Another look at "active users" at SDMB

[Starving_Artist]

Ah, that makes perfect sense. Thanks for the explanation.

[rowrrbazzle]

Exactly two other members joined on the same day as me. Neither one is active.

=====================
Astroglide
Last Activity: 02-06-2004 08:39 PM
Join Date
07-31-1999
Total Posts
108

nene227
Last Activity: 11-21-2001 09:21 PM
Join Date
07-31-1999
Total Posts
31

[JBDivmstr]

@Zeldar

I have to assume the assignment of “member number” is more or less automatic and is a sequential number. There do appear to be some deleted or “disappeared” numbers along the way which would make your number perhaps a little less than the actual number to have signed up before you did.

Yes. Excellent.

If you click on (or just mouseover on) your name in a post you’ve made, or on the list of threads if it’s visible there, your number is displayed. I assume you found that way?

Thanks for your participation and interest. Are there other questions about any of this “magic” that I may be able to answer for you?

You’re very welcome and I did find all of this info, quite interesting!
Mmmm… No, I think I’m pretty much ‘up to speed’, (or at least, sufficent enough for my needs.) But thank you for asking, I certainly appreciate the offer.

[Zeldar]

@ntucker

Day with the most signups: April 28, 2011, with 304 signups. However, only 2 of those are still active, so lots of people who flamed out (see below) or left is less interesting than looking at the number of signups who actually stuck around for a certain amount of time, such as 60 days.

Top 10 days for that:

(n = num signups, a = num still active, p = percent still active)
date       n    a   p
2003-01-07 34   1   3
2002-03-14 35   4   11
2003-01-08 37   3   8
2003-01-09 38   1   3
2003-01-10 38   5   13
2002-03-13 39   6   15
1999-03-14 43   5   12
1999-03-11 49   7   14
2002-03-12 58   8   14
2002-03-11 107  27 25

The date with the highest number of now-banned users is, unsurprisingly, April 28, 2011 (232 banned users). The next highest is Jan 4, 2011, with 83 banned users.

As of rowrrbazzle’s post we have had 44 unique individuals post to this thread and I have attached their User Number and Julian Day to whatever details they have provided. Given the wonderful stats that ntucker has provided, I’m hoping others will find some interest in the poster who is closest to the key dates below:

Day with the most signups: April 28, 2011
Moonlitherial Join Date: 03-09-2010 http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/member.php?u=89087 2455264

Top 10 days for that:

2003-01-07 34
ntucker Join Date: 11-25-2002 http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/member.php?u=27180 2452603

2002-03-14 35
Biffy the Elephant Shrew
Join Date: 3-29-02 http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/member.php?u=20699 2452362

2003-01-08 37
2003-01-09 38
2003-01-10 38
ntucker Join Date: 11-25-2002 http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/member.php?u=27180 2452603

2002-03-13 39
Biffy the Elephant Shrew
Join Date: 3-29-02 http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/member.php?u=20699 2452362

1999-03-14 43
1999-03-11 49
OpalCat Join Date: 3/11/1999 http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/member.php?u=36 2451248

2002-03-12 58
2002-03-11 107
Biffy the Elephant Shrew
Join Date: 3-29-02 http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/member.php?u=20699 2452362

The date with the highest number of now-banned users is, unsurprisingly, April 28, 2011 (232 banned users).
Moonlitherial Join Date: 03-09-2010 http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/member.php?u=89087 2455264

The next highest is Jan 4, 2011, with 83 banned users.
Moonlitherial Join Date: 03-09-2010 http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/member.php?u=89087 2455264

=====================================

Does anybody else have the urge to locate even closer Active Users to these dates?

It pleases me no end to find how many others enjoy dabbling in these trivia. It’s good to know I’m not alone in that interest.

[Crotalus]

What happened on 4/28/11 that made it unsurprising that we had so many banned users sign up that day?

