# Why isn't The Straight Dope very popular? **URL:** \ **Category:** About This Message Board\ **Created:** [April 1, 2020, 9:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-isnt-the-straight-dope-very-popular/850837 "2020-04-01T21:28:06Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 4
**Author:** ![puzzlegal](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/puzzlegal/32/3827_2.png) [@puzzlegal](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/puzzlegal)\ **Post date:** [April 3, 2020, 12:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-isnt-the-straight-dope-very-popular/850837/62 "2020-04-03T12:54:14Z")
> [@Senegoid](#): > > This entire thread, so far, totally ignores the elephant in the room (at least in recent board history), namely, the timeouts. We old Diehards of the Dope just gnash our teeth and persevere, but I imagine that newbies just give up right away and take their pixels elsewhere. Well the straight dope (and other traditional message boards) was in decline before that. But yeah. I don’t expect to get many new posters until that gets fixed. ---
**Author:** ![JackieLikesVariety](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jackielikesvariety/32/296_2.png) [@JackieLikesVariety](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/JackieLikesVariety)\ **Post date:** [April 3, 2020, 1:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-isnt-the-straight-dope-very-popular/850837/63 "2020-04-03T13:13:38Z")
> [@](#): > > I think it would be great if we would just let old threads bubble up whenever anyone felt like bumping them, without reflexively acting like this is somehow a problem. I agree with this. ---
**Author:** ![Colibri](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/colibri/32/1841_2.png) [@Colibri](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Colibri)\ **Post date:** [April 3, 2020, 2:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-isnt-the-straight-dope-very-popular/850837/64 "2020-04-03T14:08:12Z")
> [@Musicat](#): > > Nitpick: The _mode_ (average) is probably 1, but the _median_ (average) is undoubtedly higher. I said what I meant. I think both the mode and the median are 1. (If zeroes are included, they are both zero). I could be wrong, but I think fewer than half of registrants make more than a single post. That’s certainly true if spammers are included. ---
**Author:** ![JKellyMap](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jkellymap/32/15880_2.png) [@JKellyMap](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/JKellyMap)\ **Post date:** [April 3, 2020, 2:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-isnt-the-straight-dope-very-popular/850837/65 "2020-04-03T14:55:26Z")
> [@Colibri](#): > > I said what I meant. I think both the mode and the median are 1. (If zeroes are included, they are both zero). I could be wrong, but I think fewer than half of registrants make more than a single post. That’s certainly true if spammers are included. This sort of exchange is exactly why I, and the teeming millions, love this place! Okay, teeming thousands. Teeming hundreds? Yes, hundreds. Okay, fine. The teeming dozens it is! Sheesh. ---
**Author:** ![ThelmaLou](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/thelmalou/32/390_2.png) [@ThelmaLou](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ThelmaLou)\ **Post date:** [April 3, 2020, 4:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-isnt-the-straight-dope-very-popular/850837/66 "2020-04-03T16:14:42Z")
> [@Colibri](#): > > I said what I meant. I think both the mode and the median are 1. (If zeroes are included, they are both zero). I could be wrong, but I think fewer than half of registrants make more than a single post. That’s certainly true if spammers are included. > [@JKellyMap](#): > > This sort of exchange is exactly why I, and the teeming millions, love this place! > > Okay, teeming thousands. > > Teeming hundreds? Yes, hundreds. > > Okay, fine. The teeming dozens it is! Sheesh. I know! As I posted to someone the other day, we love nit-pickery here. 😛 ---
**Author:** ![ArtBeforeScience](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/73ab20/32.png) [@ArtBeforeScience](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ArtBeforeScience)\ **Post date:** [April 3, 2020, 6:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-isnt-the-straight-dope-very-popular/850837/67 "2020-04-03T18:33:58Z")
I read the SD column years ago and always enjoyed its wit and accuracy. It made science fun, and snarky, too. The few topics that I happen to be an expert on myself were well-handled and treated fairly in the SD column. As to SDMB, I like that it is moderated and the mods really pay attention. I don’t post much because it seemed hard to break in. However, some of the regular posters are really hilarious and seem like great people. At times, people have posted about their personal tragedies and have received genuine compassion. The arguments and debates have different perspectives, often with some eloquence. ---
