Point well-taken. The OP, though, is interested in sheer numbers–be they whores OR mere strumpets.
[Does the above really require a smiley?]
If you mean this summary
http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showpost.php?p=12848984&postcount=51
then I can say that of the responses thus far, the 6:00 hour CDT is the busiest of those in the sample, followed by the 8:00 hour.
Your point about the simple request for personal info that can be answered quickly, painlessly, and about a topic the poster is willing to share about, ought to provide the best sampling data.
To get to the guts of the issue, copy the entire thread (the bigger the better) into a work file and strip off everything put the post numbers and the time stamps.
Group the time stamps by time period (I used hours in my sample) and count them up.
It’s probably best to pick a big thread that’s been running for weeks, in the forum you plan to post in, for your analysis.
It’s true. This board is heavily into the trivia of daily life. To me it’s fascinating stuff. After lurking here for years, I finally registered, just so I could join a thread about pens. Pens!
Yes, I see that. Does it matter that most were probably posting as a favor to your data collection?
Yes, I’d be curious to do this with one thread and get at least two or three weeks’ worth of data. However, Great Debates can be skewed by two posters who take over the thread by jumping into an endless tit-for-tat polemic. Whether Ladymarmalade’s question was specific to some particular topic s/he wants to know about, or is just a statistical theoretical, hasn’t been made clear. But when someone posts, it moves the thread up the list and it appears sooner in “New Posts” so the data will bunch up, so to speak, depending on who takes interest in the thread.
If you check back in a few hours – some time today anyway – I’m in the middle of analyzing a Pit thread with over 700 replies that has been running since 08-17-2010, 07:25 PM and which I selected for that very reason. See for yourself at http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?t=574931 or, better still, find another long-running thread of your own in maybe the Game Room just to get another slant on it. Break it down by hour and by day to see if a pattern appears. Then we can compare notes on actual data.
Your objections, and many others, probably can be made to apply to any thread in any forum and would help to shoot down any conclusion anybody comes up with as an answer to the OP’s questions. But I’m suggesting that some specific data would provide a better answer than no data at all. I could be wrong even there.
If you have a better idea, use it and come up with an answer you like, and share it here. But I suspect an answer based on some data will be more persuasive than one based on a hunch or a WAG.
