The board draws its posts and other information (searches, etc.) from a database, and that database needs to contain a unique ID for each person that is in the database.
For example, you are member number 32777, and your public profile can be viewed using this link:
Now, if you decided to leave the board, and your ID number was put back into the rotation, to be assigned to a newly-subscribing member, then there would be no way for the database to differentiate your posts, as member 32777, from the posts of new member 32777.
For that reason, when someone leaves the boards, their name stays attached to the ID number they were assigned when they became a member. So every new member adds another number, making it look like there are over 70,000 current members, whereas this is actually the total number of people who have EVER been a member of the boards.
Check out, for example, the guy who’s one member number below yours, 32776. Poor old Bukkake Fan only managed to hang around for 11 posts before being banned, but his member number remains attached to his username in the database forever.
Personally, I think it obvious that Zambini works for the admins. He makes a lot of blowhard accusations about the quality of the board, people defend it, he calls them collaborators, rinse and repeat. It’s blatant propaganda designed to drum up sympathy for the SDMB and deflect criticism.
Those of us who were members when it went to a paid subscription - and paid our dues - were given the title Charter Member. We also get to pay half the regular fee for being amongst the First.
I’m on a mega-speed university link and once the Americans wake up the board can become very slow and prone to time-outs. Not a problem I have with any other site, even heavy traffic ones.
I think that’s fair - there have, after all, been casual and vague promises of cool stuff we might get in the future, loosely associated with the notion of board revenue. I think TPTB ought to throw us a bone.
The 5 minute Edit window has been a huge improvement. (except when the board times out before you can use it)
Now if only Jerry could scrape up the 6-18 hours needed to upgrade us to the latest version of Vbulletin that should eliminate some or all of the search issues.
In theory this would reduce some of the stalls and timeouts.
Jim (I’ll pass on the pony, too much work and expensive to keep and feed, but I will take a sports forum )
I agree with the OP & I really don’t understand what causes people to be so defensive about their loyalty to a shitty product.
And I really don’t understand “love it or leave it.” It’s perfectly reasonable to suggest improvements to a business you regularly patronize.
Maybe the Reader doesn’t want to publicize the balance sheet - that’s their prerogative. But why would anyone get their feathers ruffled because someone asks?
)