# Forum ids

**URL:** <https://boards.straightdope.com/t/forum-ids/47577>\
**Category:** About This Message Board\
**Created:** [December 28, 2000, 10:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/forum-ids/47577 "2000-12-28T22:32:55Z")\
**Posts on this page:** 4\
**Page:** 1

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**Author:** ![Cantrip](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/9f8e36/32.png) [@Cantrip](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cantrip)\
**Post date:** [December 28, 2000, 10:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/forum-ids/47577/1 "2000-12-28T22:32:55Z")

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I notice that when I click on a forum to open the TOC (or TOT, for Table of Threads), each forum is assigned an id. But the id numbers seem to be random. For example, CCC is forumid=1 (which makes sense), but the Pit is 5, GD is 7, etc. And there aren’t 12 fora (now, at least), but IMHO’s id=12. Is there any rhyme or reason behind this? Is it a leftover from UBB? Is it a nefarious plot?

Not that this information would be particularly practical or anything, but I was just wondering why the fora weren’t in order from top to bottom (either rearranging the placement on the main screen or renumbering the fora so that the numbers were in order).

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**Author:** ![SmackFu](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/53a042/32.png) [@SmackFu](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SmackFu)\
**Post date:** [December 29, 2000, 12:04am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/forum-ids/47577/2 "2000-12-29T00:04:40Z")

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It has been discussed before:

[http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?threadid=37401](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?threadid=37401)  
[http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?threadid=46883](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?threadid=46883)

The short answer is that once upon a time there used to be archive forums that took up the skipped numbers. They were killed at the great switch, but for sanity’s sake, the existing forums weren’t renumbered.

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**Author:** ![Cantrip](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/9f8e36/32.png) [@Cantrip](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cantrip)\
**Post date:** [December 29, 2000, 2:37am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/forum-ids/47577/3 "2000-12-29T02:37:49Z")

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Thanks, **smackfu**. Should’ve done a search before posting. Ah, well.

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**Author:** ![Just\_Call\_Me\_Tech-Mex](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/b5a626/32.png) [@Just\_Call\_Me\_Tech-Mex](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Just_Call_Me_Tech-Mex)\
**Post date:** [December 29, 2000, 2:54am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/forum-ids/47577/4 "2000-12-29T02:54:33Z")

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[Whut th’ Hell?](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?threadid=35301)

One more for the list.