# SDMB posting frequency **URL:** \ **Category:** About This Message Board\ **Created:** [June 29, 2000, 4:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sdmb-posting-frequency/24036 "2000-06-29T16:03:46Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 12\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Obvious\_Guy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/e9c0ed/32.png) [@Obvious\_Guy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Obvious_Guy)\ **Post date:** [June 29, 2000, 4:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sdmb-posting-frequency/24036/1 "2000-06-29T16:03:46Z")
I’ve noticed that this board can fill up pretty quickly with new topics. You can literally hit the refresh button every minute or so and see new topics, not to mention replies. I don’t know how anyone would know this except for maybe the administrators, but how many posts are posted in say a minute? And how many in a day? I would image in the four digits at least. ---
**Author:** ![manhattan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/manhattan/32/7_2.png) [@manhattan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/manhattan)\ **Post date:** [June 29, 2000, 4:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sdmb-posting-frequency/24036/2 "2000-06-29T16:48:47Z")
I suspect this will get a better response in About This Message Board. I’ll move the thread there. ---
**Author:** ![Alpha\_to\_Omega](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/2bfe46/32.png) [@Alpha\_to\_Omega](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Alpha_to_Omega)\ **Post date:** [June 29, 2000, 6:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sdmb-posting-frequency/24036/3 "2000-06-29T18:08:24Z")
I think what ever the number is, it shows a need for more forums. The one on My Humble Opinion helped, but ther’s still the problem of MPSIMS topics disappearing before you return the next day. And if someone brings up a topic from 24 hours before, it’s looked on as problem, when in fact that’s normal pattern on the other forums. I know there were other forums suggested at the time IMHO was added. Maybe it’s time to start one of those. ---
**Author:** ![whitetho](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/whitetho/32/1059_2.png) [@whitetho](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/whitetho)\ **Post date:** [June 29, 2000, 6:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sdmb-posting-frequency/24036/4 "2000-06-29T18:27:56Z")
Notice that the [Straight Dope Message Board home page](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/) lists “ **xxxxxx** posts in total”, which is a running total for all of the forums combined. At 1:10 PM CDST, this listed 547294 posts. I refreshed my screen ten minutes later, and the total was now 547329, for a difference of 35, or 3.5 per minute for this period. In just under 24 hours – if I don’t forget to check – we’ll be able to see how many posts were made in a one day period. ---
**Author:** ![Alpha\_to\_Omega](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/2bfe46/32.png) [@Alpha\_to\_Omega](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Alpha_to_Omega)\ **Post date:** [June 29, 2000, 6:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sdmb-posting-frequency/24036/5 "2000-06-29T18:57:36Z")
Life expectancy for a thread, based on whether it stays on page one of it’s forum list: ATMB - 5 days BBQP - 1½ days IMHO - 21 hours MPSIMS - 3 hours I think this shows a need for more “open topic” forums. Another solution might be to enlarge the number of items shown on each page for MPSIMS. ---
**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:** [June 29, 2000, 7:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sdmb-posting-frequency/24036/6 "2000-06-29T19:15:49Z")
Um, I’m not sure what the complaint is here. We have more than one page of topics in nearly every forum. What’s so difficult about going to the next page? Or perhaps your view is set too high; the default is “5 days,” but some people are more comfortable with less. (I use “one day” myself, but I’m here quite a bit.)Adjust until you get to a view that pleases you. I guess this makes us a victim of our own success . . . but I’m damned if I know the solution to this one. your humble TubaDiva Administrator ---
**Author:** ![Mullinator](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/c2a13f/32.png) [@Mullinator](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mullinator)\ **Post date:** [June 29, 2000, 8:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sdmb-posting-frequency/24036/7 "2000-06-29T20:11:46Z")
I don’t know Tuba, those numbers for the next pages are pretty small. You are pretty much guaranteeing that Katherine Hepburn will never be a member here. ---
**Author:** ![Obvious\_Guy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/e9c0ed/32.png) [@Obvious\_Guy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Obvious_Guy)\ **Post date:** [June 30, 2000, 3:02am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sdmb-posting-frequency/24036/8 "2000-06-30T03:02:08Z")
Obviously this is a very popular board… Maybe Alpha has a point. manhattan:Thanks for the help… I had a heck of a time tracking down my post tho lol 😃 ---
**Author:** ![whitetho](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/whitetho/32/1059_2.png) [@whitetho](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/whitetho)\ **Post date:** [June 30, 2000, 6:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sdmb-posting-frequency/24036/9 "2000-06-30T18:16:34Z")
As of 1:10 PM CDST, June 30, 2000, the message board reported a total of 550,246 posts. This was an increase of **2,952** over the previous total, 547,294, reported 24 hours earlier. The average (mean) rate for this twenty-four hour period was exactly 123 posts-per-hour, or 2.05 posts-per-minute. Looking at it another way, an additional post was made every 29.27 seconds, on average. (I have no idea if the running total is updated to reflect deleted posts and threads, if any). In 6 more days – if I don’t forget to check – we’ll be able to see how many posts were made in a one week period. * * * As a matter of fact, I _don’t_ have anything better to do. ---
**Author:** ![whitetho](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/whitetho/32/1059_2.png) [@whitetho](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/whitetho)\ **Post date:** [July 6, 2000, 6:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sdmb-posting-frequency/24036/10 "2000-07-06T18:36:48Z")
As of 1:10 PM CDST, July 6, 2000, the message board reported a total of 486,881 posts. This was a _decline_ of **60,413** over the previous total, 547,294, reported exactly 7 days earlier. The average (mean) rate for this one week period was minus 8,630.43 posts-per-_day_, or minus 359.6 posts-per-_hour_, or minus 5.99 posts-per-_minute_. Looking at it another way, an additional post disappeared every 10.01 seconds, on average. The sad, inescapable conclusion is that the Message Board has begun to evaporate. Much like the universe, which began with a “big bang” that according to some will be followed by a “big crunch”, the board has started shrinking toward singularity. At the current rate, the last post will disappear – poof! – at 11:06:49.67 PM CDST on August 31, 2000. After that, silence. Unless the theoretical existence of “virtual anti-matter posts” proves to be correct. What? ---
**Author:** ![T\_G\_I\_F](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/e9a140/32.png) [@T\_G\_I\_F](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/T_G_I_F)\ **Post date:** [July 7, 2000, 12:09am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sdmb-posting-frequency/24036/11 "2000-07-07T00:09:35Z")
Hopefully all the ones asking the color of your toothbrush, weekend plans, parties for having 12 posts, and Elvis sightings. ---
**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:** [July 7, 2000, 2:26am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sdmb-posting-frequency/24036/12 "2000-07-07T02:26:11Z")
And he said: > [@](#): > > I trashed the database on Monday during the upgrade and had to reinstall from a backup I had made just prior. During the initial installation of vBulletin there were numerous abortive attempts to import the UBB forums which failed leaving “orphaned” posts in the database but not connected to anything. They were padding the post count but couldn’t be accessed. > > I assume the reinstallation of the database did not include these duplicate orphaned posts and so the post count looks like it has declined in a week. Not to worry, the post count was actually artificially inflated and should now be more accurate. Sorry to get you so alarmed. your humble TubaDiva Administrator