# WAKE UP! the hamsters are sleeping again

**URL:** <https://boards.straightdope.com/t/wake-up-the-hamsters-are-sleeping-again/169026>\
**Category:** About This Message Board\
**Created:** [April 16, 2003, 5:25am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/wake-up-the-hamsters-are-sleeping-again/169026 "2003-04-16T05:25:25Z")\
**Posts on this page:** 3\
**Page:** 1

<div class="post-metadata">

**Author:** ![t-keela](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/a3d4f5/32.png) [@t-keela](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/t-keela)\
**Post date:** [April 16, 2003, 5:25am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/wake-up-the-hamsters-are-sleeping-again/169026/1 "2003-04-16T05:25:25Z")

</div>

What’s up tonight? I see at least two or three gaps in the posts on the boards within the last half hour or so. There are a couple of five to six minute gaps where no messages are posted. I couldn’t get a thread anywhere and the message I was working on just \<poof\> gone.

Are there just too many members at the SDMB or what? I know sometimes the boards are down for hours, days, and even longer. IIRC several weeks were lost last year.

Is there any way to see how many members are online currently? I have seen this feature at other sites.

BTW how many active members are there now…not the #of members posted on the front page. I assume that # includes members who registered and are now gone or are banned or just don’t participate.

and WAKE UP…get a cup o’ joe 😃

---

<div class="post-metadata">

**Author:** ![Aslan\_of\_Narnia](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/ecd19e/32.png) [@Aslan\_of\_Narnia](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Aslan_of_Narnia)\
**Post date:** [April 16, 2003, 10:13am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/wake-up-the-hamsters-are-sleeping-again/169026/2 "2003-04-16T10:13:03Z")

</div>

I belive they’ve deactivated the “see how many are online list” for reasons of bandwith and users uncomfortable with such a list.

Also, define active for us.  
Is active posting 5 a week? 2 messsages a month? 1 a year?  
etc.

---

<div class="post-metadata">

**Author:** ![Ice\_Wolf](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/dfb087/32.png) [@Ice\_Wolf](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ice_Wolf)\
**Post date:** [April 16, 2003, 11:05am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/wake-up-the-hamsters-are-sleeping-again/169026/3 "2003-04-16T11:05:50Z")

</div>

“Active poster” definitions have been looked at before in this forum.

Take [this thread](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?threadid=67439) for example.