# Most Prolific Poster? **URL:** \ **Category:** About This Message Board\ **Created:** [August 5, 2002, 8:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/most-prolific-poster/122471 "2002-08-05T20:15:52Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![rivit](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/c0e974/32.png) [@rivit](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/rivit)\ **Post date:** [August 5, 2002, 8:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/most-prolific-poster/122471/1 "2002-08-05T20:15:52Z")
I’m more of a lurker than a poster and for some reason I started paying attention to the post counter that accompanies each profile. I’ve noticed that several people are in the 4,000s and I’ve seen a couple who are up to 5,000, but who has posted the most on the SDMB? Is there an area that I’m missing that ranks the top posters? rivit ---
**Author:** ![cmkeller](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cmkeller/32/118_2.png) [@cmkeller](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/cmkeller)\ **Post date:** [August 5, 2002, 8:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/most-prolific-poster/122471/2 "2002-08-05T20:49:51Z")
I think **handy** is currently in the lead, with over 12,000 posts. ---
**Author:** ![stockton](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/b5a626/32.png) [@stockton](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/stockton)\ **Post date:** [August 6, 2002, 12:51am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/most-prolific-poster/122471/3 "2002-08-06T00:51:16Z")
…quantity does NOT always equal quality. You’ll see. ---
**Author:** ![DeadlyAccurate](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/ac91a4/32.png) [@DeadlyAccurate](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DeadlyAccurate)\ **Post date:** [August 6, 2002, 2:54am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/most-prolific-poster/122471/4 "2002-08-06T02:54:16Z")
I believe it’s **handy** , then **Coldfire** , then **Guinastasia**. **handy** has 12,848 at last count. ---
**Author:** ![Violet](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/v/ebca7d/32.png) [@Violet](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Violet)\ **Post date:** [August 6, 2002, 6:18am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/most-prolific-poster/122471/5 "2002-08-06T06:18:02Z")
I’ve found many of **handy** ’s post to be helpful. ---
**Author:** ![douglips](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/e68b1a/32.png) [@douglips](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/douglips)\ **Post date:** [August 6, 2002, 6:47am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/most-prolific-poster/122471/6 "2002-08-06T06:47:48Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Violet \* > \*\*I’ve found many of **handy** ’s post to be helpful. \*\* The trouble is the S/N ratio. ---
**Author:** ![Violet](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/v/ebca7d/32.png) [@Violet](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Violet)\ **Post date:** [August 6, 2002, 7:34am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/most-prolific-poster/122471/7 "2002-08-06T07:34:45Z")
> [@](#): > > The trouble is the S/N ratio. What’s that? ---
**Author:** ![Crusoe](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/49beb7/32.png) [@Crusoe](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Crusoe)\ **Post date:** [August 6, 2002, 7:36am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/most-prolific-poster/122471/8 "2002-08-06T07:36:52Z")
Signal to noise – a phrase used to indicate the ratio of a poster’s helpful and high-quality output vs misleading and downright inaccurate posts. ---
**Author:** ![tomndebb](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/b9e5f3/32.png) [@tomndebb](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/tomndebb)\ **Post date:** [August 6, 2002, 7:47am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/most-prolific-poster/122471/9 "2002-08-06T07:47:36Z")
> [@](#): > > > [@](#): > > > > The trouble is the S/N ratio. > > What’s that? Signal to Noise ratio. When interpreting incoming electronic signals (radio, radar, sonar, or other electronic measuring devices) there is always “noise” along with the “signal” (think of the hiss on AM radios when the weather is bad or the signal is weak). The S/N ratio indicates whether there is more “signal” (information) or more “noise” (unintelligible gibberish or random sounds). Which could lead to a more appropriate **General Question** : Did “Signal to Noise ratio” originate in radio? In radar? In sonar? Or in some other electronic telemetric situation? * * * Tom~ _“No one is entirely useless: they can always serve as a bad example.”_ ---
**Author:** ![leechbabe](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/7cd45c/32.png) [@leechbabe](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/leechbabe)\ **Post date:** [August 6, 2002, 7:47am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/most-prolific-poster/122471/10 "2002-08-06T07:47:58Z")
I’ve always paid more attention to how long people have been around for. ---
