# User number too high? **URL:** \ **Category:** About This Message Board\ **Created:** [August 12, 2015, 12:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/user-number-too-high/727646 "2015-08-12T12:33:57Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 12\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![NineToTheSky](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/b5a626/32.png) [@NineToTheSky](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/NineToTheSky)\ **Post date:** [August 12, 2015, 12:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/user-number-too-high/727646/1 "2015-08-12T12:33:57Z")
I apologize both for being probably unnecessarily anal and for taking CookingWithGas’s name in vain, but his user number is 16475 and join date is March 1999. The user number should be in the hundreds. The 16000 level wasn’t reached until about summer 2001. Why so high? ---
**Author:** ![Telemark](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/telemark/32/372_2.png) [@Telemark](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Telemark)\ **Post date:** [August 12, 2015, 1:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/user-number-too-high/727646/2 "2015-08-12T13:42:50Z")
I’m guessing since I’m not privy to the details, but most likely it represents a merged account or some other admin level manipulation. ---
**Author:** ![Omar\_Little](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/omar_little/32/269_2.png) [@Omar\_Little](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Omar_Little)\ **Post date:** [August 12, 2015, 3:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/user-number-too-high/727646/3 "2015-08-12T15:06:52Z")
Where does one find this **user number** you talk about? ---
**Author:** ![NineToTheSky](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/b5a626/32.png) [@NineToTheSky](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/NineToTheSky)\ **Post date:** [August 12, 2015, 3:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/user-number-too-high/727646/4 "2015-08-12T15:09:08Z")
If you hover over your user name and look at the bottom of the page, your’s is 5569. ---
**Author:** ![Omar\_Little](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/omar_little/32/269_2.png) [@Omar\_Little](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Omar_Little)\ **Post date:** [August 12, 2015, 3:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/user-number-too-high/727646/5 "2015-08-12T15:54:24Z")
> [@NineToTheSky](#): > > If you hover over your user name and look at the bottom of the page, your’s is 5569. Thanks. It all makes sense. 5+5+6+9 = 25 2+5 = 7 7 is the perfect number. ---
**Author:** ![samclem](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/a9a28c/32.png) [@samclem](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/samclem)\ **Post date:** [August 12, 2015, 10:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/user-number-too-high/727646/6 "2015-08-12T22:53:44Z")
Merged account. ---
**Author:** ![Omar\_Little](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/omar_little/32/269_2.png) [@Omar\_Little](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Omar_Little)\ **Post date:** [August 12, 2015, 11:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/user-number-too-high/727646/7 "2015-08-12T23:19:03Z")
Does merged account mean “sock”? ---
**Author:** ![j666](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/9de0a6/32.png) [@j666](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/j666)\ **Post date:** [August 13, 2015, 1:30am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/user-number-too-high/727646/8 "2015-08-13T01:30:49Z")
> [@NineToTheSky](#): > > I apologize both for being probably unnecessarily anal and for taking CookingWithGas’s name in vain, but his user number is 16475 and join date is March 1999. The user number should be in the hundreds. The 16000 level wasn’t reached until about summer 2001. Why so high? How did you notice all that? ---
**Author:** ![MrDibble](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mrdibble/32/114_2.png) [@MrDibble](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MrDibble)\ **Post date:** [August 13, 2015, 2:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/user-number-too-high/727646/9 "2015-08-13T14:25:03Z")
> [@Omar\_Little](#): > > Does merged account mean “sock”? Sometimes people forget they even had an account 16 years ago, make a new one, then find out that makes them an _accidental_ sock. Still not allowed, but the mods are generally cool with giving people the benefit of the doubt, I think. ---
**Author:** ![Irishman](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/b487fb/32.png) [@Irishman](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Irishman)\ **Post date:** [August 13, 2015, 8:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/user-number-too-high/727646/10 "2015-08-13T20:55:47Z")
> [@Omar\_Little](#): > > Does merged account mean “sock”? “Sock” usually implies intention to post as a separate identity to mislead. There have been numerous incidents where people started new accounts, either because they forgot they had an account, or didn’t have access to their prior email, or whatever. Subsequently, they came clean, and were able to get the matter resolved without incident. However, being in such a state and the admin finding it is grounds for banning, unless you can convince them it was unintentional/not for causing trouble. ---
**Author:** ![j666](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/9de0a6/32.png) [@j666](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/j666)\ **Post date:** [August 13, 2015, 11:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/user-number-too-high/727646/11 "2015-08-13T23:58:00Z")
> [@Irishman](#): > > … > However, being in such a state and the admin finding it is grounds for banning, unless you can convince them it was unintentional/not for causing trouble. They contacted me, told me I had another open account, and asked if I wanted to merge them. Very nice about it. ---
**Author:** ![NineToTheSky](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/b5a626/32.png) [@NineToTheSky](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/NineToTheSky)\ **Post date:** [August 14, 2015, 9:29am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/user-number-too-high/727646/12 "2015-08-14T09:29:52Z")
> [@j666](#): > > How did you notice all that? I found his user number as explained above. His join date is shown in his post (the precise date is shown in his user profile). In my anal way (you can blame **Zeldar**!), I have always been interested in early user numbers, so I recognized that his was too high for his date. If you look at the ‘Charter Members: Who and how many are left?’ thread, you can see many early joiners’ numbers. Fascinating, isn’t it? 🙂