Here’s some preliminary analysis of the Pit thread I selected. This is by day and by hour, with “day” meaning “same date” and not “24 hour period.”
Other breakdowns of this same data will appear in a lter post. Meanwhile, slice this to suit your own ideas of how this means anything.
================================
Straight Dope Message Board > Main > The BBQ Pit
Hello. I am a racist.
#1 08-17-2010, 07:25 PM (Tue)
#27 08-17-2010, 07:59 PM (27)
#28 08-17-2010, 08:03 PM
#51 08-17-2010, 08:55 PM (24)
#52 08-17-2010, 09:03 PM
#80 08-17-2010, 09:59 PM (29)
#81 08-17-2010, 10:03 PM
#122 08-17-2010, 10:59 PM (42)
#123 08-17-2010, 11:00 PM
#151 08-17-2010, 11:56 PM (29) (151)
=============================================
#152 08-18-2010, 12:09 AM (Wed)
#156 08-18-2010, 12:46 AM (5)
#157 08-18-2010, 01:04 AM
#185 08-18-2010, 01:58 AM (29)
#186 08-18-2010, 02:34 AM
#188 08-18-2010, 02:48 AM (3)
#189 08-18-2010, 03:15 AM
#190 08-18-2010, 03:35 AM (2)
#191 08-18-2010, 04:15 AM
#194 08-18-2010, 04:45 AM (4)
#195 08-18-2010, 05:05 AM
#203 08-18-2010, 05:57 AM (9)
#204 08-18-2010, 06:30 AM
#209 08-18-2010, 06:56 AM (6)
#210 08-18-2010, 07:00 AM
#211 08-18-2010, 07:05 AM (2)
#212 08-18-2010, 08:11 AM
#215 08-18-2010, 08:22 AM (4)
#216 08-18-2010, 09:13 AM
#217 08-18-2010, 09:30 AM (2)
#218 08-18-2010, 10:23 AM
#219 08-18-2010, 10:43 AM (2)
#220 08-18-2010, 11:00 AM
#233 08-18-2010, 11:58 AM (14)
#234 08-18-2010, 12:04 PM
#258 08-18-2010, 12:59 PM (25)
#259 08-18-2010, 01:02 PM
#279 08-18-2010, 01:57 PM (21)
#280 08-18-2010, 02:02 PM
#299 08-18-2010, 02:59 PM (20)
#300 08-18-2010, 03:02 PM
#323 08-18-2010, 03:59 PM (24)
#324 08-18-2010, 04:03 PM
#353 08-18-2010, 04:55 PM (30)
#354 08-18-2010, 05:00 PM
#363 08-18-2010, 05:55 PM (10)
#364 08-18-2010, 06:07 PM
#372 08-18-2010, 06:53 PM (9)
#373 08-18-2010, 07:00 PM
#390 08-18-2010, 07:58 PM (18)
#391 08-18-2010, 08:02 PM
#419 08-18-2010, 08:57 PM (29)
#420 08-18-2010, 09:03 PM
#429 08-18-2010, 09:57 PM (10)
#430 08-18-2010, 10:08 PM
#435 08-18-2010, 10:57 PM (6)
#436 08-18-2010, 11:00 PM
#440 08-18-2010, 11:59 PM (5) (289)
=============================================
#441 08-19-2010, 12:07 AM (Thu)
#446 08-19-2010, 12:53 AM (6)
#447 08-19-2010, 01:20 AM (1)
#448 08-19-2010, 03:01 AM
#450 08-19-2010, 03:56 AM (3)
#451 08-19-2010, 04:19 AM (1)
#452 08-19-2010, 05:47 AM
#453 08-19-2010, 05:59 AM (2)
#454 08-19-2010, 06:11 AM (1)
#455 08-19-2010, 07:13 AM (1)
#456 08-19-2010, 08:30 AM (1)
#457 08-19-2010, 09:23 AM
#462 08-19-2010, 09:59 AM (6)
#463 08-19-2010, 10:00 AM
#474 08-19-2010, 10:56 AM (12)
#475 08-19-2010, 11:02 AM
#480 08-19-2010, 11:50 AM (6)
#481 08-19-2010, 12:01 PM
#498 08-19-2010, 12:59 PM (18)
#499 08-19-2010, 01:00 PM
#515 08-19-2010, 01:58 PM (17)
#516 08-19-2010, 02:00 PM
#537 08-19-2010, 02:57 PM (22)
#538 08-19-2010, 03:00 PM
#588 08-19-2010, 03:59 PM (51)
#589 08-19-2010, 04:00 PM
#608 08-19-2010, 04:38 PM (20)
