Top 50 Posters Extrapolated, July 2019

[chown33]

These are great stats, summaries, and graphs, @chown33. Nice work!

Which Top 50 members joined most recently?

Thanks.

Here's the data you requested:

Relentless Power   2016-07-12
Newtons Apple      2014-03-12
I7guy              2013-11-30
Apple fanboy       2012-02-21
Rogifan            2011-11-14

I threw together a quick command-line, and copied the Top 50 data records into the clipboard:

pbpaste | sort -k2nr >dated.txt

This sorts by the 2nd field, using a numeric sort, reversed (descending).

The 2nd field in the input data is the user-number which is used as a proxy for join-date. I manually checked the result to make sure it correlated with join-date, and it did. Then I edited out the irrelevant fields and threw in some space to make it pretty.

If these were needed regularly, I'd put the whole thing into a script, and make it use the actual join-date. The proxy worked well enough this time, and I didn't have to mess around with parsing dates or making days-since-epoch numbers.

 

[chown33]

You are creeping me out.

Wait till I start predicting what color socks everyone is wearing, and on which days.

 

[Gutwrench]

@LizKat shamelessly beats us into submission for likes. Can we get a likes-to-words-posted analysis?

Fun With Graphs

Welcome to the July 2019 version of "Fun With Graphs". We'll see some graphs of things other than the usual semi-annual and weekly posts.

There were more "Fun With Graphs" posts in the January 2019 thread, because it was the first time I'd presented the graphs and I was still exploring which ones worked and which ones didn't. There may be fewer such posts this time, depending on what looks fun and feasible.


Top 10 Changes in Rank: Details

In the Top 10, @Scepticalscribe moved past @Applejuiced, and @Doctor Q moved past @GoCubsGo. These graphs show their post counts in weekly detail.

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A Race Into the Top 10

In January 2019, the two MacRumors users @Apple fanboy and @Relentless Power were in a close race to break into the Top 10. By July, only @Apple fanboy had made it there.

I've used @Eidorian at #10 as a proxy for breaking into the Top 10, with @mkrishnan (inactive) at #9. I've also included @mad jew (inactive) at #8, as a historical benchmark, and as the next benchmark for Apple fanboy to pass.

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Two Thousand Likes and a Like

When post-count data is collected for MR users, their Likes counts have also been collected, when possible. Until now, that data has only been presented in tables, not graphs. The graph below shows the growth in weekly Likes counts for users who've received 2000 or more likes in the last 6 months.

You'll see a few users who don't appear in other graphs, like @samcraig and @keysofanxiety. There can be different reasons for this, such as posting mainly in an uncounted forum, or by making posts that often get multiple Likes.

View attachment 846734


More Fun

The 2 graphs below show my own weekly post and Likes counts, along with a few other members whose posts I enjoy reading in the Community forum: @AngerDanger, @Gutwrench, and @LizKat.

The dates in these graphs start in late February instead of early January because I forgot to add these members to the data-collection task until later.

The graphs have different ordering and colors, because Likes can easily exceed post count, as demonstrated by AngerDanger's results. Any post can have multiple Likes, even posts that are in uncounted forums.

The only graph lines that are the same in both cases are mine: I'm the bottom orange line. I clearly need to up my game.


The Likes count for AngerDanger tops out above 2000. This may cause you to wonder why he doesn't appear in the above Likes graph for users with 2000+ Likes. The answer to that is that he wasn't in the list of users on 01 Jan 2019, so there isn't a full 6-month span of data like the other users. This causes the script that produces Table 1 to omit his 6-month Likes counts.

View attachment 846735

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Posts per Week

The above graphs that show weekly post growth are cumulative. That is, each line represents the cumulative growth of a user's post count relative to their post count at the start of the overall interval.

