# How often are you contacted through this message board? **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [March 18, 2016, 11:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-often-are-you-contacted-through-this-message-board/749469 "2016-03-18T23:58:44Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Biggirl](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/biggirl/32/3294_2.png) [@Biggirl](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Biggirl)\ **Post date:** [March 18, 2016, 11:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-often-are-you-contacted-through-this-message-board/749469/1 "2016-03-18T23:58:44Z")
I have been here at The Dope for 16 years (missed a '99 registration date by thatmuch!) and I have had a total of 14 private messages sent to me. I have seen people who have their Skype account linked to their SDMB profile. And plenty of posters, mostly in The Pit, who claim tens (even hundreds) of supportive private contacts. This has got me thinking how pathetic my presence on this board actually is. How many private contacts have you had? Surely my paltry less-than-one-a-year has got to be a record low for a long time poster. ---
**Author:** ![jz78817](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jz78817/32/1028_2.png) [@jz78817](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jz78817)\ **Post date:** [March 18, 2016, 11:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-often-are-you-contacted-through-this-message-board/749469/2 "2016-03-18T23:59:37Z")
> [@Biggirl](#): > > I have been here at The Dope for 16 years (missed a '99 registration date by thatmuch!) and I have had a total of 14 private messages sent to me. I have seen people who have their Skype account linked to their SDMB profile. And plenty of posters, mostly in The Pit, who claim tens (even hundreds) of supportive private contacts. This has got me thinking how pathetic my presence on this board actually is. > > How many private contacts have you had? Surely my paltry less-than-one-a-year has got to be a record low for a long time poster. only a handful. mostly notifications of moderator warnings. ---
**Author:** ![Ethilrist](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ethilrist/32/4604_2.png) [@Ethilrist](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ethilrist)\ **Post date:** [March 19, 2016, 12:02am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-often-are-you-contacted-through-this-message-board/749469/3 "2016-03-19T00:02:16Z")
35 in 16 years, so about two a year. Then again, I don’t go around accumulating mod warnings, so… ---
**Author:** ![Biggirl](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/biggirl/32/3294_2.png) [@Biggirl](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Biggirl)\ **Post date:** [March 19, 2016, 12:03am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-often-are-you-contacted-through-this-message-board/749469/4 "2016-03-19T00:03:48Z")
> [@Ethilrist](#): > > 35 in 16 years, so about two a year. Then again, I don’t go around accumulating mod warnings, so… So far I’m winning the Paltry Stakes! ---
**Author:** ![Octarine](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/22d042/32.png) [@Octarine](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Octarine)\ **Post date:** [March 19, 2016, 12:06am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-often-are-you-contacted-through-this-message-board/749469/5 "2016-03-19T00:06:49Z")
14 in 2 years and a couple months. You guys are making me feel weirdly social. ---
**Author:** ![Biggirl](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/biggirl/32/3294_2.png) [@Biggirl](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Biggirl)\ **Post date:** [March 19, 2016, 12:07am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-often-are-you-contacted-through-this-message-board/749469/6 "2016-03-19T00:07:37Z")
You know, I’m thinking about this and remembering mod contact that is not showing up in my private messages. No warnings but I’m remembering a specific scuffle with an admin over a particular poster. This poster is no longer an active participant. But, hey, I was right and you were wrong, SDMB Administrator! So, I guess private messages are not a foolproof gauge. ---
**Author:** ![MandaJo](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/ac91a4/32.png) [@MandaJo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MandaJo)\ **Post date:** [March 19, 2016, 12:10am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-often-are-you-contacted-through-this-message-board/749469/7 "2016-03-19T00:10:54Z")
A couple times a year: I send one unsolicited about as often. ---
**Author:** ![doreen](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/858c86/32.png) [@doreen](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/doreen)\ **Post date:** [March 19, 2016, 12:16am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-often-are-you-contacted-through-this-message-board/749469/8 "2016-03-19T00:16:17Z")
Four in 16 years. ---
**Author:** ![Ethilrist](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ethilrist/32/4604_2.png) [@Ethilrist](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ethilrist)\ **Post date:** [March 19, 2016, 12:19am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-often-are-you-contacted-through-this-message-board/749469/9 "2016-03-19T00:19:17Z")
I just checked my actual messages rather than just the number up in the **Welcome** Ethilrist block, and the oldest is from 2007. It’s also only listing saved messages, so if you’re the type to delete them, the number’s probably off. ---
**Author:** ![cochrane](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cochrane/32/10441_2.png) [@cochrane](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/cochrane)\ **Post date:** [March 19, 2016, 12:20am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-often-are-you-contacted-through-this-message-board/749469/10 "2016-03-19T00:20:31Z")
How can you tell how many PMs you’ve had? I’ve deleted most of mine. I can say I’m contacted once in a blue moon and that I’m always surprised when I see that I have a notification. ETA: I read **Ethilrist’s** note about seeing only saved messages, so I guess there’s my answer right there. ---