#609 08-19-2010, 05:10 PM
#610 08-19-2010, 05:13 PM (2)
#611 08-19-2010, 06:32 PM (1)
#612 08-19-2010, 07:23 PM (1)
#613 08-19-2010, 08:04 PM
#616 08-19-2010, 08:42 PM (4)
#617 08-19-2010, 09:13 PM
#622 08-19-2010, 09:54 PM (6)
#623 08-19-2010, 10:05 PM
#631 08-19-2010, 10:58 PM (9)
#632 08-19-2010, 11:18 PM
#635 08-19-2010, 11:30 PM (4) (195)
=============================================
#636 08-20-2010, 12:15 AM (1) (Fri)
#637 08-20-2010, 01:10 AM (1)
#638 08-20-2010, 02:09 AM (1)
#639 08-20-2010, 07:28 AM
#641 08-20-2010, 07:43 AM (3)
#642 08-20-2010, 08:48 AM
#643 08-20-2010, 08:49 AM (2)
#644 08-20-2010, 09:06 AM
#649 08-20-2010, 09:39 AM (6)
#650 08-20-2010, 10:09 AM
#653 08-20-2010, 10:59 AM (4)
#654 08-20-2010, 11:05 AM
#660 08-20-2010, 11:58 AM (7)
#661 08-20-2010, 12:02 PM
#669 08-20-2010, 12:49 PM (9)
#670 08-20-2010, 01:44 PM (1)
#671 08-20-2010, 06:12 PM
#673 08-20-2010, 06:56 PM (3)
#674 08-20-2010, 07:58 PM (1)
#675 08-20-2010, 08:37 PM
#676 08-20-2010, 08:52 PM (2)
#677 08-20-2010, 09:23 PM (1)
#678 08-20-2010, 11:05 PM (1) (43)
=============================================
#679 08-21-2010, 12:32 AM (1) (Sat)
#680 08-21-2010, 08:25 AM
#681 08-21-2010, 08:48 AM (2)
#682 08-21-2010, 09:14 AM
#683 08-21-2010, 09:20 AM (2) (5)
=============================================
#684 08-22-2010, 11:26 PM (Sun)
#685 08-22-2010, 11:39 PM (2) (2)
=============================================
#686 08-25-2010, 02:59 PM (1) (Wed)
#687 08-25-2010, 03:32 PM
#688 08-25-2010, 03:43 PM (2)
#689 08-25-2010, 04:50 PM (1)
#690 08-25-2010, 05:07 PM
#691 08-25-2010, 05:47 PM (2)
#692 08-25-2010, 06:43 PM (1)
#693 08-25-2010, 07:13 PM
#694 08-25-2010, 07:31 PM (2)
#695 08-25-2010, 09:21 PM (1) (10)
=============================================
#696 08-26-2010, 12:11 PM (1) (Thu)
#697 08-26-2010, 08:39 PM (1)
#698 08-26-2010, 09:00 PM
#700 08-26-2010, 09:40 PM (3)
#701 08-26-2010, 10:32 PM (1) (6)
=============================================
#702 08-27-2010, 12:34 AM (1) (Fri)
#703 08-27-2010, 07:10 PM
#704 08-27-2010, 07:48 PM (2)
#705 08-27-2010, 08:01 PM
#713 08-27-2010, 08:42 PM (9) (12)
=============================================
Who Posted?
Total Posts: 713
User Name Posts
DiosaBellissima 51
Ariovistus 46
xtisme 30
jsgoddess 29
MeanOldLady 25
Guinastasia 23
AClockworkMelon 22
elucidator 19
Fear Itself 18
Kyla 17
Zsofia 14
Bryan Ekers 12
begbert2 11
Marley23 10
Walmarticus 10
spark240 10
Johnny L.A. 9
Shagnasty 9
SteveG1 9
Attack from the 3rd dimension 9
Zeriel 9
Siam Sam 9
Chefguy 8
Shot From Guns 8
LeeshaJoy 7
Oldeb 7
monstro 7
GHO57 7
Dag Otto 7
Rand Rover 7
villa 6
pravnik 6
DianaG 6
Jack Batty 6
fluiddruid 6
Really Not All That Bright 6
Kobal2 6
Princhester 6
Czarcasm 6
Damuri Ajashi 6
El_Kabong 5
acsenray 5
The Second Stone 5
Maeglin 5
ZPG Zealot 5
The Hamster King 5
wipetheclock 5
Meatros 4
Gyrate 4
Blank Slate 4
Jackmannii 4
Jolly Roger 4