**Author:** ![Peter\_Morris](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/peter_morris/32/359_2.png) [@Peter\_Morris](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Peter_Morris)\ **Post date:** [April 3, 2020, 8:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-isnt-the-straight-dope-very-popular/850837/68 "2020-04-03T20:10:10Z")
> [@Colibri](#): > > The vast majority of people who register for the board never make a single post. Of the rest, the median number of posts is probably 1, regardless of whether they bumped a zombie or not. > [@Colibri](#): > > I said what I meant. I think both the mode and the median are 1. (If zeroes are included, they are both zero). I could be wrong, but I think fewer than half of registrants make more than a single post. That’s certainly true if spammers are included. I think you are mistaken. Discounting spammers, only a small minority of posters make exactly one post. Even if someone only posts in a single thread, they will usually make at least two or three posts before dropping out. Based on a brief survey, I’d say the mode is 3 posts. And that’s only a minority. The majority post in a handful of threads before dropping out, with about 10 to 100 total posts. (Not including zeroes) ---
**Author:** ![Brayne\_Ded](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/e9bcb4/32.png) [@Brayne\_Ded](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Brayne_Ded)\ **Post date:** [April 3, 2020, 8:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-isnt-the-straight-dope-very-popular/850837/69 "2020-04-03T20:10:59Z")
> [@OldGuy](#): > > To be honest, I’m not sure the US (where most of us are from) is as interested in fighting ignorance or having their own ignorance fought as it used to be. Spot on. Unfortunately. ---
**Author:** ![Tripler](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tripler/32/21807_2.png) [@Tripler](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tripler)\ **Post date:** [April 3, 2020, 9:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-isnt-the-straight-dope-very-popular/850837/70 "2020-04-03T21:25:28Z")
> [@Duckster](#): > > We are the stick shift in an automatic world. I like to think of us as a [Patton Tank](https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/M48_Patton) in a world of [Abrams](https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/M1_Abrams) and [T-72s](https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/T-72) / [T-80s](https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/T-80): a little older, but a workhorse that still has lots of life left for the day-to-day job of layin’ fire onto boredom. Tripler Why, yes, I do read talk porn. Why do you ask? ---
**Author:** ![Dewey\_Finn](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dewey_finn/32/4222_2.png) [@Dewey\_Finn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dewey_Finn)\ **Post date:** [April 3, 2020, 9:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-isnt-the-straight-dope-very-popular/850837/71 "2020-04-03T21:39:35Z")
So is talk porn the kind where people talk dirty to each other but never touch? Seems appropriate in the age of social distancing. ---
**Author:** ![Colibri](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/colibri/32/1841_2.png) [@Colibri](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Colibri)\ **Post date:** [April 3, 2020, 10:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-isnt-the-straight-dope-very-popular/850837/72 "2020-04-03T22:19:16Z")
> [@Peter\_Morris](#): > > I think you are mistaken. Discounting spammers, only a small minority of posters make exactly one post. Even if someone only posts in a single thread, they will usually make at least two or three posts before dropping out. Based on a brief survey, I’d say the mode is 3 posts. And that’s only a minority. The majority post in a handful of threads before dropping out, with about 10 to 100 total posts. (Not including zeroes) I was curious (and bored) enough to gather more extensive data, and at least a plurality (about 40%) of non-zero/non-spammer posters make just one post, not a “small minority.” Only around a third make more than 10 posts. The mode is pretty certainly 1, although I admit not the median, which is probably 2. I arbitrarily checked 100 registrants in sequence, and the results were: 0: 48 1: 14 2: 5 3: 1 4: 3 5: 1 11: 1 19: 1 26: 1 75: 1 167: 1 170: 1 252: 1 667: 1 2680: 1 Banned: 19 So that’s 14 single-post posters out of 33 with one or more posts, excluding zeroes and bannees. I excluded Banned posters since they were almost all spammers. Most would have made a single post if any. Three or four were quickly-banned trolls with a small number of posts. I’ve always been mystified why so many people register without ever posting. ---
**Author:** ![Melbourne](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/b5e925/32.png) [@Melbourne](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Melbourne)\ **Post date:** [April 3, 2020, 10:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-isnt-the-straight-dope-very-popular/850837/73 "2020-04-03T22:26:34Z")
> [@jnglmassiv](#): > > Part of it is that we’re not nice to newbies. > > I realize that this is an unpopular opinion and that I’m insignificant but I’ve always disagreed with the reflexive closing of old bumped threads or what we call zombies. Some rando SDMB candidate searches for something weird and bumps into an interesting thread. It may have been one I’d missed or an oldie that I’d forgotten about or maybe about a topic I’ve since learned a lot more about. Contribute? Nope. Closed: