# How much longer can the SDMB last? **URL:** \ **Category:** About This Message Board\ **Created:** [December 8, 2006, 2:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-much-longer-can-the-sdmb-last/383339 "2006-12-08T14:26:29Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![Skywatcher](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/skywatcher/32/254_2.png) [@Skywatcher](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Skywatcher)\ **Post date:** [December 8, 2006, 8:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-much-longer-can-the-sdmb-last/383339/21 "2006-12-08T20:34:01Z")
Gah! That should’ve said “abrasive”! ---
**Author:** ![elmwood](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/elmwood/32/3060_2.png) [@elmwood](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/elmwood)\ **Post date:** [December 8, 2006, 8:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-much-longer-can-the-sdmb-last/383339/22 "2006-12-08T20:36:24Z")
Technically, the board could continue for decades. There might be better forum software that can import vBulletin data, and ten years later another forum program can import data from the previous forum, and so on. The big issues: recruiting members, maintaining and restoring the archive of old posts, server horsepower, and the will of the Reader to continue maintaining it. If they stop, I wonder if they’ll let a successor forum import the old SDMB data. ---
**Author:** ![Exapno\_Mapcase](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/exapno_mapcase/32/1051_2.png) [@Exapno\_Mapcase](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Exapno_Mapcase)\ **Post date:** [December 8, 2006, 9:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-much-longer-can-the-sdmb-last/383339/23 "2006-12-08T21:02:27Z")
[QUOTE=Sal Ammoniac] But will it still be here when I’m 64? [/QUOTE] Depends. Are you 63? ---
**Author:** ![Hung\_Mung](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/a88e4f/32.png) [@Hung\_Mung](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hung_Mung)\ **Post date:** [December 8, 2006, 9:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-much-longer-can-the-sdmb-last/383339/24 "2006-12-08T21:37:22Z")
[QUOTE=Exapno Mapcase] Depends. Are you 63? [/QUOte] Is it necessary to bring adult diapers in to this discussion? ---
**Author:** ![OneCentStamp](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/13edae/32.png) [@OneCentStamp](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/OneCentStamp)\ **Post date:** [December 8, 2006, 10:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-much-longer-can-the-sdmb-last/383339/25 "2006-12-08T22:08:44Z")
[QUOTE=astro] Google will start buying the larger message boards soon just for the eyeballs as traffic drivers. If the price is right the Reader will sell us. Bank on it. [/QUOTE] Good! Google would never suffer the board to run this slowly and erratically. 😃 ---
**Author:** ![Cat\_Whisperer](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cat_whisperer/32/4839_2.png) [@Cat\_Whisperer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cat_Whisperer)\ **Post date:** [December 8, 2006, 10:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-much-longer-can-the-sdmb-last/383339/26 "2006-12-08T22:28:17Z")
[QUOTE=astro] \If the price is right the Reader will sell us. Bank on it. [/QUOTE] They can sell us? What the heck was in that user agreement that I agreed to, anyway? ---
**Author:** ![According\_to\_Pliny](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/8e7dd6/32.png) [@According\_to\_Pliny](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/According_to_Pliny)\ **Post date:** [December 8, 2006, 10:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-much-longer-can-the-sdmb-last/383339/27 "2006-12-08T22:53:22Z")
Sure they can sell you. Rules against slavery went out with due process and writs of habeas corpus. But on the other hand, you have gained the right to get no-bid contracts, so if you are a billionaire, it works out. ---
**Author:** ![Baron\_Greenback](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/baron_greenback/32/48_2.png) [@Baron\_Greenback](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Baron_Greenback)\ **Post date:** [December 8, 2006, 11:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-much-longer-can-the-sdmb-last/383339/28 "2006-12-08T23:02:28Z")
[QUOTE=Epimetheus] According to [Alexa.com](http://Alexa.com)’s traffic report: [Alexa](http://www.alexa.com/data/details/traffic_details?q=&url=straightdope.com) It looks like there is at least an average of 6-8 million pageviews on this site per day. One peak at 15 million daily views. [/QUOTE] Those stats include the front page though, surely? What happened in the middle of September to bump it to 15 million views? Did one of the columns get Farked, Dugg ar slashdotted? ---
**Author:** ![Frylock](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/ce7236/32.png) [@Frylock](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Frylock)\ **Post date:** [December 8, 2006, 11:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-much-longer-can-the-sdmb-last/383339/29 "2006-12-08T23:06:04Z")
Dang, the SDMB is near the bottom if you rank the boards by “number of posts in the last week.” -FrL- ---
**Author:** ![Frylock](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/ce7236/32.png) [@Frylock](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Frylock)\ **Post date:** [December 8, 2006, 11:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-much-longer-can-the-sdmb-last/383339/30 "2006-12-08T23:07:48Z")
Meanwhile, a bulletin board “dedicated to horses (in dutch)” is at 16th place with 181675 posts in the last week. Compare SDMB’s approx. 950 posts in the last week. Is there really that much to say about horses? In dutch? -FrL- ---