[MissTake]

Join date: 07-30-02
User: 24180

Other users joined CST:
Brilharma: Last Activity: 11-28-2011 (only 113 posts, though)
HotVespaMama: Last Activity: 08-01-2002 (4 posts)
Smootheeo: Last Activity: 08-14-2002 (1 post)
zlm: Last Activity: 09-15-2003 (2 posts)
bequita: Last Activity: 07-30-2002 (no posts)
D. Allwood: Last Activity: 07-30-2002 (no posts)
camorgan: Last Activity: 07-30-2002 (no posts)
godogsgo13: Last Activity: 08-22-2002 (23 posts)
Kenvan: Last Activity: 07-30-2002 (no posts)
kindadizzy: Last Activity: 09-05-2002 (2 posts)
Crazy Ivan: Last Activity: 08-01-2002 (no post)
scifioo7: Last Activity: 07-30-2002 (2 posts)
LocalsOnly: Last Activity: 12-19-2005 (2 posts)
lothos2002: Last Activity: 10-23-2003 (319 posts)
MissTake: Last Activity: Today 09:13 AM (2683 posts)
saintp: Last Activity: 05-04-2003 (2 posts)
Ken Mondschein: Last Activity: 11-21-2003 (2 posts)
ohlssonvox: Last Activity: 10-06-2003 (46 posts)
mikeash: Last Activity: 07-31-2002 (no posts)
HagopT: Last Activity: 07-30-2002 (no posts)
BoodleHeimer: Last Activity: 08-01-2002 (1 post)
datcat7: Last Activity: 01-10-2003 (no posts)
bearleft: Last Activity: 07-30-2002 (no posts)
KC2CG4everL Last Activity: 07-31-2002 (no posts)
vanilla-coke: Last Activity: 08-18-2002 (2 posts)
slow (v.i.): Last Activity: 08-18-2002 (no posts: banned)
SCott: Last Activity: 07-30-2002 (no posts)

So, of 27 that joined, only 2 (myself and Brilharma) are active.

[Gyrate]

@ntucker

Day with the most signups: April 28, 2011, with 304 signups. However, only 2 of those are still active, so lots of people who flamed out (see below) or left is less interesting than looking at the number of signups who actually stuck around for a certain amount of time, such as 60 days. Top 10 days for that:

(n = num signups, a = num still active, p = percent still active)
date       n    a   p
1999-03-11 49   7   14
1999-03-14 43   5   12
2002-03-11 107  27 25
2002-03-12 58   8   14
2002-03-13 39   6   15
2002-03-14 35   4   11
2003-01-07 34   1   3
2003-01-08 37   3   8
2003-01-09 38   1   3
2003-01-10 38   5   13

That needs some clumping:
March 11 and 14 1999 - 92 12 13
March 11-14 2002 - 239 45 19
Jan 7-10 2003 - 147 10 7

Interesting. What happened on those dates?

[spinky]

@Zeldar

Does anybody else have the urge to locate even closer Active Users to these dates?

I just uploaded this CSV file that should make that a bit easier. First, it’s sorted by user id, so everyone that joined consecutively is clumped (the old version was mostly sorted by user id, but not perfectly). Second, I added two derived columns, “days active”, which is the number of days between their last activity and their join date, and “days inactive”, which is the number of days since their last activity (as of about a day ago). So all you need to do is scroll to the date of interest in the file and find someone whose last column is less than 75*.

@Crotalus

What happened on 4/28/11 that made it unsurprising that we had so many banned users sign up that day?

Oh, that was the day with the most signups ever (304 users), but with a very low number that actually stuck around. So when it popped up as the biggest ban day, I wasn’t super surprised. I don’t know what real world event occurred around then.

*I guess I forgot to mention this, but based on looking at my data, I’ve determined that the SDMB uses activity within the last 75 days for its “active user” count.

[Zeldar]

@ntucker

I just uploaded this CSV file that should make that a bit easier. First, it’s sorted by user id, so everyone that joined consecutively is clumped (the old version was mostly sorted by user id, but not perfectly). Second, I added two derived columns, “days active”, which is the number of days between their last activity and their join date, and “days inactive”, which is the number of days since their last activity (as of about a day ago). So all you need to do is scroll to the date of interest in the file and find someone whose last column is less than 75*.

