlue (#40), bartelby (#46), Jaffa Cake (#47), robbieduncan (#48), dynamicv (#49)

None made it to the Top 25.

Six members are no longer in the Top 50 list (previous ranks are shown in parens):
iJon (#44), gekko513 (#45), Lau (#47), shadowfax (#48), rainman::|:| (#49), wrldwzrd89 (#50)

Of the last 6 of the Top 50 from last time, only kretzy (was #46, now #43) stayed in the Top 50.


Changes in rank

Highest rise in rank, up 13 slots:
devilot

Next highest:
PlaceofDis (up 10), WildCowboy (up 8), katie ta achoo (up 7)

That's a total of 16 slots up for katie ta achoo since one year ago.

Highest loss in rank, down each 9 slots:
Chip NoVaMac, clayj

Next highest:
jefhatfield and MacBandit (each down 8), followed by jelloshotsrule, Sun Baked and Applespider (each down 6)

Four members (2 fewer than last time) managed to retain their position in the Top 50 list:
Doctor Q (#4), edesignuk (#9), eyelikeart (#11), yellow (#13)

Doctor Q managed to hold his spot for a year, but his days in that position are numbered, as we'll see.

Nermal managed to hold slot #17 for 18 months, but has finally slipped, to #21.

dcv missed making the Top 50 by 124 posts (0.7 per day), with Lau only 3 posts behind dcv.


Changes in the Top 10

In the biggest news story of recent post-counting history, mad jew passed Mr. Anderson in January (shortly after my previous stats) to become the all-time #1 MacRumors poster.

I was quite surprised to find that nobody joined or left the Top 10 since 6 months ago. Eight of the Top 10 members changed positions in the list.

Doctor Q, jsw and mkrishnan passed the inactive wdlove, who had been in the Top 5 since July 2004. See one of the big moments!

In other re-orderings, jsw passed Doctor Q and mkrishnan passed ~Shard~.

Although bousozoku has been scarce recently, he managed to overtake edesignuk.

Inactive iGary dropped from #8 to #10 and is likely to be passed by PlaceofDis before the end of August and devilot a month after that.


Posts in the last 6 months

Note: This section excludes members who were not in my stats 6 months ago, since I don't have their post histories.

Highest number of posts in 6 months:
mad jew, with 5,031 posts (over 27 posts/day over the last 6 months). That's a slight drop from his previous post rate, but he's still leading the pack.

Next-highest:
jsw with 4,132 posts, followed by devilot with 3,715 posts, mkrishnan with 3,539 posts, and PlaceofDis with 3,262 posts. Those were the only members with over 3,000 posts in 6 months.

Six members had over 2,000 posts in 6 months:
dynamicv (2,632), iBlue (2,476), WildCowboy (2,424), Doctor Q (2,235), Blue Velvet (2,100), MacRumorUser (2,036).

There were 11 members with 6-month post counts over 2,000 posts and another 22 with post counts between 1000 and 2000.

The member with the highest post rate who did not make the Top 50 was Eidorian, with 1,999 posts (10.9 per day). Next was MacNut, with 1,879 posts (10.3 per day).

Lowest:
A few of the Top 50 posters popped in to make posts (10 or fewer) in the last 6 months: iGary, eyelikeart, and MacBandit. eyelikeart last posted in the "Top 50 Posters Extrapolated, January 2007" thread!

Next-lowest:
MrMacman had 20 posts, scem0 had 24.

Note: This is based on net post gain, which reflects both gains in post count from actual posts and the reduction in post count from threads that are later deleted or moved to the Wasteland.


Excluded members and posts

Member Macrumors, who represent site posts, is always excluded from my Top 50 tracking. Based on post count, Macrumors would otherwise have been about #66. Unregistered or banned members are not included in my charts, but none of them would have qualified by post count.

Members can lose posts due to deletion or Wastelanding of threads. In the last 6 months, only two members have lost more than 1 net post: clayj (5 posts) and maya (3 posts).

I will now start working on my traditional 6-Month Projection and "End of Time" Projection and post them when they are ready. I'll also fill in the links in the first post.

 

[devilot]

*gulp* It's July and so I knew this would be coming out... and I'd known of the trends, but it's still not a pretty sight. Not at all.

Er, well, except for your graph, of course. That's new, no? I don't recall you making nifty 3D bar graphs.

It is a little sad to see some of the previously more prolific posters not posting as much. I mean, not shocking 'cause we'd seen their posts becoming more infrequent on the boards, but still... a slight pang when the numbers confirm it.

