Who reads FR? [FReepathon thread 9.6]

Conservapedia-An Illustrated Guide ^ | Jan 18, 2011

[bezelbub]

At www.freerepublic.com, we find the question Who reads FR? to be answered in the following way:

Over 300,000 people have registered for posting privileges on Free Republic since inception in 1996 and our forum is read daily by over one hundred thousand freedom loving citizens and patriots from all around the country, and all around the world. We're currently delivering over thirty million pageviews per month to over one million visitors.

This number of 300,000 users is sometimes quoted (i.e., "On one conservative Web site, Freerepublic.com, some of the site's 300,000 registered users have recently used discussion threads to encourage votes for Bristol." - www.people.com), and adorns the front page of freerepublic since Dec 2008 (waybackmachine.com).
But it was wrong then - and it is still wrong now.

So, why aren't there 300,000 freepers?

When registering for posting privileges, any user gets an identification number. The user normally doesn't see this ID, it is only used for internal purposes. Jim Robinson got the number 1, the number 100,000 is taken by The 100,000th FReeper! Unfortunately, these consecutive numbers seem to have been assigned at the beginning of the registration process, not after a successful creation of an account. So each failed try to register increased the used ids, but not the number of accounts. Both numbers diverged pretty fast, but the bug wasn't mended until Feb 2010, when the new mile-stone of 350,000 attempted registrations arrived. By then, the two numbers differed by roughly 100,000. In fact, when freerepublic announced to have 300,000 registered users for the first time ind Dec 2008, the number really was closer to 230,000 - and today, it is less than 270,000.

And what has been done about it?

The way the powers-to-be have chosen to get the numbers right is obvious: they wait for the reality to fit the stated fact. The number of created accounts wasn't updated for two years, and probably won't be changed for another two years, until the number of registered freepers meets the announcement on the front page.

Just for the record: I think that the number of pageviews and visitors are correct. And I doubt that the makers of the site willingly inflated the numbers of created accounts. It seems to be just an honest mistake, and an easy one to make. But when they found the bug, wouldn't it have been the right thing to change the number, as they knew that it was false?

[dixiechick2000]

BTW, on Saturday, Jan. 22, my granddaughter will celebrate her 13th birthday. Thirteen years ago, I was watching CNN in the waiting room, waiting for her grand entrance, when CNN was forced to report this very sad news for that Admin.

What a milestone day that was, in several different ways.

[bezelbub]

Your insistence that JohnRob drop everything to satisfy your obsession with the number of registered screen names would be like asking General Washington to order his men to stop fighting and count their bullets.

I don't think so: I just wanted him to perform a small query. It's more like asking for an uncontroversial version of a birth certificate after you have been presented with a first version which seemed to display somewhat inaccurate numbers...

[bezelbub]

You are the ONLY one who cares about things that signify nothing. GET A HOBBY!

*LOL* Occupying yourself with something of little significance - isn't that the very definition of a hobby?

[DJ MacWoW]

Soooo, complaining about stupid stuff IS your hobby?

[bezelbub]

Soooo, complaining about stupid stuff IS your hobby?

I wouldn't phrase it like that - that just seems to be a consequence :-)

I'm taking an interest in the question how to measure the success of an online community (not only as a hobby...)

Obviously, there are many different bench-marks, and FR chose four of those to display on the main page to exemplify that we're big stuff all right :

1. Over 300,000 people have registered for posting privileges on Free Republic since inception in 1996
2. our forum is read daily by over one hundred thousand freedom loving citizens and patriots from all around the country, and all around the world
3. We're currently delivering over thirty million pageviews per month...
4. ...to over one million visitors.

Since I became member of FR in 2007, the numbers have been updated only once, so I got curious. In fact, the current display is there since Dec 2008, when the number of page-views and visitors were introduced for the first time.

I can't say much about the last three points: the administrators of the servers should have no problem to look them up. As 2008 was the year of a presidential election, one would assume that the numbers were exceptionally high, though.

What I can do is a little bit of data-mining. And this lead to the conclusion of the blog-entry, i.e., that the number of users seems not to be right - neither in 2008 nor today. Hope that helped.

[DJ MacWoW]

the numbers have been updated only once,

Because nobody cares. We have husbands and wives using the same account. There will NEVER be an accurate number. Page views gives all the info anyone would need.

[abbyg55]

I just wanted him to perform a small query.

My analogy was intentionally hyperbolic to show how counter-productive (and odd) your obsession with the number of FR registered users is. "You can't see the forest for the trees" better fits your single-minded focus on something of such little import, but it's over-used and boring.

[bezelbub]

Page views gives all the info anyone would need.

Alas, the page views displayed at the main page as being currently delivered were added in early December 2008. So, they were retrieved during the months before, covering the presidential election (Nov 4, 2008). The actual current numbers (Nov 2010, Dec 2010) are most probably considerably lower, judging from the edits made during these periods, by perhaps 20% - 25%.

But that is something which the administrator of the servers could easily check...

[DJ MacWoW]

Give it a rest and find something meaningful to do.

Bye.

[bezelbub]

"You can't see the forest for the trees"

I have to admit that I see neither the forest nor the trees, but only the sign in front of them, stating:

Over 300,000 people have registered for posting privileges on Free Republic since inception in 1996 and our forum is read daily by over one hundred thousand freedom loving citizens and patriots from all around the country, and all around the world. We're currently delivering over thirty million pageviews per month to over one million visitors.
Oh, we're big stuff all right

I just want the numbers on the main page of FR to be correct.

[onyx]

THAT’S *GRATE* Stealing! Woo-Hoo!
Thanks very much!

[Osage Orange]

The number is important enough to be featured on the main page of freerepublic.com - shouldn't it be correct?

Were you the guy that had his panties in a bunch..when McDonalds didn't have the exact number of burgers sold every year on their signs?

[restornu]

In 2004 is when FR was the nicest to the LDS!

[restornu]

In 2004 is when FR was the nicest to the LDS!

[greyfoxx39]

In 2004 is when FR was the nicest to the LDS!

OH....is THAT why so many of the mittbots that were flooding FR with Romney threads were 2004 sign-ons? We always wondered about that.

[Jim Robinson]

Actually, in 2004 we were more friendly to BushBots. MittBots weren’t hatched yet.

[T Minus Four]

Again with the whining and complaining about how things are done around here.

Is there one single thing you DO like about FR? Other than it’s free?

[Jim Robinson]

Then after 2004 we became very disenchanted with BushBots and even more so after 2006 when we finally realized the damage RINOBots were doing to our Liberty and then that lesson was hammered home hard again in 2008. Then came the Tea Party Rebellion. Now, we have rat writs, writ for rats and are making lawful deliverance of same. Rats, RINOs, warts and all.

[svcw]

Oh my gosh there is a stinck'n chart for everything. I love stats they can prove anything and the chart below proves that.

[greyfoxx39]

Is there one single thing you DO like about FR? Other than it’s free?

It's not free if you are a donor...I saw your name on the donor list along with mine, tM4. It's well worth the few bucks I can spare from my Social Security check. I don't wanna be a FReeploader! Keeping this avenue open for conservatism is important.