**Author:** ![Baron\_Greenback](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/baron_greenback/32/48_2.png) [@Baron\_Greenback](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Baron_Greenback)\ **Post date:** [December 8, 2006, 11:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-much-longer-can-the-sdmb-last/383339/31 "2006-12-08T23:23:56Z")
[QUOTE=Frylock] Meanwhile, a bulletin board “dedicated to horses (in dutch)” is at 16th place with 181675 posts in the last week. Compare SDMB’s approx. 950 posts in the last week. Is there really that much to say about horses? In dutch? -FrL- [/QUOTE] I’m leery of these stats. Perhaps the Dutch board reloaded a bunch of older posts? The SDMB certainly had more than 950 posts last week. Was it perhaps a net gain of 950, with some older ones being archived? ---
**Author:** ![Phantom\_Dennis](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/51bf81/32.png) [@Phantom\_Dennis](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Phantom_Dennis)\ **Post date:** [December 9, 2006, 12:10am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-much-longer-can-the-sdmb-last/383339/32 "2006-12-09T00:10:31Z")
We’re ranked #72 out of English language boards, for what it’s worth. ---
**Author:** ![Morbo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/morbo/32/389_2.png) [@Morbo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Morbo)\ **Post date:** [December 9, 2006, 12:11am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-much-longer-can-the-sdmb-last/383339/33 "2006-12-09T00:11:49Z")
[QUOTE=Frylock] Is there really that much to say about horses? In dutch? [/QUOTE] Paarden? ---
**Author:** ![capybara](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/capybara/32/202_2.png) [@capybara](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/capybara)\ **Post date:** [December 9, 2006, 12:23am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-much-longer-can-the-sdmb-last/383339/34 "2006-12-09T00:23:05Z")
Dooku-- smack! ---
**Author:** ![samclem](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/a9a28c/32.png) [@samclem](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/samclem)\ **Post date:** [December 9, 2006, 12:41am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-much-longer-can-the-sdmb-last/383339/35 "2006-12-09T00:41:23Z")
[QUOTE=Frylock] Meanwhile, a bulletin board “dedicated to horses (in dutch)” is at 16th place with 181675 posts in the last week. Compare SDMB’s approx. 950 posts in the last week. Is there really that much to say about horses? In dutch? -FrL- [/QUOTE] When I log on after work in the evening, there are about 290 new posts/day. When I get up in the AM, there are about 125 new posts. That’s about 400/day, or 2800/week. Their stats suck. ---
**Author:** ![Morbo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/morbo/32/389_2.png) [@Morbo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Morbo)\ **Post date:** [December 9, 2006, 12:41am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-much-longer-can-the-sdmb-last/383339/36 "2006-12-09T00:41:27Z")
🙂 ---
**Author:** ![Quasimodem](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/q/e274bd/32.png) [@Quasimodem](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Quasimodem)\ **Post date:** [December 9, 2006, 12:41am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-much-longer-can-the-sdmb-last/383339/37 "2006-12-09T00:41:53Z")
\*\*If \*\*_The Dope_ was (were?) sold… If that were to happen, and if it was _GOOGLE_ who bought it, 1. Since Cecil is affiliated with _The Chicago Reader_, how would that impact him? Would he then become a _GOOGLE_ employee? 2. Would the board be able to function as it now does with mod management and rules left intact? The above based on pure speculation whith only what I read here as my reason for asking. Thanks Q ---
**Author:** ![Freddy\_the\_Pig](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/a587f6/32.png) [@Freddy\_the\_Pig](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Freddy_the_Pig)\ **Post date:** [December 9, 2006, 2:10am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-much-longer-can-the-sdmb-last/383339/38 "2006-12-09T02:10:38Z")
[QUOTE=Frylock] Meanwhile, a bulletin board “dedicated to horses (in dutch)” is at 16th place with 181675 posts in the last week. [/QUOTE] Criminy. There must have been a _really_ controversial finish in the Amsterdam Derby! That’s 18 posts per minute–for an entire week. I don’t think we could reach that level even if every Doper got a new cat on the same day. ---
**Author:** ![elmwood](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/elmwood/32/3060_2.png) [@elmwood](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/elmwood)\ **Post date:** [December 9, 2006, 3:45am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-much-longer-can-the-sdmb-last/383339/39 "2006-12-09T03:45:40Z")
[QUOTE=Struan] I’m leery of these stats. Perhaps the Dutch board reloaded a bunch of older posts? The SDMB certainly had more than 950 posts last week. Was it perhaps a net gain of 950, with some older ones being _archived?_ [/QUOTE] You spelled “deleted” wrong. The 950 post/week gain is probably right, though, considering that many messages are removed every week. My board doesn’t get a tenth of the traffic of the SDMB, but it gets about 1200 to 1500 posts a week. ---
**Author:** ![Hypnagogic\_Jerk](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/hypnagogic_jerk/32/4252_2.png) [@Hypnagogic\_Jerk](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hypnagogic_Jerk)\ **Post date:** [December 9, 2006, 7:44am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-much-longer-can-the-sdmb-last/383339/40 "2006-12-09T07:44:07Z")
[QUOTE=Cluricaun] Message boards I think, as rated on [Big Boards](http://www.big-boards.com/board/15/) [/QUOTE] This link is interesting. I see that the board reached a peak of about 6,825,000 posts last January, after which it declined for a while. The admins now seem to be trying to keep the board at around 6,700,000 posts by removing some. The biggest purge was in the second week of February, with a net loss of almost 70,000 posts. The gross number of removed posts was certainly bigger than that. Our number of members seems to grow linearly since at least a year. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-much-longer-can-the-sdmb-last/383339.md?page=1) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-much-longer-can-the-sdmb-last/383339.md?page=3)