Become a MacRumors Supporter for $50/year with no ads, ability to filter front page stories, and private forums.
I joined MR late in 2011, specifically and solely for the PowerPC Mac forum. I did not own an iPhone at the time. It would be four months before I owned a 3GS, which was not my primary phone and over a year before my first brand new iPhone purchase.

The atmosphere in the PowerPC forums was why I joined. I join forums to learn, to help and to share in a comraderie centered around something I love and that's what the PowerPC forum provided. With the exception of one person, now gone, everyone in there knows everyone else and we all try to help the newbies that filter through and the long time users here who wind up with old Macs and questions.

That was my entry to MR. And that specific forum is the main reason I stay. I have friends in other MR forums but not as many.
 
  • Like
Reactions: Scepticalscribe
I joined MR late in 2011, specifically and solely for the PowerPC Mac forum. I did not own an iPhone at the time. It would be four months before I owned a 3GS, which was not my primary phone and over a year before my first brand new iPhone purchase.

The atmosphere in the PowerPC forums was why I joined. I join forums to learn, to help and to share in a comraderie centered around something I love and that's what the PowerPC forum provided. With the exception of one person, now gone, everyone in there knows everyone else and we all try to help the newbies that filter through and the long time users here who wind up with old Macs and questions.

That was my entry to MR. And that specific forum is the main reason I stay. I have friends in other MR forums but not as many.

I like that you believe in - and encourage the cultivation of an environment - where newbies will feel welcome and sufficiently safe to be able to ask the most predictable of questions without being made to feel an idiot.
 
I like that you believe in - and encourage the cultivation of an environment - where newbies will feel welcome and sufficiently safe to be able to ask the most predictable of questions without being made to feel an idiot.
Thanks.

It's a fine line to tread though. Some people are truly clueless, some are willfully ignorant and some do not like the answers they receive because it's not what they want to hear.

The first I try to help, the second I generally tend not to respond to and the third I tend to be a bit snarky with. A personal failing, but when you are asking for answers you know already but refuse to implement because it's work you don't want to do, no one can really help. Repeating your question a different way will not get you a different answer.

Note, I am speaking solely of the PowerPC forums here. It's somewhat different elsewhere.
 
  • Like
Reactions: MacDawg
When I joined MacRumors, nobody was ever expected to catch the post count of Mr. Anderson, who was originally named Dukestreet. He was one of the original four moderators, with AmbitiousLemon, eyelikeart, and Rower_CPU. They roped me into volunteering to be a moderator.
Sounds like it was your first rodeo, and you were in the chute.
 
I think of that more often since reaching that time of life when friends and relatives depart in greater numbers. It’s not like we can come back for a final farewell post, explaining why we left.
I'll be sure to post some messages from the other side!

And yes it is a sign of getting older.
[doublepost=1516642004][/doublepost]
What @Apple fanboy has suggested is, of course, more than possible (and I don't doubt that it could well have been a factor in a number of cases), but I think that what @Clix Pix has written bears witness to a deeper truth.



I think the nature of the medium (smart phones and physical distance so that an ever increasing amount of communication becomes 'virtual') - plus a generational change which has meant that people with a different sense of what constitutes etiquette - have both contributed to this transformation in tone and content.
We all move on in life. Things like FB and Twitter compete for a lot of people's time nowadays. Fortunately I'm not on either. If I was I'm sure I'd post less on here.
 
No idea who qualifies as "oldest" in age around here
But I seem to recall @Desertrat had a few miles on him back in the day and I haven't seen him around in while (although I don't frequent PRSI)

Some may have moved on to another dimension, others may have had 'life' - or events in that life, be they professional,or personal, or both, play a role in their decision to leave, still others have 'gone fishing' as the euphemism has it, while yet others - and I do know one or two - had become so dismayed at they described to me as the increasing nastiness, sourness, bile, bitterness and hatred that marked the tone of some of the discussions here, that they chose of this own volition to just leave the forum.
 