In this graph, we look at the number of posts per week. This grgaph will make changes from week to week more obvious. For example, if someone makes exactly 20 posts every week, then their line in this graph would be flat at a level of 20. In the post growth cumulative graph, their line would rise at a constant upward slope of 20 units per week. If they then drop to 18 posts per week, their posts-per-week line would drop by 2 units, a step that would easily be visible, while their growth line would show only a slight flattening.

I posted similar graphs in Jan 2019, but they had more users per graph, and were difficult to read. Here, I've manually chosen a few members to graph:

@Scepticalscribe - for having a prolific post rate
@Shirasaki - for the accelerating growth in May and early June
@Relentless Power - for almost making it into the Top 10
@Doctor Q - for the only post-rate increase in the Top 10
@C DM - for having a roller-coaster growth line in the Weekly Post Growth graphs
​

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[Scepticalscribe]

@LizKat shamelessly beats us into submission for likes. Can we get a likes-to-words-posted analysis?

Not only does @LizKat invariably receive a like from me virtually every time she posts, (the voice of reason, sane, thoughtful, wry, and lived) but I find myself - uniquely on the forum - liking her posts before I read them.

Thus, for @LizKat, it is often a case of click 'like' (because I know in advance that I will like the post), and then proceed to read the post. That is when I sometimes wish that some posts are so well written and reasoned that they could do with two or three likes (per person).

 

[Gutwrench]

Not only does @LizKat invariably receive a like from me virtually every time she posts, (the voice of reason, sane, thoughtful, wry, and lived) but I find myself - uniquely on the forum - liking her posts before I read them.

Thus, for @LizKat, it is often a case of click 'like' (because I know in advance that I will like the post), and then proceed to read the post. That is when I sometimes wish that some posts are so well written and reasoned that they could do with two or three likes (per person).

She’s apparently busy still sewing my 2018 Christmas present.

 

[Ulenspiegel]

@LizKat shamelessly beats us into submission for likes. Can we get a likes-to-words-posted analysis?

Well, seems I have to improve my like-clicking-activity.

 

[Scepticalscribe]

You are creeping me out.

Why?

These six monthly (or biannual) posts charting such statistics have been posted since 2003.

Ever since I joined the forum, eleven years ago, I have found them fascinating to read; mind you, I never anticipated that I would ever be part of such a thing, or that my name (nom-de-plume in this case) would feature as one of the more prolific posters, not least because this is the first online forum I have ever joined.

 

[eyoungren]

Why?

These six monthly (or biannual) posts charting such statistics have been posted since 2003.

Ever since I joined the forum, eleven years ago, I have found them fascinating to read; mind you, I never anticipated that I would ever be part of such a thing, or that my name (nom-de-plume in this case) would feature as one of the more prolific posters, not least because this is the first online forum I have ever joined.

Most of the regular users are unaware that these stats are collected, let alone posted about.

I myself was unaware until tagged by a user who had found them. That was maybe four years ago if I recall.

While people who frequent forums should generally understand that because everything goes into a backend database it becomes (or can become) a stat about them there are some that don't realize this. So, to them this is collecting data about their online habits (on a specific website).

Collecting and organizing those stats creeps them out then because they were unaware (even though they should have been).

 

[ucfgrad93]

As always, fascinating to read. Thanks @chown33 for doing this.

 

[Scepticalscribe]

Most of the regular users are unaware that these stats are collected, let alone posted about.

I myself was unaware until tagged by a user who had found them. That was maybe four years ago if I recall.

While people who frequent forums should generally understand that because everything goes into a backend database it becomes (or can become) a stat about them there are some that don't realize this. So, to them this is collecting data about their online habits (on a specific website).

Collecting and organizing those stats creeps them out then because they were unaware (even though they should have been).

Perhaps this is so, - and it surprises me, if that is the case - but I will say that I noticed the thread about these stats in my very first year as a member of the forum, the very first online community I have ever joined.

Not only is it not a secret, or masked in any way, but for someone as clueless as I was about the online world to have noticed these threads within my first six months of joining the forum, means that they were (and are) highly visible to anyone who pays a visit to the Community section of the forum.