**Author:** ![Newton\_meter](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/57b2e6/32.png) [@Newton\_meter](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Newton_meter)\ **Post date:** [August 6, 2002, 2:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/most-prolific-poster/122471/11 "2002-08-06T14:45:10Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by tomndebb \* > **Which could lead to a more appropriate General Question: Did “Signal to Noise ratio” originate in radio? In radar? In sonar? Or in some other electronic telemetric situation?** Radio, I believe. [Here](http://www.ieee.org/organizations/history_center/legacies/friis.html) is a biography of Harald T. Friis that mentions signal-to-noise ratio appearing in a 1923 paper of his: > [@](#): > > “He and two colleagues published an important IRE paper on radio transmission measurements in 1923. They stressed the need to measure signal to noise ratio rather than field strength alone and discussed how to achieve satisfactory radio communication while minimizing equipment cost.” That was the earliest reference I could find. Note that IRE is the Institute of Radio Engineers. kg m[sup]2[/sup]/s[sup]2[/sup] ---
**Author:** ![Mahaloth](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mahaloth/32/1079_2.png) [@Mahaloth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mahaloth)\ **Post date:** [August 6, 2002, 4:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/most-prolific-poster/122471/12 "2002-08-06T16:15:43Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by leechbabe \* > \*\*I’ve always paid more attention to how long people have been around for. \*\* Couple problems with that. I’ve been on the board since 1997 and I’m no genius. Two, people(like me) have changed our name, so it’s difficult to tell. One of the few posters I remember from back in '97 is **Opal** , oddly enough. ---
**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:** [August 6, 2002, 6:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/most-prolific-poster/122471/13 "2002-08-06T18:20:33Z")
We do not keep an official list of posters with the highest post count. Since this is a question about this message board, I’ll move this thread to ATMB. ---
**Author:** ![handy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/b5a626/32.png) [@handy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/handy)\ **Post date:** [August 6, 2002, 11:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/most-prolific-poster/122471/14 "2002-08-06T23:27:44Z")
“S/N ratio.” Oh, I thought you were talking about serial numbers. Recently Persperone put in a post about getting to 3000 posts, but when i looked at the profile, there were more than 6,200 posts. Why are their two counts? ---
**Author:** ![wring](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/838e76/32.png) [@wring](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/wring)\ **Post date:** [August 6, 2002, 11:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/most-prolific-poster/122471/15 "2002-08-06T23:32:45Z")
**handy** I know **Persephone** recently started a thread for **Euty’s** 3000th post. Perhaps you misunderstood? ---
**Author:** ![PhiloVance](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/e19adc/32.png) [@PhiloVance](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/PhiloVance)\ **Post date:** [August 7, 2002, 12:54am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/most-prolific-poster/122471/16 "2002-08-07T00:54:49Z")
> [@](#): > > Posted by douglips > The trouble is the S/N ratio. Ok **douglips** , you said it, now, can you give it to us in real numbers. What **exactly** is his s/n ration? ---
**Author:** ![Ringo](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/779978/32.png) [@Ringo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ringo)\ **Post date:** [August 7, 2002, 3:25am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/most-prolific-poster/122471/17 "2002-08-07T03:25:46Z")
Man, **handy** was right on cue there… ---
**Author:** ![Chronos](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chronos/32/134_2.png) [@Chronos](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chronos)\ **Post date:** [August 7, 2002, 6:48am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/most-prolific-poster/122471/18 "2002-08-07T06:48:01Z")
Whoa, Euty has 3 kiloposts now? He only hit a grand this past winter, and he’s been around _forever_! Must be all the caffeine he’s getting in the new forum. ---
**Author:** ![handy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/b5a626/32.png) [@handy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/handy)\ **Post date:** [August 7, 2002, 10:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/most-prolific-poster/122471/19 "2002-08-07T22:48:56Z")
Oh, mea culpa, someone threw a post party for Euty. Usually they throw them for themselves. I must have got confused.,Well carry on then. ---
**Author:** ![TubaDiva](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tubadiva/32/507_2.png) [@TubaDiva](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TubaDiva)\ **Post date:** [August 9, 2002, 12:17am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/most-prolific-poster/122471/20 "2002-08-09T00:17:46Z")
You know, the numbers really don’t matter so much. In fact, we’ve often discussed removing the post count, as some people care far more for the count than they do the content of postings. That’s really not what we’re about. It’s especially important in these days when so many people are having difficulty enough getting into the board as it is; to find bandwidth taken up by what is essentially petty “post count parties” and people that throw in posts simply to add to their count, that doesn’t help the situation one little bit. Please don’t do this. It’s the content that matters. Or should. your humble TubaDiva Adminstrator [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/most-prolific-poster/122471.md?page=2)