No idea who qualifies as "oldest" in age around here
But I seem to recall @Desertrat had a few miles on him back in the day and I haven't seen him around in while (although I don't frequent PRSI)
Well this is one of the strange things about talking to people online. A lot of what you know about them is based on assumptions. The same is true when you meet someone in the real world of course, but it's harder to know how old someone is without the visual clues!

Btw I look about 20 still!
[doublepost=1516642779][/doublepost]
Some may have moved on to another dimension, others may have had 'life' - or events in that life, be they professional,or personal, or both, play a role in their decision to leave, still others have 'gone fishing' as the euphemism has it, while yet others - and I do know one or two - had become so dismayed at they described to me as the increasing nastiness, sourness, bile, bitterness and hatred that marked the tone of some of the discussions here, that they chose of this own volition to just leave the forum.
I think that can be said of small pockets of the site.
Generally I stick mostly to the friendlier sub forums.
Digital photography
Private talk
Community discussion.

I give the PRSI and iPhone sections a wide berth!
 
No idea who qualifies as "oldest" in age around here
But I seem to recall @Desertrat had a few miles on him back in the day and I haven't seen him around in while (although I don't frequent PRSI)
We have a fellow user in the PowerPC section who is over 80. Tinkering with PowerPC Macs is a hobby for him and he enjoys it.
 
  • Like
Reactions: MacDawg
We have a fellow user in the PowerPC section who is over 80. Tinkering with PowerPC Macs is a hobby for him and he enjoys it.

I used PowerPC back in the infamous clone years and used Power Computing hardware
Unfortunately it wasn't a good experience for me as my purchase failed right out of the box and had to be sent back
Used the replaced machine for a while, but made the switch to Intel when Apple did

Pretty sure DesertRat was over 80 back in the day as well
 
  • Like
Reactions: eyoungren
I used PowerPC back in the infamous clone years and used Power Computing hardware
Unfortunately it wasn't a good experience for me as my purchase failed right out of the box and had to be sent back
Used the replaced machine for a while, but made the switch to Intel when Apple did

Pretty sure DesertRat was over 80 back in the day as well
I was a PC user until 2003 when my PC ate my files and wouldn't give them back.

I defaulted to early PowerPC Macs because it was what I could afford at the time. Over time I've managed to collect a few Macs of that era and outfit them in configurations and with parts that during that time period would have cost me thousands and thousands of dollars - all for very decent eBay prices.

Making them do modern work is part of the fun.

I do work on a 2010 Mac Pro each day in Yosemite. But it's always nice coming home to my own Macs.
 
  • Like
Reactions: MacDawg
I was a PC user until 2003 when my PC ate my files and wouldn't give them back.

I defaulted to early PowerPC Macs because it was what I could afford at the time. Over time I've managed to collect a few Macs of that era and outfit them in configurations and with parts that during that time period would have cost me thousands and thousands of dollars - all for very decent eBay prices.

Making them do modern work is part of the fun.

I do work on a 2010 Mac Pro each day in Yosemite. But it's always nice coming home to my own Macs.

As with cars (67 Chevelle 327 4bbl, 71 Monte Carlo, 65 Ford Pickup) I wish I had kept all my Macs over the years:
Mac SE
Mac SE30
Mac II
Power Computing Power PC
Mac Portable (suitcase LOL)
Powerbook 160
iMac (lampstand)
Macbook
And others I've forgotten

Still have my 17" MacBook Pro Core 2 Duo, but my father-in-law is using it
Down to my 2011 MacBook Air (new SSD and battery) and my 2013 MacBook Pro (new battery)

But I share your enthusiasm for tinkering and high five your efforts

My ex-wife had me unload all my old hardware and software years ago, and I regret it
I unloaded her years later and should have made that my first move instead to be honest
 
  • Like
Reactions: eyoungren
Thank you! If life events (as others have mentioned) had not slowed me down, carpal tunnel syndrome would have! LOL!

