Damn! Yours beats mine by four months! Not too long ago my oldest thread was almost exactly one year old. I guess I have picked up my pace. Nothing like yours, though. Wonder whose is closest to today.
Is 750 posts the default lookback for everybody?
ETA: My misleading stats are
Total Posts: 15,081
Posts Per Day: 4.81
Perhaps I wasn’t clear in the OP. I do know how to look at older threads than the ones that show up in an “Advanced Search” on Username with no adjustments to the search criteria.
But if all one does is that minimal amount of criteria setting, it’s my experience that 30 pages (25 posts per page) or 750 threads’ worth is what comes back.
I was wanting to get a gauge, from those willing to share, of how far back your “oldest thread” takes you. Mine is less than a year’s worth.
This any clearer on what I was hoping to learn from other posters?
Thanks for asking, by the way. I see there’s my usual lack of clarity going on.
To address your point of the lack of usernames in that old post, I recall somebody remembering roughly when the appearance of Usernames began. They may have even pointed to the actual thread. That part isn’t as clear in my memory. It does make for some fun digging though, right? Maybe we can locate the very thread!
Beautiful! Now you’ve set the pace for oldest visible thread from a simple vanity search. Who can beat that one?
While we’re at those kinds of stats, who can beat 10 posts per day from their profile? I know that my 4.81 include longish periods on zero posts per day, since I have taken several “breaks” from even visiting SDMB.
Ike Witt already did: August '99. I’m second so far, with April 2000. The one thing this shows me is that I was an idiot 12 years ago! God, I won’t be doing this (vanity search) again.
If I search on the “find posts by” half of the search page and set it to look way back, I end up with my first post (10-14-1999). I killed an otherwise interesting thread (an unfortunate pattern that would repeat itself over the next thirteen years): Favorite shows, hated episodes
If I put Rhythmdvl in the left half of the search box (is *that *what people mean by ‘vanity search’?) and set no other parameters, the oldest thread isn’t that much later: 11-16-2000.
I’d long forgotten about it, but it’s fascination. In a thread simple titled CIA, now-banned member Peace quoted/asked a GD question about a thread I’d started on 11-14-2000: Legitimate critiques of the CIA. The basic ideas that started the thread(s) was my generalized disdain for the CIA and quest for a credible cites to test the assumptions behind the disdain.
The fascinating bit (to me, at least, now I know why they’re called ‘vanity’ searches), is date on the thread and the following quote from the OP:
What I was trying to find, from those willing to share the info, was when you do an Advanced Search and “Find Posts by User” on your Username, and don’t adjust any of the search criteria, assuming yours read:
Search by User Name
User Name: <<< Your Username >>>
Find Posts by User User <<< Your Username >>> Exact name
Search Options
Find Threads with At Least 0 Replies
Find Posts from Any Date
Sort Results by Last Posting Date in Descending Order
Show Results as Threads
Search in Forum(s)
Search All Open Forums
============================
After the search returns its results, go to the last page in the search and locate the oldest thread on that page. That’s the one I wanted to see.
I’m not sure how others use the term “vanity search” and I suppose a case could be made for either your Username as a “keyword” or with your Username to locate all threads you posted to. It’s the second option I meant in the OP, but I think the more “vain” of such searches is where others refer to your name in threads where you didn’t even post. Thus you can see where others are talking about you behind your back!
I have observed deliberate misspellings of names that would prevent this level of “vanity search” from even working.
I really didn’t mean to be vague on the purpose of this thread, but it appears the interpretations have been varied and many.
I average 0.3 posts per day but my username is shared with a popular superhero and university mascot.
Vanity search for “Wolverine” in keyword (how else do find if other people are talking about you?) Name and Exemplify Superhero Syndromes dated 9-21-2005
Vanity search for “Wolverine” in user posts (barely makes it to page 30) What do you live by? dated 8-23-2000
I imagine most posters will see the same pattern-descendingly ordered date will be later than the ascendingly-ordred date. But would anyone with a post-count of less than 750 reverse that? Hey lurkers–care to try it out?