I finally was able to download this amazing document! I can see that almost all my questions have answers there.

Thanks, ntucker

[Musicat]

@Crotalus

What happened on 4/28/11 that made it unsurprising that we had so many banned users sign up that day?

Probably a spambot breakthru, a chink in our armor, a loophole in the code, a slip in security.

Or else the mods went on a rampage when they heard their salary was being cut back from two goats to one.

[spinky]

One oddity: I was grepping for “BANNED” and suddenly wondered if there were any users who had the word “BANNED” in all caps in their username. Turns out there are three users with the exact name “BANNED” (userids 6661, 6929, and 6946). Wonder why that is. This led me to wonder how many other usernames had been used more than once: 94 different names, 18 of them used more than twice. The top name (with 6 entries) is MSKULP (consecutive userids 23734-23739), and the second (with 4) is tiggeril (ids 6969, 7276, 7333, and 7336).

Fascinating…

[Zeldar]

@ntucker

One oddity: I was grepping for “BANNED” and suddenly wondered if there were any users who had the word “BANNED” in all caps in their username. Turns out there are three users with the exact name “BANNED” (userids 6661, 6929, and 6946). Wonder why that is. This led me to wonder how many other usernames had been used more than once: 94 different names, 18 of them used more than twice. The top name (with 6 entries) is MSKULP (consecutive userids 23734-23739), and the second (with 4) is tiggeril (ids 6969, 7276, 7333, and 7336).

Fascinating…

There’s also the little glitch where Username causes the CSV parsing to split it into another column, thus throwing off that row’s column alignment(s).

I would bet the fun to be had examining these bits of trivia and why they are as they are, could be a geek’s holiday.

Your basic can of worms!

[spinky]

@Musicat

Probably a spambot breakthru

I’d say this is pretty likely. Browsing the usernames, they are mostly of the form Firstname Lastname and have that “automatically generated spam sender name” quality that I can’t quite put my finger on. Here’s a sampling:

Jay Unzicker
Ellie Hutt
Tamela Raniero
Gaye Edith
Elsy Hilferty
Irwin Huff
Porfirio Rossmann
Myles Medus
Josiah Scollard
Simon Kluz
Domingo Randazzo
Gavin Garand
Arlena Yocum
Dedra Valadez
Corliss Vanbenthuyse
Williams Deters
Marceline Torbeck
Blair Benfield
Janise Sylvester
Timmy Groves
Lynn Walstrum
Sergio Gonzalea
Missy Penderel
Lanie Asma
Leeanne Woodend
Jacob Mcmonagle
Willis Dominico
Connie Ludington

[OpalCat]

@Gyrate

That needs some clumping:
March 11 and 14 1999 - 92 12 13
March 11-14 2002 - 239 45 19
Jan 7-10 2003 - 147 10 7

Interesting. What happened on those dates?

I’m pretty sure 3/11/99 was the day the board opened to public sign-ups. Tuba Diva and Cecil Adams signed up on 3/10, for example, so I think that was the day they were finishing setting it up and getting it ready. I’m pretty sure I joined the day it opened.

[Spoons]

My user number: 9680

There were 23 signups in the range of others who signed up the day I did (September 21, 2000): users 9674 to 9697 inclusive.

User:  Username:      Posts:    Last Activity:

9674   spunky_monkey      2       12-15-2000
9675   cabbagefreak       1       09-21-2000
9676   broomriders        1       10-24-2001
9677   Zenman             8       09-13-2001
9678   daiseyfreak        0       09-21-2000
9679   Lucki Chaarms   1271       11-12-2004
9680   Spoons          7182       today
9681   King Rat         667       unavailable
9682   pluteus_larva      1       06-06-2001
9683   kfury              0       11-27-2000
9684   NativeSon          0       09-27-2000
9685   Capt_Yellow       10       03-25-2003, banned
9686   landellian         4       09-22-2000
9687   Tigno              0       09-28-2000
9688   bcboy              2       10-25-2009
9689   headshok         525       03-11-2011
9690   Asianmagik        27       10-31-2000
9691   bugg              82       05-20-2009
9692   Jacki              1       11-05-2000
9693   nssj420            0       09-21-2000
9694   Stuman             2       06-15-2001
9695   Chris Sousa       13       08-09-2007
9696   Capiz              6       07-21-2001
9697   Kieras            97       10-30-2003