 

[Blue Velvet]

Once again, Doctor Q never ceases to amaze. And this time, with 3D graphs... some interesting bits and pieces in there, and some not-so surprises there as well.

 

[Queso]

Cool Q, although I miss iGary and Applespider And what happened to Chundles?

 

[Doctor Q]

Cool Q, although I miss iGary and Applespider And what happened to Chundles?

Chundles moved up a bit, from #35 last time to #32 now:

                      Cur     Cur   Prev  Delta
Rank  Current Top 50  Posts   Rate  Rank  Rank
----  --------------  ------  ----  ----  -----
 32   Chundles         7,794   4.3   35     +3

And he and I both have ranks that are powers of two, so we share that joy.

 

[2nyRiggz]

Damn I fell off....last time the stats came out I was almost there...now I've been dusted.



Bless

 

[Sun Baked]

Damn I fell off....last time the stats came out I was almost there...now I've been dusted.



Bless

Well, I feel like I've been circling the drain and am being flushed by all the newer/younger spam masters.

Been circling so fast, it knocked my tar off sometime back.

 

[Jaffa Cake]

I will now start working on my traditional 6-Month Projection and "End of Time" Projection and post them when they are ready.

Looking forward to seeing them. Thanks as ever for your hard work and toil, Doc.

 

[Doctor Q]

Damn I fell off....last time the stats came out I was almost there...now I've been dusted.

You would be #61.

Well, I feel like I've been circling the drain and am being flushed by all the newer/younger spam masters.

Out of the Top 20!

 

[Blue Velvet]

Looking forward to seeing them.

I'm guessing that any mentions of Doctors and the End of Time would naturally pique your interest...

 

[dcv]

dcv missed making the Top 50 by 124 posts (0.7 per day), with Lau only 3 posts behind dcv.

Must. Spam. Harder™

 

[Jaffa Cake]

I'm guessing that any mentions of Doctors and the End of Time would naturally pique your interest...

What? You mean... ah, I see – this thread is about numbers and stuff. Sorry, I got a bit confused there.

 

[Blue Velvet]

See previous ten or so posts on how to make this coveted list, people.

 

[rdowns]

See previous ten or so posts on how to make this coveted list, people.

^^And the 11th one on how to remain on this coveted list.


Awesome job Q. Keep them coming. Thanks.

 

[tobefirst ⚽️]

This thread is always one of my favorites to read. I find the numbers very interesting, although my interest in them pales in comparison to Q's. Next time, Q, you need to do a Top 450 Posters list.

 

[mad jew]

Highest number of posts in 6 months:
mad jew, with 5,031 posts (over 27 posts/day over the last 6 months). That's a slight drop from his previous post rate, but he's still leading the pack.

I had about six weeks off too, just so I wouldn't be 'round the 6,000 mark again. If only I could use my posting for good, instead of evil.

Perhaps of more interest to the Q-diddy; I just passed post 27,183.

 

[Counterfit]

This had me feeling nostalgic, so I went back to the thread from when I made my debut in the Top 50. 3 years ago!

Since then:

• I've lost 2 spots (after picking up 8 in Jan '05 list).
• mad_jew showed up and out-spammed EVERYONE
• I'm averaging a bit over 3 posts per day fewer than when I bumped irmongoose out
• I've changed schools once, and major twice
• I left my first job for school, went back, later left it again for a summer job, and have now been unemployed for almost a year =(
• Not actually gotten much closer to graduating from college
• I also bought my PowerBook, two iPods, and a new car.

I'd like to see the EoT list, I doubt I'm still projected as #10.

 

[MrSmith]

...and have now been unemployed for almost a year...

I assumed that was necessary to appear in the table...

 

[Abstract]

I had about six weeks off too, just so I wouldn't be 'round the 6,000 mark again. If only I could use my posting for good, instead of evil.

Perhaps of more interest to the Q-diddy; I just passed post 27,183.

Was going to mention that. How you managed your post rate despite your absence is amazing. And I'm actually surprised I posted 9.8 times per day. I haven't posted much over the past 6 weeks.

I've got to be the most boring statistic. I never change rank by much, and my post rate doesn't change by much.

 

[cycocelica]

I love seeing the Extrapolated thread! Great work Doctor Q!

 

[iBookG4user]

Maybe I'll get into the Top 50 sometime . But, I like reading the top poster threads, it's always interesting to me.

 

[siurpeeman]

Posts in the last 6 months

There were 17 members with 6-month post counts over 2,000 posts (the same number as last time) and another 22 (up from 19) with post counts between 1000 and 2000.

yay, i was mentioned.

 

[mattscott306]

I was mentioned! Wohoo!