old. But OP can always start a new thread, haha, right? Naw, very few of these highly potential dopers come back and why would they after that frosty introduction? That additional data they might have had had is pretty much gone forever. The limited amount of social media I consume takes me to the point of interaction. I see the latest post, I enter at the latest post. Back in the day, jBBS and Mailing lists did the same thing, in a different way. I’ve always thought that a BBS like the Straight Dope should do the same thing, but was blocked by technology and tribalism: Old BBS systems handled it by selective downloading, mailing list readers handled it by concealing early posts, newsreaders handled it by deleting early posts, Vbulletin handled it by deleting threads (moving them to the archive). Unfortunately, the mailing lists and news lists were full of mailing list and news list assholes who attacked anyone who committed the unforgivable sin of ‘top posting’, indicating that they weren’t using the approved software that handled that automatically, and their rancour poisoned the world. Now, old time users of old time systems like the SDMB find it hard to imagine a world in which the latest post is displayed first, by default, with precedents following. The consequence is that users, even experienced users, find themselves interacting with old posts first, which is the opposite of successful social media, even if they weren’t being criticised for doing so. Also of course, my young relatives don’t read for pleasure. I saw a thread somewhere where someone was claiming that reading was never really popular, always a minority activity. Well actually, a 100 years ago… But more to the point, even 20 years ago… Now we have Netflix and online games in the home. ---
**Author:** ![Yookeroo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/yookeroo/32/323_2.png) [@Yookeroo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Yookeroo)\ **Post date:** [April 3, 2020, 11:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-isnt-the-straight-dope-very-popular/850837/74 "2020-04-03T23:57:23Z")
> [@Colibri](#): > > I’ve always been mystified why so many people register without ever posting. Registering makes it easy to keep track of what you read. ---
**Author:** ![Ukulele\_Ike](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/u/df788c/32.png) [@Ukulele\_Ike](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ukulele_Ike)\ **Post date:** [April 4, 2020, 12:18am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-isnt-the-straight-dope-very-popular/850837/75 "2020-04-04T00:18:55Z")
> [@Colibri](#): > > I was curious (and bored) enough to gather more extensive data… Well, yeah, there’s not much night life going on in Panama. ---
**Author:** ![Peter\_Morris](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/peter_morris/32/359_2.png) [@Peter\_Morris](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Peter_Morris)\ **Post date:** [April 4, 2020, 12:43am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-isnt-the-straight-dope-very-popular/850837/76 "2020-04-04T00:43:21Z")
> [@Colibri](#): > > I was curious (and bored) enough to gather more extensive data, and at least a plurality (about 40%) of non-zero/non-spammer posters make just one post, not a “small minority.” Only around a third make more than 10 posts. The mode is pretty certainly 1, although I admit not the median, which is probably 2. I arbitrarily checked 100 registrants in sequence, and the results were: Which hundred did you pick? I did a similar survey Collibri is user number 10115, so I started with #10116, and went forward from there. Ignoring zeroes, only counting those with 1 or more post, and going forward until I had over a hundred actual examples, which happened around #10275. Results: spoilered for brevity 10116- 10125 1, 199, 23, 13, 16, 73, (4x0) 10125-10150 3, 1037, 7273, 6, 2, 9, 102, 1, 382, 5762, 3, 2, 1, 3, 188, 2284, 3, 12, 2, 99, (5x0) 10151-10175, 73, 4836, 1, 43, 1, 2847, 3, 34, 19, 72, 1, 2, (13x0) 10176-10200 3, 7, 1038, 13, 1, 1, 511, 4, 1, 106, 2, 633, 1, 506, 1, 1, 7, 5 (7x0) 10201-10225 2, 12, 7, 15, 1644, 7, 2, 1, 1, 1, 151, 918, 14, 102, (14x0) 10226-10250 121, 1, 3, 1, 2, 73, 417, 2, 4, 1, 33025, 38, 10, 16, (11x0) 10251-10275 398, 1, 75, 3, 694, 24, 7, 1, 64, 1, 1, 4444, 4, 50, 4, 1, 7, 2, 539, (6x0) 1x23 2x10 3x7 4x4 5x0 6x1 7x6 8x0 9x1 10x1 So, that’s about half the registered posters with no posts. Out of those who posted at all, about 23% have 1 post, about the same number have 2-6 posts, the median is 7, about 25% have 10-100 posts, and another 25% have over a hundred posts. 10% became long term posters with over a thousand posts, and some of them are still around. I also noticed at least one person with only a small number of posts, but showing as online as I type. ---
**Author:** ![Dewey\_Finn](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dewey_finn/32/4222_2.png) [@Dewey\_Finn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dewey_Finn)\ **Post date:** [April 4, 2020, 1:08am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-isnt-the-straight-dope-very-popular/850837/77 "2020-04-04T01:08:37Z")
What surprises me are those who register, make one post and never return to the board (based on the last activity timestamp). Aren’t they at least curious to hear what others think of their ideas? ---
