There’s a threadspotting archive? Where?
http://straightdope.com/mailbag/threadspotting.html
from the main page you go to ‘search archives’ then near the bottom of the more recent threadspotting there’s a link to the older archive
Aaaah… thanks.
Yup, as I suspected:
Where did you go to high school?, with 309 replies and 5896 views.
#2 is one I’d forgotten about: Truly stupid things that annoy the hell out of you, with 148 replies and 4106 views.
And 15 of my top 25 are “Apprentice” threads (wipes away a sentimental tear) – with 4 of them having over 3,000 views! :eek:
FYI: people. For the purposes of this thread the term ‘successful’ is loosely defined.
In other words you can decide the success of a thread however you like. Number of replies, number of views, how well recieved, how entertaining, how prolific, etc… It’s entirely up to you.
Hmmm…I think the most replies I ever got in a thread was one I started jsut after I signed up about The Simpsons, let me see if I can find it…apparantly I can’t, I can only search a year back.
Anyways, it went on for 3 or 4 pages I think…maybe more, I can’t remember.
I can’t even remember 99.99% of the threads I’ve started, and certainly none ever made Threadspoting. I’m a rather boring poster, really.
:smack:
OK, so who made this software? Why is the ‘Any Date’ option ABOVE the other ones? It goes in descending order of smallest unit of time to largest, so why would the largest unit of time be on top? I’m writing an angry letter!
:mad: :mad: :mad: P!!! :mad: :mad: :mad:
Was that angry enough?
One of the greatest threads here. I still go back and read it. Definiatly deserves to be in the Straight Dope hall of fame.
:smack:
OK, so who made this software? Why is the ‘Any Date’ option ABOVE the other ones? It goes in descending order of smallest unit of time to largest, so why would the largest unit of time be on top? I’m writing an angry letter!
:mad: :mad: :mad: P!!! :mad: :mad: :mad:
Was that angry enough?
Anyways, apparantly I was wrong. My thread with most number of replies was a Great Debates thread (this suprised me, I almost never post there.)
190 replies, over 2,500 views. The Simpons thread is #2. However, I think my favorite thread I started would be…I don’t know, they are all pretty crap-tacular.
Since the terms have been broadened, I thought I would mention the thread in which I was a main participant, that I thought had the most interesting discussion. Fenris started a thread on Ripping and cleaning old vinyl records. It got 47 replies and 742 views. I do this kind of work for a living and as a hobby, so I attempted, using only the power of description, to teach Fenris to declick and denoise his records, which is a very involved process. But he had the right software and the desire to learn. It is mine to serve.
Most of the thread is monopolized by me describing how to do each function and step. But others contributed, too, and it made for what I thought was a very civilized and educational - if somewhat esoteric - read.
I very rarely start threads, but the “Real life stories that ought to become movies” is probably the best of them:
Lobsang, it’s so hard to pick one over the other, so I’ll just break a few into categories if’n you don’t mind. 
Views (5632)
Replies (224)
My first rant on child killers
Entertaining and I don’t remember being called a dumb-ass by anyone (114, 5,002)
Ask the atheist, 15 year old, male Hoosier.
Most replies and views. Any other measure is subjective to varying degrees, but I’d say this one was/is being well received mainly because I’ve been complemented for the first time in that thread - and it happened five times! Damn, I feel special. 
My biggest? I took the lazy way out and pitted Liberal.
My personal favorite was this thread, started after the whole K6 mess. Made me laugh quite a few times.