Granted, many members will confine themselves purely and solely to topics and subject matters that pertain to Apple devices and are to be found in the threads where such matters are discussed.

But, in the Community Section of the forum, many matters are considered topics for online conversations, and these seem to include the biannual stat extrapolation posts.

Now, I will concede if this subject matter, or topic, was posted in the Site and Forum Feedback, you might see fewer visitors; but, the Community section of the forum receives many visitors, so this subject matter shouldn't come as much of a surprise.

 

[Apple fanboy]

Agreed. I recall seeing them quite early on when I started using this site.

 

[eyoungren]

Perhaps this is so, - and it surprises me, if that is the case - but I will say that I noticed the thread about these stats in my very first year as a member of the forum, the very first online community I have ever joined.

Not only is it not a secret, or masked in any way, but for someone as clueless as I was about the online world to have noticed these threads within my first six months of joining the forum, means that they were (and are) highly visible to anyone who pays a visit to the Community section of the forum.

Granted, many members will confine themselves purely and solely to topics and subject matters that pertain to Apple devices and are to be found in the threads where such matters are discussed.

But, in the Community Section of the forum, many matters are considered topics for online conversations, and these seem to include the biannual stat extrapolation posts.

Now, I will concede if this subject matter, or topic, was posted in the Site and Forum Feedback, you might see fewer visitors; but, the Community section of the forum receives many visitors, so this subject matter shouldn't come as much of a surprise.

I will just say from my own experience, I tend to stick in specific forums.

I signed up here in 2011 and for a solid year I never visited the iPhone section because I didn't have an iPhone. Once I got one that forum and the ones surrounding it became a focus. But the reason I came here was for PowerPC Macs and that is still the single forum I post in the most.

I was unaware the community and feedback forums existed until the user I mentioned tagged me and because when the forum changed from one software to another feedback was invited and they posted a link.

I stay out of the Intel Macs section for the same reasons people stay out of PRSI. If you don't have a current Intel Mac you aren't treated too well.

I have a Pixel now, so that Alternatives to iPhone forum is added to my list. But I really have just a handful of the forums here that I use.

I find that most people are like that. They go to a forum and tend to stay in the area they came for.

I am not saying you are wrong or I am right, just noting possible reasons as to why some people would be surprised about this.

 

[Scepticalscribe]

I will just say from my own experience, I tend to stick in specific forums.

I signed up here in 2011 and for a solid year I never visited the iPhone section because I didn't have an iPhone. Once I got one that forum and the ones surrounding it became a focus. But the reason I came here was for PowerPC Macs and that is still the single forum I post in the most.

I was unaware the community and feedback forums existed until the user I mentioned tagged me and because when the forum changed from one software to another feedback was invited and they posted a link.

I stay out of the Intel Macs section for the same reasons people stay out of PRSI. If you don't have a current Intel Mac you aren't treated too well.

I have a Pixel now, so that Alternatives to iPhone forum is added to my list. But I really have just a handful of the forums here that I use.

I find that most people are like that. They go to a forum and tend to stay in the area they came for.

I am not saying you are wrong or I am right, just noting possible reasons as to why some people would be surprised about this.

There is considerable truth in what you say, although I also use the forums as a way of learning things, new stuff I hadn't known in advance, which means straying a little away from what would have been my comfort zone.

Well, in common with many other members, I joined the forum because I had switched from Windows to Apple, and had bought myself a MBP.

I had questions, many questions, and did not wish to bother the sales assistant in the Apple store too much (although he was very helpful), so I lurked here for a while, and then joined, asked my questions, and stayed.

While I am interested in tech, it is not my life, living or passion; however, the online world was new to me, and this was the first such forum I joined.