Tom Scud 4
Silver Fire 4
Frank 4
Freudian Slit 4
RedFury 3
Robot Arm 3
Stoid 3
Vinyl Turnip 3
bucketybuck 3
orcenio 3
Miller 3
RandMcnally 3
NinetyWt 3
Belowjob2.0 2
Oakminster 2
Grey 2
Death of Rats 2
chacoguy 2
Blackberry 2
samclem 2
Cat Whisperer 2
rogerbox 2
Lightnin’ 2
crowmanyclouds 2
Colibri 2
Pashnish Ewing 2
Hentor the Barbarian 2
Der Trihs 2
E-Sabbath 2
LurkMeister 2
Gorsnak 2
heatmiserfl 2
Muffin 1
Merijeek 1
Gangster Octopus 1
Idle Thoughts 1
42fish 1
Onomatopoeia 1
Bam Boo Gut 1
Superfluous Parentheses 1
US Bureau of Labor Statistics 1
Moonlitherial 1
kaylasdad99 1
davidm 1
Hilarity N. Suze 1
multimediac17 1
Euphonious Polemic 1
Try2B Comprehensive 1
bup 1
Bosstone 1
Katriona 1
Bridget Burke 1
straight man 1
Omegaman 1
Thudlow Boink 1
Knowed Out 1
BrainGlutton 1
silenus 1
Asimovian 1
YogSosoth 1
Gagundathar 1
DoctorJ 1
Max the Immortal 1
Mach Tuck 1
Trans Fat Og 1
Starving Artist 1
thirdname 1
Chicagojeff 1
madmonk28 1
One And Only Wanderers 1
Bill Door 1
BlueOhio 1
Meyer6 1
Chessic Sense 1
Mean Mr. Mustard 1
Mishell 1
Captain Amazing 1
Ferret Herder 1
NinjaChick 1
Darth_Hamsandwich 1
Fried Dough Ho 1
SoulFrost 1
Hamlet 1
Clothahump 1
GIGObuster 1
umop ap!sdn 1
descamisado 1
FoieGrasIsEvil 1
BigT 1
tiltawhirl 1
Show Thread & Close Window
================================
Simple slice #1 supports the hunch that a thread’s (Pit especially) biggest activity is early on in its lifespan:
Straight Dope Message Board > Main > The BBQ Pit
Hello. I am a racist.
#1 08-17-2010, 07:25 PM (Tue)
#151 08-17-2010, 11:56 PM (29) (151)
=============================================
#152 08-18-2010, 12:09 AM (Wed)
#440 08-18-2010, 11:59 PM (5) (289)
=============================================
#441 08-19-2010, 12:07 AM (Thu)
#635 08-19-2010, 11:30 PM (4) (195)
=============================================
#636 08-20-2010, 12:15 AM (1) (Fri)
#678 08-20-2010, 11:05 PM (1) (43)
=============================================
#679 08-21-2010, 12:32 AM (1) (Sat)
#683 08-21-2010, 09:20 AM (2) (5)
=============================================
#684 08-22-2010, 11:26 PM (Sun)
#685 08-22-2010, 11:39 PM (2) (2)
=============================================
#686 08-25-2010, 02:59 PM (1) (Wed)
#695 08-25-2010, 09:21 PM (1) (10)
=============================================
#696 08-26-2010, 12:11 PM (1) (Thu)
#701 08-26-2010, 10:32 PM (1) (6)
=============================================
#702 08-27-2010, 12:34 AM (1) (Fri)
#713 08-27-2010, 08:42 PM (9) (12)
=============================================
It must be noted that the first day’s activity (as selected based on hours of the day) was limited to only 5 hours, and that the latest day’s activity was shortened by when I captured the data.
Here’s a by hour by day sort. Follow-up breakdown to appear shortly.
============================
Straight Dope Message Board > Main > The BBQ Pit
Hello. I am a racist.
