# The elephant in the room. 4063 active members **URL:** \ **Category:** About This Message Board\ **Created:** [June 4, 2017, 11:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-elephant-in-the-room-4063-active-members/788139 "2017-06-04T23:07:14Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 17\ **Page:** 10
**Author:** ![LSLGuy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lslguy/32/5813_2.png) [@LSLGuy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/LSLGuy)\ **Post date:** [December 26, 2025, 3:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-elephant-in-the-room-4063-active-members/788139/181 "2025-12-26T15:33:11Z")
I just re-read this thread from the top. The number of names I recognize but have not seen in years is telling. Admittedly many of the posts here were lurkers popping their heads up to explain their lurkitude. So many of those folks may still be lurking invisibly today. _May._ So where to from here? None of the facts or arguments have really changed in the intervening 8+ years. But clearly our rate of decline did slow a bunch, or we’d already be gone. And that’s despite the amazing to me number of people who flounced out when we moved to Discourse. I think at this point substantially everyone who posts more than a couple posts per week are going to be lifers. More and more of us are retirees, where free time is plentiful and sedentary activities are welcome. IMO what we’ll see going forward is just the slow steady shrinkage attributable to morbidity and mortality among the lifers. We’re each going to be carried out of here on a plank, and not a day sooner. ---
**Author:** ![Pardel-Lux](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pardel-lux/32/20182_2.png) [@Pardel-Lux](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Pardel-Lux)\ **Post date:** [December 26, 2025, 3:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-elephant-in-the-room-4063-active-members/788139/182 "2025-12-26T15:35:46Z")
It was interesting reading this thread. Makes me wonder what the rules about zombies are, if they still exist at all. And if I am at it: what is it with warnings nowadays? Are they still applied? I have the impression I have not read about bans or thread bans for a while. Don’t tell me we, the ones that are left, are all polite and boring now. ---
**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:** [December 26, 2025, 3:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-elephant-in-the-room-4063-active-members/788139/183 "2025-12-26T15:54:52Z")
You’re allowed to bump a zombie if you’re adding something substantive and new to the discussion. In this case, the mere existence of the board at this time gave the bump substantive content. And yes, there are still warnings and bans. It might be that you’re just not hanging out in the same sort of threads as the nasty people. Every so often throughout the history of the board, we’ve had posters who made valuable contributions but who also had a pattern of misbehavior, and we’ve reluctantly had to ban them when the misbehavior outweighed the positive contributions. Those always get a lot of attention when they happen… but they’ve only ever been a small fraction of the bannings. Most of the time when we ban someone, nobody really misses them, because even when they’re not breaking the rules, they’re not really adding much, either. ---
**Author:** ![engineer\_comp\_geek](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/engineer_comp_geek/32/504_2.png) [@engineer\_comp\_geek](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/engineer_comp_geek)\ **Post date:** [December 26, 2025, 4:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-elephant-in-the-room-4063-active-members/788139/184 "2025-12-26T16:08:06Z")
Ninja’d by @Chronos but I have some actual statistics so I’ll go ahead and post this anyway. > [@Pardel-Lux](#): > > Makes me wonder what the rules about zombies are, if they still exist at all. In FQ, we allow zombies, but we prefer that you only raise zombie threads to contribute something of value (i.e. new information, some news items that is relevant, etc). We’re a lot more flexible about zombie posts in other forums. Best case, it revives the conversation and allows some more interesting discussion. Worst case, the thread just sinks back down to where it came from. No biggie. This has been our position on zombies for quite some time now. It’s nothing new. But it is a change from the old days when zombies were very strongly frowned upon. > [@Pardel-Lux](#): > > what is it with warnings nowadays? Are they still applied? Yes, warnings are still applied. We had about 10 to 15 warnings per month in 2020 and 2021. That dropped to about 5 to 10 warnings per month in 2022 and has stayed relatively constant around that level ever since, except for one big spike in October/November of 2025. The number of warnings and number of bans is generally following the same slow decline that we are seeing in the number of posts, which is pretty much what you’d expect. Fewer people, fewer warnings. It’s just a slow decline though, nothing dramatic. Considering that most message boards have completely dried up and disappeared, we’re doing much, much better than most these days. ---
**Author:** ![Pardel-Lux](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pardel-lux/32/20182_2.png) [@Pardel-Lux](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Pardel-Lux)\ **Post date:** [December 26, 2025, 4:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-elephant-in-the-room-4063-active-members/788139/185 "2025-12-26T16:15:04Z")
> [@Chronos](#): > > It might be that you’re just not hanging out in the same sort of threads as the nasty people. I see your avatar (and **engineer\_comp\_geek** ’s) often, so there is that. And thank you both for the answers. Good that zombies are no longer frowned upon, IMO. Also good that attitudes change. ---