 

[Clix Pix]

My general pattern on here or for that matter, on any website with a discussion forum, is to first look at whatever I’m especially interested in and then after that browse through the listing of new posts, and if something catches my eye, I’ll read that post and perhaps join in on a discussion there in that particular subforum. In my early days here, we were still on PPC Macs and didn’t have iPhones and iPads and HomePods and Apple TV and whatever.....those all came later. MacRumors is not the only web-based discussion forum in which I participate, I’m a veteran of Usenet and other forums, so as the saying goes, it wasn’t my first rodeo when I joined up, but since that day it has been and remains really important and key in my daily activity on the internet!

So if I decide that I’m interested in buying a new Apple whatever, or have heard that there will be a new update to one of the devices I already own, I obviously am going to be interested in checking out discussion related to that; I also rely on MR to let me know about important situations such as the recent recall on batteries in a group of mid-2015 MBPs, since one of those machines lives in my household...... Announcement about updates to either software or hardware are definitely significant as far as i am concerned. Other topics such as digital photography, are also of particular interest to me so I like to follow what is going on there, too. I tend to look at those subforums more than the community discussion ones since I tend to think of this as my “techie” site in which to visit and participate......

 

[chown33]

Most of the regular users are unaware that these stats are collected, let alone posted about.

I myself was unaware until tagged by a user who had found them. That was maybe four years ago if I recall.

While people who frequent forums should generally understand that because everything goes into a backend database it becomes (or can become) a stat about them there are some that don't realize this. So, to them this is collecting data about their online habits (on a specific website).

Collecting and organizing those stats creeps them out then because they were unaware (even though they should have been).

Now you're creeping me out.

 

[Apple fanboy]

I joined when I was considering buying my first iPhone. I liked reading the discussions and decided to join.
It’s the only forum I have. I’ve also never joined FB or Twitter which probably explains my high post count.
Well that and no social life!

 

[44267547]

I joined when I was considering buying my first iPhone. I liked reading the discussions and decided to join.
It’s the only forum I have. I’ve also never joined FB or Twitter which probably explains my high post count.
Well that and no social life!

Same here. I actually only belong to Macrumors, no external media accounts (i.e Twitter/F.B.) whatsoever. This is a great site, not just because of the amount of members that actually are on here that are fairly well educated on certain topics, but I really like the way the discussion is set up through the XenoForo software, everything is organized, and it’s fairly easy to parse through threads/discussions. Other sites like 9to5 Mac is a complete mess trying to read discussions/comments, once MacRumors finally receives ‘dark mode’, I think it will be a nice addition.

 

[Apple fanboy]

Same here. I actually only belong to Macrumors, no external media accounts (i.e Twitter/F.B.) whatsoever. This is a great site, not just because of the amount of members that actually are on here that are fairly well educated on certain topics, but I really like the way the discussion is set up through the XenoForo software, everything is organized, and it’s fairly easy to parse through threads/discussions. Other sites like 9to5 Mac is a complete mess trying to read discussions/comments, once MacRumors finally receives ‘dark mode’, I think it will be a nice addition.

Agree. Easy to read and browse the stuff of interest, and skip the stuff that doesn’t.

 

[Gutwrench]

I joined for the graphs.

 

[Ulenspiegel]

I joined for the graphs.

I see...

 

[Scepticalscribe]

I joined when I was considering buying my first iPhone. I liked reading the discussions and decided to join.
It’s the only forum I have. I’ve also never joined FB or Twitter which probably explains my high post count.
Well that and no social life!

I joined when I switched to the Apple world, eleven years ago, and stayed.

This is the first online forum I ever joined, and, as I'm not on FB, - is (apart from Twitter) the only online community that I am a member of.

 

[Clix Pix]

At the time I joined MR, I was still using a Windows machine and knew very little about Macs. A friend had recently gotten a G5 rev B iMac and just loved it, kept telling me in email how wonderful it was, how much fun to use. I was a bit dubious, but that did prick my curiosity. I had been away from home for several months during my mother's last illness, and after I returned home to my Windows computer discovered that it was frustrating waiting for it to go through the rigamarole of virus scanning, ad-aware scanning, etc. I just wanted to be able to get on the thing and USE it! I also remembered, too, that just before I'd been called away that the CD drive had also gone on the fritz, another annoyance.