Good to see you back and posting.

Ah: Your posts, I do remember.

Yes, life has a way of intruding on an online existence; as do other things.

Must say that I like your avatar - is that your own coffee mug? Very elegant.
 
Good to see you back and posting.

Ah: Your posts, I do remember.

Yes, life has a way of intruding on an online existence; as do other things.

Must say that I like your avatar - is that your own coffee mug? Very elegant.
Thanks! All the "intrusions" have been great ones!

I've enjoyed more than 1,000 gallons of coffee from that mug in the last 15+ years!
 
  • Like
Reactions: Scepticalscribe
"End of Time" Top 50 Posters

Chart #3: "End of Time" Top 50 Posters

Computed by Doctor Q in January 2018

Code:
Proj  Projection        Weighted  Cur   Delta  Last  Delta  Average of
Rank  End of Time        Rate     Rank  Rank   EOT    EOT   one post every
----  ----------------  --------  ----  -----  ----  -----  --------------
  1   Relentless Power   32.52     42    +41     1      0         44.3 min
  2   C DM               22.70      3     +1     2      0   1 hr,  3.4 min
  3   Scepticalscribe    18.63     10     +7     3      0   1 hr, 17.3 min
  4   maflynn            15.25      1     -3     4      0   1 hr, 34.4 min
  5   Apple fanboy       14.07     23    +18     5      0   1 hr, 42.4 min
  6   Newtons Apple      12.13     46    +40     7     +1   1 hr, 58.7 min
  7   The Game 161       10.24    ---    ---    12     +5   2 hr, 20.6 min
  8   Mlrollin91          9.97    ---    ---    11     +3   2 hr, 24.4 min
  9   eyoungren           9.81     37    +28     6     -3   2 hr, 26.8 min
 10   I7guy               9.75    ---    ---     8     -2   2 hr, 27.7 min
 11   pat500000           9.36    ---    ---    13     +2   2 hr, 33.9 min
 12   Fishrrman           8.43    ---    ---    17     +5   2 hr, 50.8 min
 13   Weaselboy           8.39     12     -1     9     -4   2 hr, 51.7 min
 14   Applejuiced         7.76      4    -10    10     -4   3 hr,  5.7 min
 15   h9826790            7.73    ---    ---    19     +4   3 hr,  6.2 min
 16   MH01                7.02    ---    ---    16      0   3 hr, 25.1 min
 17   thadoggfather       6.48    ---    ---    45    +28   3 hr, 42.3 min
 18   BasicGreatGuy       5.84    ---    ---    50    +32   4 hr,  6.7 min
 19   Michael Goff        5.70    ---    ---    25     +6   4 hr, 12.7 min
 20   Chupa Chupa         5.68    ---    ---    40    +20   4 hr, 13.6 min
 21   Tech198             5.58    ---    ---    20     -1   4 hr, 18.1 min
 22   cube                5.28    ---    ---    27     +5   4 hr, 32.9 min
 23   Huntn               5.14    ---    ---    23      0   4 hr, 40.3 min
 24   jamezr              5.05    ---    ---    26     +2   4 hr, 45.3 min
 25   Abazigal            4.99    ---    ---    30     +5   4 hr, 48.4 min
 26   willmtaylor         4.96    ---    ---    24     -2   4 hr, 50.2 min
 27   D.T.                4.85    ---    ---   ---    ---   4 hr, 57.1 min
 28   epicrayban          4.82    ---    ---    21     -7   4 hr, 59.0 min
 29   Shirasaki           4.70    ---    ---    15    -14   5 hr,  6.6 min
 30   kdarling            4.69     43    +13    35     +5   5 hr,  7.3 min
 31   newellj             4.60    ---    ---   ---    ---   5 hr, 12.8 min
 32   GrumpyMom           4.56    ---    ---   ---    ---   5 hr, 15.7 min
 33   apolloa             4.43    ---    ---    37     +4   5 hr, 25.1 min
 34   Rogifan             4.35     39     +5    28     -6   5 hr, 31.0 min
 35   Radon87000          4.27    ---    ---   ---    ---   5 hr, 37.6 min
 36   redheeler           4.15    ---    ---    22    -14   5 hr, 46.7 min
 37   AustinIllini        4.06    ---    ---    46     +9   5 hr, 54.4 min
 38   lordofthereef       4.06    ---    ---    31     -7   5 hr, 54.5 min
 39   Samuelsan2001       4.06    ---    ---    36     -3   5 hr, 54.7 min
 40   Julien              3.71    ---    ---    29    -11   6 hr, 28.4 min
 41   Technarchy          3.67    ---    ---   ---    ---   6 hr, 32.2 min
 42   spinedoc77          3.55    ---    ---    41     -1   6 hr, 45.4 min
 43   keysofanxiety       3.52    ---    ---    18    -25   6 hr, 49.4 min
 44   69Mustang           3.51    ---    ---   ---    ---   6 hr, 50.3 min
 45   Shanghaichica       3.51    ---    ---   ---    ---   6 hr, 50.7 min
 46   ActionableMango     3.47    ---    ---    43     -3   6 hr, 55.1 min
 47   DeltaMac            3.45    ---    ---   ---    ---   6 hr, 57.9 min
 48   mattopotamus        3.40    ---    ---    48      0   7 hr,  4.1 min
 49   macduke             3.38    ---    ---    39    -10   7 hr,  5.9 min
 50   rui no onna         3.36    ---    ---   ---    ---   7 hr,  8.4 min
Columns:
  1. Proj Rank = Projected position in order by post count, 1 (highest) to 50.
  2. Projection End of Time = members with the 50 highest projected post counts as time goes to infinity, based on a computed post rate.
  3. Weighted Rate = # posts per day by that member as a cascading weighted average, giving 50% weight to the most recent 6 months, 25% to the previous 6 months, 12.5% to the previous 6 months, and so on, with adjustments made based on the length of membership.
  4. Cur Rank = current rank as of January 2018 (Chart 1), or "---" for those who are not in the current Top 50.
  5. Delta Rank = projected change in rank, i.e., # of slots +higher or -lower in rank from now until the end of time.
  6. Last EOT = rank in End of Time projections from 6 months ago (July 2017, Chart #3), or "---" for those who were not in the previous End of Time Top 50.
  7. Delta EOT = change in rank from End of Time projection 6 months ago to End of Time projection now.
  8. 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).
These are the true "top posters" at MacRumors since they currently make the most posts over any given time period. The results are limited to posters with at least 5000 posts and enough history for me to track their rate.


