# Post count oddness
**URL:** https://boards.straightdope.com/t/post-count-oddness/188331
**Category:** About This Message Board
**Created:** [July 14, 2003, 7:10am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/post-count-oddness/188331 "2003-07-14T07:10:23Z")
**Posts on this page:** 10
**Page:** 1
### Author:  [@Aslan\_of\_Narnia](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Aslan_of_Narnia)
#### Post date: [July 14, 2003, 7:10am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/post-count-oddness/188331/1 "2003-07-14T07:10:23Z")
Some people have post counts that should be larger, according to all posts searched. Where as some people have counts that should be lower, according to all posts searched.
Why?
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### Author:  [@Berkut](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Berkut)
#### Post date: [July 14, 2003, 7:41am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/post-count-oddness/188331/2 "2003-07-14T07:41:32Z")
The post counts do not accurately report the actual number of posts in the database.
Threads being moved out of sight to forums where counts aren’t updated, lost posts, pruning, and plain old hamster poo in the wheel all cause the post counts to be off.
There _is_ an option to update post counts to accurately reflect the actual number of posts in the database. Doing so would likely make a decent sized drop in everyones post count.
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### Author:  [@Achernar](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Achernar)
#### Post date: [July 14, 2003, 8:09am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/post-count-oddness/188331/3 "2003-07-14T08:09:34Z")
…or an increase.
[http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?s=&threadid=130814](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?s=&threadid=130814)
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### Author:  [@Berkut](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Berkut)
#### Post date: [July 14, 2003, 4:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/post-count-oddness/188331/4 "2003-07-14T16:07:47Z")
Or an increase, yes. Most boards show a decrease, judging from conversations with VB Admins.
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### Author:  [@Achernar](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Achernar)
#### Post date: [July 14, 2003, 8:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/post-count-oddness/188331/5 "2003-07-14T20:10:04Z")
I suppose on this board, removing and deleting threads fairly rare occurances, compared to double-posts.
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### Author:  [@Ringo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ringo)
#### Post date: [July 15, 2003, 1:43am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/post-count-oddness/188331/6 "2003-07-15T01:43:18Z")
I think the pre-vB posts that now are attributed to “Guest” are still included in post counts, but won’t show up if you search an individual’s posts.
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### Author:  [@John\_Kentzel-Griffin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/John_Kentzel-Griffin)
#### Post date: [July 15, 2003, 6:36am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/post-count-oddness/188331/7 "2003-07-15T06:36:19Z")
Why?
We got hamsters running the show, not accountants. What did you expect?
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### Author:  [@dantheman](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dantheman)
#### Post date: [July 15, 2003, 12:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/post-count-oddness/188331/8 "2003-07-15T12:53:31Z")
That’s hamster, singular. And he’s none too happy about it. No wonder he adds and subtracts with malicious scorn.
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### Author:  [@kputt](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kputt)
#### Post date: [July 15, 2003, 2:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/post-count-oddness/188331/9 "2003-07-15T14:51:44Z")
I just came from a forum where his “clients” (members) made him so mad he shut down the forums for good.
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### Author:  [@Ringo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ringo)
#### Post date: [July 28, 2003, 3:55am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/post-count-oddness/188331/10 "2003-07-28T03:55:54Z")
Another situation contributing to the mismatch that I’ve noticed: often, when a post hangs on submit, requiring the poster to reenter the board, the post may well show up 10 minutes later but not be added to the post count. It will still show up in a search.