**Author:** ![Tripler](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tripler/32/21807_2.png) [@Tripler](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tripler)\ **Post date:** [April 4, 2020, 1:49am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-isnt-the-straight-dope-very-popular/850837/78 "2020-04-04T01:49:57Z")
> [@Dewey\_Finn](#): > > So is talk porn the kind where people talk dirty to each other but never touch? Seems appropriate in the age of social distancing. Goddamned autocorrect. :smack: Tripler Because apparently, “tank porn” is not in common parlance on cellphones. ---
**Author:** ![Tim\_T-Bonham.net](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/46a35a/32.png) [@Tim\_T-Bonham.net](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tim_T-Bonham.net)\ **Post date:** [April 4, 2020, 4:27am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-isnt-the-straight-dope-very-popular/850837/79 "2020-04-04T04:27:21Z")
> [@Senegoid](#): > > This entire thread, so far, totally ignores the elephant in the room (at least in recent board history), namely, the timeouts. We old Diehards of the Dope just gnash our teeth and persevere, but I imagine that newbies just give up right away and take their pixels elsewhere. But aren’t the timeouts greatly related to the advertisements? I have uBlockOrigin and other adblockers installed\*, and I hardly ever notice timeouts at all. There was a 1-2 day period not so long ago where I did notice timeouts – I think I saw 3-4 of them – but that’s all I recall of timeouts. I know that websites have to pull the content of advertisements from other locations on the internet, and that the sites have no control over what advertisements appear on their site. Couldn’t those extra access requests to get the advertisement content contribute to the timeout problems? \*A couple of years ago, I was in the hospital for a few days. After nearly dying of boredom, I discovered a lounge area containing a computer. I used that to access a few sites that I liked, including SDMB. I found them almost unusable, being so infected with ads, popups, etc. I couldn’t imagine how people could stand to use the Internet that way. ---
**Author:** ![SlackerInc](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/slackerinc/32/275_2.png) [@SlackerInc](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SlackerInc)\ **Post date:** [April 4, 2020, 5:14am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-isnt-the-straight-dope-very-popular/850837/80 "2020-04-04T05:14:58Z")
I have always been leery of using adblockers for ethical reasons. (I don’t want to be a free rider: same reason I don’t torrent music, movies, or TV shows.) But the difficulty in the user experience does test my patience for that ethos at times. Increasingly there are pop-ups that obscure the text I’m trying to read, autoplay videos that blare, and–maybe most annoying of all–ads that load at various rates all over the screen, moving the text around so that I have to keep adjusting it. God forbid I try to click anything, as it will probably be moved from resizing at the split instant before I try. :smack: > [@ArtBeforeScience](#): > > I read the SD column years ago and always enjoyed its wit and accuracy. It made science fun, and snarky, too. The few topics that I happen to be an expert on myself were well-handled and treated fairly in the SD column. > > As to SDMB, I like that it is moderated and the mods really pay attention. I don’t post much because it seemed hard to break in. However, some of the regular posters are really hilarious and seem like great people. At times, people have posted about their personal tragedies and have received genuine compassion. The arguments and debates have different perspectives, often with some eloquence. Well said! ---
**Author:** ![ThelmaLou](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/thelmalou/32/390_2.png) [@ThelmaLou](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ThelmaLou)\ **Post date:** [April 4, 2020, 12:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-isnt-the-straight-dope-very-popular/850837/81 "2020-04-04T12:01:11Z")
> [@Peter\_Morris](#): > > Which hundred did you pick? > > I did a similar survey Collibri is user number 10115, so I started with #10116, and went forward from there. Ignoring zeroes, only counting those with 1 or more post, and going forward until I had over a hundred actual examples, which happened around #10275. > > Results: spoilered for brevity > > \ > > So, that’s about half the registered posters with no posts. > > Out of those who posted at all, about 23% have 1 post, about the same number have 2-6 posts, the median is 7, about 25% have 10-100 posts, and another 25% have over a hundred posts. 10% became long term posters with over a thousand posts, and some of them are still around. I also noticed at least one person with only a small number of posts, but showing as online as I type. Many important discoveries and contributions to society have been made by people with too much time on their hands. Well done! 🙂 [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-isnt-the-straight-dope-very-popular/850837.md?page=3) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-isnt-the-straight-dope-very-popular/850837.md?page=5)