But sometimes derailments lead to a new burst of interest in a languishing thread.
TOL Snapshot: Inside the Numbers
- Thread starter Town Heretic
- Start date
there's always homoland, OV vs. CV city, or anti-trin town :idunno:
:think: I wonder what the average productive life of a thread is...this one managed to really move inside a 24 hour period. I'll see if there's a way to find out.
I really don't know what to make of this thread TH? If you are creating a venue for big guns to brag, you have succeeded. But, why is that necessary? Those of us who post here regularly know who the big guns are.
It certainly shows me how insignificant my threads are in relation to interest generated. But when I create a thread it is because my interest has been picqued on a topic. I have thought that my advanced age put some of my interests into a category that is not interesting to the mainstream of posters here? Nevertheless, it has been a rather pleasant pastime for me.
Personally? I hope that all of us who are sort of under the radar in terms of interest generated by our threads will continue to post and share our thoughts.
Except it doesn't really work out that way...in fact, some of the heavy rep/posters don't really draw well. I was a bit surprised. And the point will vary. Someone made a point that got me looking into the numbers in a different way. Nothing more or less to it than that.
So it wasn't about stroking the egos of whales, though some might be.
And it wasn't about noting that some of them are inexplicably less popular as thread starters, though it came to that.
And it wasn't about making fun of low blow specialists, though it managed to.
And it wasn't about noting that a few undervalued posters here actually are quiet a draw, though it pointed that out.
It wasn't even about GM, even if he's likely to think so.
I think discovering some of the above could be good for people. But in the end it was and is about looking at the numbers. Just that.
Yours looked fine. Again, you have to think of this like baseball. The best averages on generated posts are well under fifty percent.
Also, some posters are like singles artists, musically. Popular in post but less popular in thread/album form. And with some it goes the other way. Their threads draw attention even while their rep doesn't benefit/reflect that.
Again, I think you do fine and your numbers, which I have somewhere around here, aren't bad at all. Like you said, you aren't trying to get to the head of the thread of the moment line. Knight does that better than probably anyone through the topic thread anyway.
:thumb: I think that's the best possible attitude. But I don't see you as being under the radar. Maybe when I get into averages you'll have an "Oh, oops!" moment. I'd hoped the baseball analogy would keep people from rushing to negatives on the numbers, or that just looking at the ones posted would give you a better sense of the low averages, numerically, being contextually something else.
But I'll clarify it before long in particular. :cheers:
I have started threads that were not to be drawn out or have 100 replies. So have others. Take Delmar's dog thread. He just wanted to honor his dog who passed, and probably isn't looking to have the thread hang around.
Yeah. I've seen a number of those. I started a handful myself, like one on a Christian prayer center scam and another on that Ragu commercial a while back. And sometimes we start one and no one cares, like the Oscars thread. :chuckle: I bet most people with 100 threads or more have hit on those notes. It will likely tend to average out.
It's much harder to figure at the lower end, where a paucity of threads could either draw people to the few a poster makes (if he or she is widely liked) or miss audiences the way any number of threads can fall through the cracks because no one is looking for the poster to make one...that sort of thing. There are so many angles to look at...that's what's so interesting about it to me.
Interesting and there are some things to be encouraged by, but it shouldn't make anyone feel worse for wear if they're looking at it right. Take my old foe Sod, who thinks this is about making him feel ineffective or something. He's not. In fact, his rep in relation to time served tells you he has at least a cadre of people who very much want to hear what he has to say. Sometimes a strident voice or a narrow focus will narrow the numbers correspondingly. So he can either grumble about not being a wider draw or enjoy the interest he does generate, or alter his method or focus and expand the base if that interests him.
It's just numbers people. No one is losing a limb. :nono:
But maybe a few of you will feel more appreciated or less marginalized.
Yeah. I've seen a number of those. I started a handful myself, like one on a Christian prayer center scam and another on that Ragu commercial a while back. And sometimes we start one and no one cares, like the Oscars thread. :chuckle: I bet most people with 100 threads or more have hit on those notes. It will likely tend to average out.
