Before this thread fades into oblivion, to be aroused some time in the future as a zombie (or worse), it may be worth the grammar school arithmetic and the numbers shown at http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/index.php – which at this very moment are:
…to get these raw estimates:
Avg All Members: Posts: 17,878,898, Members: 166,196 = 107.577
Avg Active Members: Posts: 17,878,898, Active Members: 5,212 = 3430.333
So one could argue (if not effectively) that if you have over 3430 posts then you are eligible for the next step (whatever it may be) toward becoming established.
If you have made fewer than 107 posts you may have retained your classification of Lurker!
“Active member” just means someone who has logged in within the past 60 days (IIRC). Dividing the total number of posts made in 14 years by those posters who have logged in in the last two months doesn’t have a lot of significance.
No doubt! I seem to recall some semi-serious effort not too long ago to decide what the “active member’s” post count would be like, but I didn’t go hunting for that older thread.
This “no brainer” approach I just mentioned would serve only as a basement number at best.