# 20 posts to a page?

**URL:** <https://boards.straightdope.com/t/20-posts-to-a-page/273121>\
**Category:** About This Message Board\
**Created:** [November 5, 2004, 3:14am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/20-posts-to-a-page/273121 "2004-11-05T03:14:19Z")\
**Posts on this page:** 5\
**Page:** 1

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**Author:** ![Rilchiam](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/2bfe46/32.png) [@Rilchiam](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rilchiam)\
**Post date:** [November 5, 2004, 3:14am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/20-posts-to-a-page/273121/1 "2004-11-05T03:14:19Z")

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I’m looking at a multi-page Cafe Society thread [http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?t=283649&page=4&pp=20](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?t=283649&page=4&pp=20) that has 20 posts to a page. Why?

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**Author:** ![Chronos](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chronos/32/134_2.png) [@Chronos](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chronos)\
**Post date:** [November 5, 2004, 3:48am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/20-posts-to-a-page/273121/2 "2004-11-05T03:48:49Z")

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Let me guess: You got to that thread via a link posted by someone else.

Posts per page isn’t something inherent to a thread. The default for any thread is 50, but if you have a different number in your preferences, you’ll see that number. This is done via a slightly different URL, which tells the server to deliver the appropriate number of posts per page. In that URL you posted, you notice the “&pp=20” at the end? If you delete that, you’ll see the default of 50 per page.

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**Author:** ![Berkut](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/a88e57/32.png) [@Berkut](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Berkut)\
**Post date:** [November 5, 2004, 3:51am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/20-posts-to-a-page/273121/3 "2004-11-05T03:51:25Z")

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[Yikes! That thread is over a hundred pages!](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?t=283649&page=4&pp=1)

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**Author:** ![Rilchiam](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/2bfe46/32.png) [@Rilchiam](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rilchiam)\
**Post date:** [November 5, 2004, 3:56am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/20-posts-to-a-page/273121/4 "2004-11-05T03:56:10Z")

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> [@Chronos](#):
>
> Let me guess: You got to that thread via a link posted by someone else.
> 
> Posts per page isn’t something inherent to a thread. The default for any thread is 50, but if you have a different number in your preferences, you’ll see that number. This is done via a slightly different URL, which tells the server to deliver the appropriate number of posts per page. In that URL you posted, you notice the “&pp=20” at the end? If you delete that, you’ll see the default of 50 per page.

Ohhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh.

Thank you!

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**Author:** ![Nightwatch\_Trailer](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/9dc877/32.png) [@Nightwatch\_Trailer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Nightwatch_Trailer)\
**Post date:** [November 5, 2004, 4:36am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/20-posts-to-a-page/273121/5 "2004-11-05T04:36:12Z")

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I have read that thread only once. Just now. For 20 posts.