**Author:** ![Biggirl](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/biggirl/32/3294_2.png) [@Biggirl](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Biggirl)\ **Post date:** [March 19, 2016, 12:30am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-often-are-you-contacted-through-this-message-board/749469/11 "2016-03-19T00:30:05Z")
What I did was, I looked at all my messages (57 of them, I don’t have enough to bother deleting them) and removed all the “re:” ones and ended up with 14. This number does not include any actual emails I’ve received to the box listed in my profile. This would boost my numbers quite a bit. However, if I stick to only “original contact”-- in effect removing the “re:” emails, I think this would boost me up to about one, perhaps 1.5 contacts per year. And here I thought I was making a difference. _sob_ ---
**Author:** ![bibliophage](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bibliophage/32/7615_2.png) [@bibliophage](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bibliophage)\ **Post date:** [March 19, 2016, 12:30am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-often-are-you-contacted-through-this-message-board/749469/12 "2016-03-19T00:30:54Z")
I seem to recall that private messaging was turned off or otherwise unavailable until about 2005. I have 24 messages in my inbox in the last 11 years. Only 5 are personal or related to posts I made as a private poster. The other 19 are somehow or other related to my former positions as a moderator or member of the SDSAB. ---
**Author:** ![Giles](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/giles/32/60_2.png) [@Giles](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Giles)\ **Post date:** [March 19, 2016, 12:52am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-often-are-you-contacted-through-this-message-board/749469/13 "2016-03-19T00:52:26Z")
24 messages in about 12 years, so about 2 per year. (However, the last one was more than 2 years ago.) ---
**Author:** ![El\_Kabong](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/el_kabong/32/496_2.png) [@El\_Kabong](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/El_Kabong)\ **Post date:** [March 19, 2016, 1:03am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-often-are-you-contacted-through-this-message-board/749469/14 "2016-03-19T01:03:19Z")
Another 16-year vet. Don’t have a total, because I delete them after a while, but I average about three messages a year. Last one was April 2015. ---
**Author:** ![OldGuy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/3bc359/32.png) [@OldGuy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/OldGuy)\ **Post date:** [March 19, 2016, 1:03am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-often-are-you-contacted-through-this-message-board/749469/15 "2016-03-19T01:03:38Z")
1 PM (other than possible broadcast PMs) since I joined. I’m a charter member so that ties me (at least) for the largest finite reciprocal frequency I guess. ---
**Author:** ![Biggirl](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/biggirl/32/3294_2.png) [@Biggirl](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Biggirl)\ **Post date:** [March 19, 2016, 1:10am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-often-are-you-contacted-through-this-message-board/749469/16 "2016-03-19T01:10:45Z")
> [@bibliophage](#): > > I seem to recall that private messaging was turned off or otherwise unavailable until about 2005. I have 24 messages in my inbox in the last 11 years. Only 5 are personal or related to posts I made as a private poster. The other 19 are somehow or other related to my former positions as a moderator or member of the SDSAB. If this is true, then I’ve got 14- 20 contacts in 11 years. Closing in on 2 contacts per year! I’m practically a Rock God! ---
**Author:** ![Trinopus](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/2bfe46/32.png) [@Trinopus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Trinopus)\ **Post date:** [March 19, 2016, 1:17am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-often-are-you-contacted-through-this-message-board/749469/17 "2016-03-19T01:17:21Z")
I send about 40 pms a year, and receive about the same number. I’ve made some really good pen-pals that way! ---
**Author:** ![rsat3acr](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/a3d4f5/32.png) [@rsat3acr](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/rsat3acr)\ **Post date:** [March 19, 2016, 1:20am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-often-are-you-contacted-through-this-message-board/749469/18 "2016-03-19T01:20:57Z")
Thirty eight. Most dental related. In dental threads I usually offer the OP or others the option for more private answers. ---
**Author:** ![Biggirl](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/biggirl/32/3294_2.png) [@Biggirl](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Biggirl)\ **Post date:** [March 19, 2016, 1:25am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-often-are-you-contacted-through-this-message-board/749469/19 "2016-03-19T01:25:10Z")
> [@rsat3acr](#): > > Thirty eight. Most dental related. In dental threads I usually offer the OP or others the option for more private answers. The secret has been revealed. I offer nothing but snark and sarcasm. ---
**Author:** ![actualliberalnotoneofthose](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/e79b87/32.png) [@actualliberalnotoneofthose](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/actualliberalnotoneofthose)\ **Post date:** [March 19, 2016, 1:28am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-often-are-you-contacted-through-this-message-board/749469/20 "2016-03-19T01:28:01Z")
Never. Not once. [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-often-are-you-contacted-through-this-message-board/749469.md?page=2)