#1 08-17-2010, 07:25 PM
#27 08-17-2010, 07:59 PM (27)
#373 08-18-2010, 07:00 PM
#390 08-18-2010, 07:58 PM (18)
#612 08-19-2010, 07:23 PM (1)
#674 08-20-2010, 07:58 PM (1)
#693 08-25-2010, 07:13 PM
#694 08-25-2010, 07:31 PM (2)
#703 08-27-2010, 07:10 PM
#704 08-27-2010, 07:48 PM (2) (51)
=============================================
#28 08-17-2010, 08:03 PM
#51 08-17-2010, 08:55 PM (24)
#391 08-18-2010, 08:02 PM
#419 08-18-2010, 08:57 PM (29)
#613 08-19-2010, 08:04 PM
#616 08-19-2010, 08:42 PM (4)
#675 08-20-2010, 08:37 PM
#676 08-20-2010, 08:52 PM (2)
#697 08-26-2010, 08:39 PM (1)
#705 08-27-2010, 08:01 PM
#713 08-27-2010, 08:42 PM (9) (69)
=============================================
#52 08-17-2010, 09:03 PM
#80 08-17-2010, 09:59 PM (29)
#420 08-18-2010, 09:03 PM
#429 08-18-2010, 09:57 PM (10)
#617 08-19-2010, 09:13 PM
#622 08-19-2010, 09:54 PM (6)
#677 08-20-2010, 09:23 PM (1)
#695 08-25-2010, 09:21 PM (1)
#698 08-26-2010, 09:00 PM
#700 08-26-2010, 09:40 PM (3) (50)
=============================================
#81 08-17-2010, 10:03 PM
#122 08-17-2010, 10:59 PM (42)
#430 08-18-2010, 10:08 PM
#435 08-18-2010, 10:57 PM (6)
#623 08-19-2010, 10:05 PM
#631 08-19-2010, 10:58 PM (9)
#701 08-26-2010, 10:32 PM (1) (58)
=============================================
#123 08-17-2010, 11:00 PM
#151 08-17-2010, 11:56 PM (29)
#436 08-18-2010, 11:00 PM
#440 08-18-2010, 11:59 PM (5)
#632 08-19-2010, 11:18 PM
#635 08-19-2010, 11:30 PM (4)
#678 08-20-2010, 11:05 PM (1)
#684 08-22-2010, 11:26 PM
#685 08-22-2010, 11:39 PM (2) (41)
=============================================
#152 08-18-2010, 12:09 AM
#156 08-18-2010, 12:46 AM (5)
#441 08-19-2010, 12:07 AM
#446 08-19-2010, 12:53 AM (6)
#636 08-20-2010, 12:15 AM (1)
#679 08-21-2010, 12:32 AM (1)
#702 08-27-2010, 12:34 AM (1) (14)
=============================================
#157 08-18-2010, 01:04 AM
#185 08-18-2010, 01:58 AM (29)
#447 08-19-2010, 01:20 AM (1)
#637 08-20-2010, 01:10 AM (1) (31)
=============================================
#186 08-18-2010, 02:34 AM
#188 08-18-2010, 02:48 AM (3)
#638 08-20-2010, 02:09 AM (1) (4)
=============================================
#189 08-18-2010, 03:15 AM
#190 08-18-2010, 03:35 AM (2)
#448 08-19-2010, 03:01 AM
#450 08-19-2010, 03:56 AM (3) (5)
=============================================
#191 08-18-2010, 04:15 AM
#194 08-18-2010, 04:45 AM (4)
#451 08-19-2010, 04:19 AM (1) (5)
=============================================
#195 08-18-2010, 05:05 AM
#203 08-18-2010, 05:57 AM (9)
#452 08-19-2010, 05:47 AM
#453 08-19-2010, 05:59 AM (2) (11)
=============================================
#204 08-18-2010, 06:30 AM
#209 08-18-2010, 06:56 AM (6)
#454 08-19-2010, 06:11 AM (1) (7)
=============================================
#210 08-18-2010, 07:00 AM
#211 08-18-2010, 07:05 AM (2)
#455 08-19-2010, 07:13 AM (1)
#639 08-20-2010, 07:28 AM