Observations
  1. Only 11 of 50 members in the End of Time Top 50 are among the current Top 50 posters. That's typical of these lists, and it shows the difference between post count and post rate. Only sustained posting puts people on the current Top 50, while either a temporary or sustained high posting rate can put you on the End of Time Top 50.

  2. The Top 5 and their order have not changed since the previous End of Time rankings: Relentless Power, C DM, Scepticalscribe, maflynn, and Apple fanboy.

  3. Newtons Apple, eyoungren, and I7guy remain in the Top 10 while Weaselboy and Applejuiced drop into the teens.

  4. New to the Top 10: The Game 161 is the only member making over 10 posts/day (weighted rate) and not among the current Top 50. I've tracked The Game 161 since January 2016, computing an overall historical post rate of 5.4, a recent post rate of 12.67, and a weighted post rate of 10.24. The Game 161 was #10 in the End of Time rankings a year ago in January 2017, dropping to #12 six months ago.

  5. Also new to the Top 10: Mlrollin91, at just under 10 posts/day weighted rate.

  6. Outside the Top 5, only MH01, Huntn, and the wonderfully named mattopotamus managed to retain their positions on the End of Time list. This isn't easy to do. For example, mattopotamus would lose his position if he posted, on average, more often than every 6 hours and 58 minutes or less often then every 7 hours and 6 minutes.