**Author:** ![What\_Exit](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/what_exit/32/10652_2.png) [@What\_Exit](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/What_Exit)\ **Post date:** [December 26, 2025, 4:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-elephant-in-the-room-4063-active-members/788139/186 "2025-12-26T16:23:47Z")
Now old Zombies in #Cafe Society that are heavy in misogyny will get closed instead. For #Great Debates & #Politics & Elections threads for tired subjects will get closed instead. Our tolerance for Conspiracy Theories is lower I guess and we have 6 subjects that are now done. > **The 6 subjects quoted from the rules.** > > > [@New Rules for Politics and Elections – January 2020](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/new-rules-for-politics-and-elections-january-2020/845727/1): > > > > - **Scientific racism** or any particular argument about why any particular group of humans is inherently better than any other group > > - **Holocaust Denial.** Seriously, guys. If someone wants to seriously debate whether the holocaust occurred, we can safely say they’re not someone we want here > > - **Encouraging discrimination** against any minority groups. This can include race, gender, sexual orientation or any other group into which a person might belong. Such depresses debate and discussion and in contrary to the goals of Great Debates and Elections > > - **Men’s Rights Advocacy**. This can include threads about how men are somehow disadvantaged in society, women are somehow genetically inferior or have a predisposition toward specific gender roles and other threads about the ways in which men are somehow naturally entitled to be in charge > > - **9/11 Truthers.** This includes any information about how either 9/11 didn’t happen, it was a false flag operation by the government or any other idea that denies the events of that day. > > - **Climate Change Denialism**. We believe the science. While there is room to debate ways to deal with climate change, the existence of such is an observed fact. ---
**Author:** ![Pardel-Lux](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pardel-lux/32/20182_2.png) [@Pardel-Lux](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Pardel-Lux)\ **Post date:** [December 26, 2025, 4:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-elephant-in-the-room-4063-active-members/788139/187 "2025-12-26T16:27:34Z")
Ah, yes, the Rules! Haven’t read them in a while, I must admit, but the part you quote sounds reasonable and easy to adhere to. I am surprised that there is no mention of planes on threadmills. ETA: Treadmill, I meant. Without the freudian “h”. ---
**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:** [December 26, 2025, 4:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-elephant-in-the-room-4063-active-members/788139/188 "2025-12-26T16:32:17Z")
> [@What\_Exit](#): > > Now old Zombies in #Cafe Society that are heavy in misogyny will get closed instead. This is true, but they’re not closed because they’re zombies. If someone started a new thread that was similarly misogynistic, we’d close that, too. ---
**Author:** ![RitterSport](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/rittersport/32/6326_2.png) [@RitterSport](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RitterSport)\ **Post date:** [December 26, 2025, 4:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-elephant-in-the-room-4063-active-members/788139/189 "2025-12-26T16:45:37Z")
How many active members do we have now? ---
**Author:** ![What\_Exit](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/what_exit/32/10652_2.png) [@What\_Exit](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/What_Exit)\ **Post date:** [December 26, 2025, 4:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-elephant-in-the-room-4063-active-members/788139/190 "2025-12-26T16:52:22Z")
That’s true. > [@RitterSport](#): > > How many active members do we have now? See this thread instead: > [@How active is the Dope these days?](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-active-is-the-dope-these-days/1025768): > > Compared to the last few years? It seems like it’s mostly Trump most of the time, and there seems to be less activity outside the Trump threads. Am I imagining things? It looks like the average daily members are around 320. But that is a different criteria from the 4063 in the OP. I don’t have a similiar stat for Discourse. ---
**Author:** ![RitterSport](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/rittersport/32/6326_2.png) [@RitterSport](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RitterSport)\ **Post date:** [December 26, 2025, 4:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-elephant-in-the-room-4063-active-members/788139/191 "2025-12-26T16:55:43Z")
OK, thanks anyway! ---
**Author:** ![mixdenny](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mixdenny/32/2962_2.png) [@mixdenny](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mixdenny)\ **Post date:** [January 2, 2026, 5:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-elephant-in-the-room-4063-active-members/788139/192 "2026-01-02T17:42:29Z")
Just for some comparison to Reddit I will note that the small, regional r/Cleveland has almost 200,000 members.There is actually a Straight Dope sub Reddit at r/sdmb. It has 95 members. And a discussion of the alternate ending for Big. More popular subs have hundreds of thousands of members. askReddit which is probably close to the feel of the SDMB has 75 million members. ---
**Author:** ![Beckdawrek](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/beckdawrek/32/3647_2.png) [@Beckdawrek](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Beckdawrek)\ **Post date:** [January 2, 2026, 5:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-elephant-in-the-room-4063-active-members/788139/193 "2026-01-02T17:50:30Z")
We have to be Big personalities to fill in the space Ummm. I think we have that covered. 😆 ---
**Author:** ![mixdenny](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mixdenny/32/2962_2.png) [@mixdenny](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mixdenny)\ **Post date:** [January 2, 2026, 5:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-elephant-in-the-room-4063-active-members/788139/194 "2026-01-02T17:52:18Z")
Plus we got possums. ---
**Author:** ![Beckdawrek](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/beckdawrek/32/3647_2.png) [@Beckdawrek](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Beckdawrek)\ **Post date:** [January 2, 2026, 6:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-elephant-in-the-room-4063-active-members/788139/195 "2026-01-02T18:05:11Z")
RIP Clarence. 😢 ---
**Author:** ![Exapno\_Mapcase](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/exapno_mapcase/32/1051_2.png) [@Exapno\_Mapcase](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Exapno_Mapcase)\ **Post date:** [January 2, 2026, 6:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-elephant-in-the-room-4063-active-members/788139/196 "2026-01-02T18:48:49Z")
I thought we had hamsters. Who is running the wheel? 😱 ---
**Author:** ![Beckdawrek](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/beckdawrek/32/3647_2.png) [@Beckdawrek](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Beckdawrek)\ **Post date:** [January 2, 2026, 7:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-elephant-in-the-room-4063-active-members/788139/197 "2026-01-02T19:12:55Z")
Might be a few rats. (Mods, excluded, of course) [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-elephant-in-the-room-4063-active-members/788139.md?page=9)