#641 08-20-2010, 07:43 AM (3) (6)
=============================================
#212 08-18-2010, 08:11 AM
#215 08-18-2010, 08:22 AM (4)
#456 08-19-2010, 08:30 AM (1)
#642 08-20-2010, 08:48 AM
#643 08-20-2010, 08:49 AM (2)
#680 08-21-2010, 08:25 AM
#681 08-21-2010, 08:48 AM (2) (9)
=============================================
#216 08-18-2010, 09:13 AM
#217 08-18-2010, 09:30 AM (2)
#457 08-19-2010, 09:23 AM
#462 08-19-2010, 09:59 AM (6)
#644 08-20-2010, 09:06 AM
#649 08-20-2010, 09:39 AM (6)
#682 08-21-2010, 09:14 AM
#683 08-21-2010, 09:20 AM (2) (16)
=============================================
#218 08-18-2010, 10:23 AM
#219 08-18-2010, 10:43 AM (2)
#463 08-19-2010, 10:00 AM
#474 08-19-2010, 10:56 AM (12)
#650 08-20-2010, 10:09 AM
#653 08-20-2010, 10:59 AM (4) (18)
=============================================
#220 08-18-2010, 11:00 AM
#233 08-18-2010, 11:58 AM (14)
#475 08-19-2010, 11:02 AM
#480 08-19-2010, 11:50 AM (6)
#654 08-20-2010, 11:05 AM
#660 08-20-2010, 11:58 AM (7) (27)
=============================================
#234 08-18-2010, 12:04 PM
#258 08-18-2010, 12:59 PM (25)
#481 08-19-2010, 12:01 PM
#498 08-19-2010, 12:59 PM (18)
#661 08-20-2010, 12:02 PM
#669 08-20-2010, 12:49 PM (9)
#696 08-26-2010, 12:11 PM (1) (53)
=============================================
#259 08-18-2010, 01:02 PM
#279 08-18-2010, 01:57 PM (21)
#499 08-19-2010, 01:00 PM
#515 08-19-2010, 01:58 PM (17)
#670 08-20-2010, 01:44 PM (1) (39)
=============================================
#280 08-18-2010, 02:02 PM
#299 08-18-2010, 02:59 PM (20)
#516 08-19-2010, 02:00 PM
#537 08-19-2010, 02:57 PM (22)
#686 08-25-2010, 02:59 PM (1) (43)
=============================================
#300 08-18-2010, 03:02 PM
#323 08-18-2010, 03:59 PM (24)
#538 08-19-2010, 03:00 PM
#588 08-19-2010, 03:59 PM (51)
#687 08-25-2010, 03:32 PM
#688 08-25-2010, 03:43 PM (2) (77)
=============================================
#324 08-18-2010, 04:03 PM
#353 08-18-2010, 04:55 PM (30)
#589 08-19-2010, 04:00 PM
#608 08-19-2010, 04:38 PM (20)
#689 08-25-2010, 04:50 PM (1) (51)
=============================================
#354 08-18-2010, 05:00 PM
#363 08-18-2010, 05:55 PM (10)
#609 08-19-2010, 05:10 PM
#610 08-19-2010, 05:13 PM (2)
#690 08-25-2010, 05:07 PM
#691 08-25-2010, 05:47 PM (2) (14)
=============================================
#364 08-18-2010, 06:07 PM
#372 08-18-2010, 06:53 PM (9)
#611 08-19-2010, 06:32 PM (1)
#671 08-20-2010, 06:12 PM
#673 08-20-2010, 06:56 PM (3)
#692 08-25-2010, 06:43 PM (1) (14)
=============================================
At least for this thread and this forum and this time of year and whatever other variables may be at play, the safer bets would be based on numbers similar to these:
===================================================
Straight Dope Message Board > Main > The BBQ Pit
Hello. I am a racist.