Once I got things up and running again I decided to find out a little more about these Macs, as I wanted to see if my friend had just made a terrible mistake, plus I was starting to get that "I-need-a-new-computer" itch. Maybe I'd check this Mac thing out before buying anything new. I discovered MR and started reading threads and posts and was truly startled to see that there were very few complaints, everyone seemed to actually LOVE their machines! Wow, what a concept! I found myself spending more and more time on MR even as I was still paying attention to my other forums as well. A visit to the Apple store.....a visit to Microcenter (where I really got to play with all the machines!) and now I had questions. Well, the only way to ask them and get answers was to join MR, so I did! . Arn, Doctor Q and the rest of you have been stuck with me ever since!

 

[Apple fanboy]

At the time I joined MR, I was still using a Windows machine and knew very little about Macs. A friend had recently gotten a G5 rev B iMac and just loved it, kept telling me in email how wonderful it was, how much fun to use. I was a bit dubious, but that did prick my curiosity. I had been away from home for several months during my mother's last illness, and after I returned home to my Windows computer discovered that it was frustrating waiting for it to go through the rigamarole of virus scanning, ad-aware scanning, etc. I just wanted to be able to get on the thing and USE it! I also remembered, too, that just before I'd been called away that the CD drive had also gone on the fritz, another annoyance.

Once I got things up and running again I decided to find out a little more about these Macs, as I wanted to see if my friend had just made a terrible mistake, plus I was starting to get that "I-need-a-new-computer" itch. Maybe I'd check this Mac thing out before buying anything new. I discovered MR and started reading threads and posts and was truly startled to see that there were very few complaints, everyone seemed to actually LOVE their machines! Wow, what a concept! I found myself spending more and more time on MR even as I was still paying attention to my other forums as well. A visit to the Apple store.....a visit to Microcenter (where I really got to play with all the machines!) and now I had questions. Well, the only way to ask them and get answers was to join MR, so I did! . Arn, Doctor Q and the rest of you have been stuck with me ever since!

Given all the whining about Macs these days, I wonder if you’d have made the same decision?

Personally I have never looked back. I prefer the Apple ecosystem but think Windows has improved a lot.
Plus I’d have to change my name!

 

[Clix Pix]

Given all the whining about Macs these days, I wonder if you’d have made the same decision?

Personally I have never looked back. I prefer the Apple ecosystem but think Windows has improved a lot.
Plus I’d have to change my name!

I've wondered that myself, actually. I am really glad that I arrived in the Apple ecosystem when I did! We were still in the days of PPC Macs, but it wasn't long after that -- just a few months, actually -- when the first Intel Macs arrived. It really was the iPhone which changed everything, though, and eventually people who were not part of the Apple ecosystem who only had an iPhone or were considering an iPhone joined and the mood of the site shifted....

Regardless of all the whining and moaning and carrying-on we see here on MR, I, too, have never looked back and have absolutely no plans of ever having another Windows machine. I'm more than happy and content in the Apple ecosystem and it really works for me -- I love my iDevices and my Macs!

 

[Apple fanboy]

I've wondered that myself, actually. I am really glad that I arrived in the Apple ecosystem when I did! We were still in the days of PPC Macs, but it wasn't long after that -- just a few months, actually -- when the first Intel Macs arrived. It really was the iPhone which changed everything, though, and eventually people who were not part of the Apple ecosystem who only had an iPhone or were considering an iPhone joined and the mood of the site shifted....

Regardless of all the whining and moaning and carrying-on we see here on MR, I, too, have never looked back and have absolutely no plans of ever having another Windows machine. I'm more than happy and content in the Apple ecosystem and it really works for me -- I love my iDevices and my Macs!

Couldn’t agree more.