It's much harder to figure at the lower end, where a paucity of threads could either draw people to the few a poster makes (if he or she is widely liked) or miss audiences the way any number of threads can fall through the cracks because no one is looking for the poster to make one...that sort of thing. There are so many angles to look at...that's what's so interesting about it to me.
Interesting and there are some things to be encouraged by, but it shouldn't make anyone feel worse for wear if they're looking at it right. Take my old foe Sod, who thinks this is about making him feel ineffective or something. He's not. In fact, his rep in relation to time served tells you he has at least a cadre of people who very much want to hear what he has to say. Sometimes a strident voice or a narrow focus will narrow the numbers correspondingly. So he can either grumble about not being a wider draw or enjoy the interest he does generate, or alter his method or focus and expand the base if that interests him.
It's just numbers people. No one is losing a limb. :nono:
But maybe a few of you will feel more appreciated or less marginalized.
I agree! It is just numbers! And about as interesting as watching PureX malign America!
zoo22
Well-known member
Yes, we do.
There's too much to consider beyond/behind the numbers to read much into them.
Psalmist
Threads: 100
More than a thousand views: 5
More than 100 posts: 2
One of the things I think you find in examining any set of numbers, any guiding rule or point made by them is that there are exceptions to be had. That's a given.
And if you cherry pick the right poster, say one who is primarily responsible for near daily threads in celebration of birthdays, threads that by their nature won't reach either number I noted, then you might appear to make a point that, on average, you don't.
It does give me an idea though...I wonder if people who post primarily or exclusively in religious threads fare more poorly than those who concentrate politically or humorously...I suspect at the outset that they might, but I haven't looked at it yet.
I find it fascinating. I think numbers can tell us very interesting things. I noted a few in my last to you. But if you don't find it compelling I'm going to be among the very last to force you to read further.
One of the things I think you find in examining any set of numbers, any guiding rule or point made by them is that there are exceptions to be had. That's a given.
And if you cherry pick the right poster, say one who is primarily responsible for near daily threads in celebration of birthdays, threads that by their nature won't reach either number I noted, then you might appear to make a point that, on average, you don't.
It does give me an idea though...I wonder if people who post primarily or exclusively in religious threads fare more poorly than those who concentrate politically or humorously...I suspect at the outset that they might, but I haven't looked at it yet.
Well Dearie! I read everything you post, regardless!:cheers:
I find it fascinating. I think numbers can tell us very interesting things. I noted a few in my last to you. But if you don't find it compelling I'm going to be among the very last to force you to read further.
Right back at you.
Right back at you.
I read everything regardless you post.
i worked for ten years at a fortune 500 company doing statistical analysis
give me a data set and tell me what conclusion you want it to support and i'll give you a massaged set of data that supports that conclusion
It doesn't take long...finding out averages like post duration would and I won't.
But the numbers I saw and presented, which I found encouraging for the general membership and aim, were as easy as running through no more than a handful of pages per poster, making two columns and noting where the threads hit marks. A great many easily obtained numbers can give you all sorts of insights if you think about them in relation. I think there are some interesting contextual bits to explore along those lines, but it will depend on time and interest.You could argue that most of us are wasting most of our time writing on boards anyway, but if it's entertaining and/or illuminating and can be fit into, integrated into a productive life, then it's no more a waste than a round of golf or stamp collecting.
It doesn't take long...finding out averages like post duration would and I won't.
You could argue that most of us are wasting most of our time writing on boards anyway, but if it's entertaining and/or illuminating and can be fit into, integrated into a productive life, then it's no more a waste than a round of golf or stamp collecting.
Don't get nihilistic or ruin my deluded fantasies of fame and fortune via posting on here!
But I'm familiar with your point. (In a manner of speaking) it can get disheartening to know that you're wasting your time, but it's a subtle kind of reward... as are most methods of leisurely proclivities.
The thing about subtlety is that the difference is so minuscule, you can either say it's absolutely pointless, or relatively gigantic in reward. It depends upon a macro/micro perspective and I think, pragmatically it's a huge difference in comparison.
Edit: To other alternatives, supra.
It's just numbers people. No one is losing a limb. :nono:
But maybe a few of you will feel more appreciated or less marginalized.
I just wanted a few people that feel slighted to not feel so bad.