Chronologically:
#704 08-27-2010, 07:48 PM (2) (51)
#713 08-27-2010, 08:42 PM (9) (69)
#700 08-26-2010, 09:40 PM (3) (50)
#701 08-26-2010, 10:32 PM (1) (58)
#685 08-22-2010, 11:39 PM (2) (41)
#702 08-27-2010, 12:34 AM (1) (14)
#637 08-20-2010, 01:10 AM (1) (31)
#638 08-20-2010, 02:09 AM (1) (4)
#450 08-19-2010, 03:56 AM (3) (5)
#451 08-19-2010, 04:19 AM (1) (5)
#453 08-19-2010, 05:59 AM (2) (11)
#454 08-19-2010, 06:11 AM (1) (7)
#641 08-20-2010, 07:43 AM (3) (6)
#681 08-21-2010, 08:48 AM (2) (9)
#683 08-21-2010, 09:20 AM (2) (16)
#653 08-20-2010, 10:59 AM (4) (18)
#660 08-20-2010, 11:58 AM (7) (27)
#696 08-26-2010, 12:11 PM (1) (53)
#670 08-20-2010, 01:44 PM (1) (39)
#686 08-25-2010, 02:59 PM (1) (43)
#688 08-25-2010, 03:43 PM (2) (77)
#689 08-25-2010, 04:50 PM (1) (51)
#691 08-25-2010, 05:47 PM (2) (14)
#692 08-25-2010, 06:43 PM (1) (14)
=============================================
By Volume:
#688 08-25-2010, 03:43 PM (2) (77)
#713 08-27-2010, 08:42 PM (9) (69)
#701 08-26-2010, 10:32 PM (1) (58)
#696 08-26-2010, 12:11 PM (1) (53)
#689 08-25-2010, 04:50 PM (1) (51)
#704 08-27-2010, 07:48 PM (2) (51)
#700 08-26-2010, 09:40 PM (3) (50)
#686 08-25-2010, 02:59 PM (1) (43)
#685 08-22-2010, 11:39 PM (2) (41)
#670 08-20-2010, 01:44 PM (1) (39)
#637 08-20-2010, 01:10 AM (1) (31)
#660 08-20-2010, 11:58 AM (7) (27)
#653 08-20-2010, 10:59 AM (4) (18)
#683 08-21-2010, 09:20 AM (2) (16)
#702 08-27-2010, 12:34 AM (1) (14)
#691 08-25-2010, 05:47 PM (2) (14)
#692 08-25-2010, 06:43 PM (1) (14)
#453 08-19-2010, 05:59 AM (2) (11)
#681 08-21-2010, 08:48 AM (2) (9)
#454 08-19-2010, 06:11 AM (1) (7)
#641 08-20-2010, 07:43 AM (3) (6)
#450 08-19-2010, 03:56 AM (3) (5)
#451 08-19-2010, 04:19 AM (1) (5)
#638 08-20-2010, 02:09 AM (1) (4)
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It will be interesting to find another set of data from another thread and another forum that turns this set on its head. I suspect that won’t be an easy find.
Which time zone are those times you listed?
CDT
If someone were to start a poll asking everyone what time of the day they read and post, would that go here or in IMHO?
Why not try IMHO first. If that’s not right, they’ll move it.
Why not? I posted a poll over there.
So, did you get a reasonable answer?
Based on analysis of post times on 364000 SDMB posts (all times PST), I would say the busiest time is about 9:30am PST.
Sorry for the rudimentary data presentation. I did this from my phone, lying in bed, in a fit of insomnia. 
Impressive. I bet a graph is even more persuasive.
I’d like to hear a little more of your method! 
Quick graph. Thanks, ntucker! What forum was this from?
All of them!
A while back, I wrote a ruby script that just snarfs down all the posts in all “new” threads since the last time it ran (first it parses the forum pages, then it decides which threads have new posts and grabs those thread pages at 200 posts per page, then parses out each post and some metadata about the post (like date)). It stores all the posts in a mysql database. It was the result of some head-scratching over here.
I only collected data for a few weeks, but due to the fact that any thread that got bumped ended up getting all of its posts sucked up into my database, I ended up with posts going back all the way to 1999, although I can only say it’s a complete set of posts for the few weeks I was looking.
If anyone else is interested in doing some queries and wants access to the dataset, I can provide a mysql dump. It’s 70MB gzipped.