  7. New to the End of Time Top 50 compared with 6 months ago: D.T., newellj, GrumpyMom, Radon87000, Technarchy, 69Mustang, Shanghaichica, DeltaMac, and rui no onna. None are in the current Top 50 or Projected Top 50.

  8. Out of the End of Time Top 50 since 6 months ago: tiggger, mobilehaathi, SandboxGeneral, leman, bunnspecial, AidenShaw, OllyW, and cynics.

  9. Largest increase from End of Time 6 months ago: BasicGreatGuy, up 32 slots to #18, followed by thadoggfather, up 28 slots to #17. By coincidence, the member with the greatest increase last time also ended up in slot #18.

  10. Largest decrease: keysofanxiety (down 25 slots), back to position #43. Since keysofanxiety was #44 in January 2017, the rise to #18 last time was the outlier.

  11. Relentless Power is the only member to average more than one post per hour over a 24-hour period. If you limit the measurement to 18 hours/day instead of 24 hours/day, the rate would be one post every 29.5 minutes. At 18 hours/day, C DM averages one post every 42.3 minutes and Scepticalscribe averages one post every 51.5 minutes.

  12. It now takes 3.36 posts/day to make the End of Time Top 50. leman (3.28 posts/day), Michaelgtrusa (3.25 posts/day), and cynics (3.11 posts/day) are the only members to miss the list while making at least 3 posts/day.

  13. Chupa Chupa, a member for over 15 years, remains the End of Time Top 50 member with the longest forum membership. Seven other End of Time Top 50 members have been here for 10 years or longer. Relentless Power has the shortest forum membership of those on the list, 18.8 months.

  14. If we expanded the list to the Top 100 End of Time, I'd be #86 and arn wouldn't make the list.

  15. Since so many people asked me about this (well, zero people, actually), I checked whether End of Time Top 50 members tend to have names starting with uppercase or lowercase letters. The answer is that 40% start with lowercase letters, 58% with uppercase letters, and 2% with a digit. Those zero people can stop asking me about it now!
 
By tradition, I pick somebody and graph their post count history. This time I picked a member who's been decelerating but still keeps hanging around: Docrtor Q.

Perhaps this long-time member is afraid to reach 35,000 posts, which would explain the asymptotic behavior. If triakosioitriakontatriophobia means fear of the number 333, what medical diagnosis means fear of the number 35,000?

On the other hand, I expect that Doctor Q will continue at about the current pace, and reach infinite posts in infinite time. In several past 6-month intervals he's had a post rate of over 10 posts/day, but has been pretty steady at 1 to 2 posts/day for the last couple of years. Perhaps if he didn't spend weeks working on statistical charts, he'd be able to make more posts with less preparation.

Doctor Q.png
 
Very interesting! I'm still at number 5. I thought I'd upped my game over the last 6 month!
Remember the Red Queen's aphorism:
"... it takes all the running you can do, to keep in the same place."


Perhaps this long-time member is afraid to reach 35,000 posts, which would explain the asymptotic behavior. If triakosioitriakontatriophobia means fear of the number 333, what medical diagnosis means fear of the number 35,000?
Well, at least you aren't afraid of signed 16-bit overflow, although it does look a bit flatter slope on the approach.

35,000 in hex is 0x88B8. That's suspiciously close to 0x8888, so maybe it's a subconscious fear of being eaten (so many ates).
 
You're probably wondering whether Sun Baked or yg17 has more posts, and how it came to be. So let's satisfy your curiosity.

Here's their history as far back as my tracking goes.

Sun Baked yg17 race.png


The race is too close to call, so we'll have to zoom in for the photo finish:

Sun Baked yg17 finish.png


The winner by one post: yg17!
 
Register on MacRumors! This sidebar will go away, and you'll see fewer ads.