I was trying to make a table for you for ease of reading, but I couldn’t get it to work with either the Courier or Code tags. PHP did work, but somehow it turned out blue. Hope it’s of some use anyway.

Just as a little bit of commentary, it was an interesting exercise to go through. I do remember posts by Lucki Chaarms long ago, but the others I don’t recall at all.

[OpalCat]

@Spoons

I was trying to make a table for you for ease of reading, but I couldn’t get it to work with either the Courier or Code tags. PHP did work, but somehow it turned out blue. Hope it’s of some use anyway.

No! It’s not of any use! The blue renders it unusable! AAAAAHHH!!!

[spinky]

@Zeldar

There’s also the little glitch where Username causes the CSV parsing to split it into another column, thus throwing off that row’s column alignment(s).

BTW, this is why I quoted the username and title columns. Most CSV parsers (e.g. excel’s CSV import) are smart enough to treat a quoted string as a single column, even if it contains commas. It makes it difficult if you’re using a tool that splits strictly based on a specific delimiter character (e.g. awk), though.

[Chronos]

Quoth OpalCat:
User number 36, join date 3/11/1999

Others registered on the same day (* denotes active users):
…
Karen
…

I’m pretty sure that that’s the same person as Karen Lingel, who still posts sporadically. Back in the day, sometimes when a person changed their name, it was processed as a new user.

Quoth Jack Batty:
I’m curious what the “look alike troll” thing was all about. The first Ayesha sig reads: “Hi, I’m a lookalike troll! Lynn put this in my sig!”

For a while there we had a repeat-offender sockpuppet who was using the Ender exploit on well-established usernames. The banned name you see there isn’t actually “Ayesha”, it’s "Ayesha " (with an extra space at the end), or something of that sort. The extra space is stripped out by your webbrowser, so it looks the same, but (at the time) the system treated it as a separate username. Truly identical usernames are not possible: I think the multiple folks named “BANNED” were a result of the admins using the same exploit to change the name of the sock-puppeteer.

Now, that exploit (and a family of others similar to it) has been closed by the folks who make vBulletin. The existing lookalike names remain in the database, but it’s no longer possible to create new ones.

[Zeldar]

@ntucker

BTW, this is why I quoted the username and title columns. Most CSV parsers (e.g. excel’s CSV import) are smart enough to treat a quoted string as a single column, even if it contains commas. It makes it difficult if you’re using a tool that splits strictly based on a specific delimiter character (e.g. awk), though.

After a couple hours using the basic maneuvers and cut/paste actions, I was able to get all the junk into the right columns. Since most of the trash was for BANNED types, I can’t be too worried if I got their names right.

Thanks for stripping off the zero-posts people. That reduced the overall size to 55025 rows and a 9 Meg file.

Whether it’s time zone differences or some other magic, the Join Date and Last Activity Date make some of the lookups we’ve had reported in this thread to differ substantially from what appears on your upload. So making any definitive statements about Biggest Day or Biggest BANNED Day or any of those things a bit suspect. We might need all the analysis done by one person (or at least people in the same time zone) if we wanted to be able to claim any superlatives or other hotsy-totsy trivia.

It’s still fun though – if you like that sort of thing.

[OpalCat]

@Chronos

I’m pretty sure that that’s the same person as Karen Lingel, who still posts sporadically. Back in the day, sometimes when a person changed their name, it was processed as a new user.

I don’t know that name. I know her as Karen Hickerson, and I visited her down in NC when Dominic was just a little kid. She married a guy off the boards named Dan.