To: Jim Robinson; All
A thread with over 14,000 posts in it tends to be either very serious or very silly. I read a couple of thousands posts and have to admit that - as a European freeper - I don't know where to place this one in, there're lots of things I just don't understand, and a lot of things, I just don't like, esp. the foul language which is used even by the management...
So, I took a look at the stats:
Over 800 freepers participated in this thread, 30 freepers of those now show a blue screen (quidnunc KATIE-O kellynch shaylalala stuned_beeber jasoncann GenuineChocolateFace BeHoldAPaleHorse AZRepublican motzman Al Simmons sully777 Just sayin NGRY Sam Hill Pukin Dog habs4ever Dominic Harr Zeroisanumber 68 grunt cicero's_son oceanview Howlin RadioAstronomer meg88 debg B-bone justshutupandtakeit Peach Texasforever )
I don't now, how many "opused" or choose a kind of "inner emigration"...
To put this numbers in a context, I tried to get some stats of this site. At the homepage, it just states: Over 200,000 people have registered for posting privileges on Free Republic since inception in 1996 and our forum is read daily by tens of thousands of concerned citizens and patriots from all around the country and all around the world.
Using the fact, that every freeper has a unique id-number (now going up to something like 280.000), I took a sample of 1000 feasible id-numbers and had a closer look at them. Here are my results:
- there are indeed ca. 200.000 accounts (either active or suspended)
- 25% (ca. 50.000) of these are banned or suspended
- another 40% (ca. 80.0000) of the accounts were never used to post
- the remaining 35% (70.000) were used the last time in
2001 |
2002 |
2003 |
2004 |
2005 |
2006 |
2007 |
1.3 % |
2.1 % |
4.4 % |
6.8 % |
5.8 % |
5.9 % |
8.4 % |
2600 |
4200 |
8800 |
13,200 |
11,600 |
11,800 |
16,400 |
![](http://www.miamihost.net/ims/u/dieben/dieb-pics/freeper.JPG)
It seems to be fair to say that there are 16,400 active freepers. Ca. 5% of those took part in this very thread. But I think that most of us other active freepers had a look at it. And we'll observe the development of this site:
- will it resemble a park where everyone willing to participate sensibly is welcomed as all the contributions add to the value of the site or
- will it become a backyard where there is no place for different opinions?
BTB: Of course, no guarantee can be given for the numbers - though they seem to be reasonable guesses. I'd be glad if someone could give the actual values...
To: si tacuissem
25% (ca. 50.000) of these are banned or suspended Retreads, multiple fraudently obtained accounts. Probably more like 2 to 3%.
To: si tacuissem
I run a whole bunch of email lists...and those who post are always much smaller in number than those who have memberships...frequently less than 10 percent of a list membership might post.
That is the way forums and discussion groups work. More readers than posters.
As discussion groups go, FR is HUGE. You don't get 16,000 people together online most places. Lots of towns don't have populations that big.
People who hang here a lot begin to treat it like it was fully public space, but it's not. It's a private park. It's too big to ever get lockstepped, but occasionally the owner makes a effort to nudge the group along the lines he clearly has stated are the true purpose of the site.
It's still and always has been here to be a conservative forum.
All opinions have never been welcome here. But within its subset, there is room for differing opinions, interests, viewpoints.
If you don't fit within the dark area, which includes an emphasis on social conservativism, you will find at time, things might be uncomfortable.
When subcommunities arise that are too far away from the mission statement, things happen too.
It really doesn't matter what we think of as the ideal diversity of ideas or viewing things as lockstep. This site was created for a certain form of political viewpoint, by the owner's wishes.
To: si tacuissem
So, I took a look at the stats: Great googly-moogly, I like the way your mind works.
To: si tacuissem
Very interesting analysis. Thanks. I’m sometimes amazed at what some freepers can do. I probably have access to the same information but it would take me over a year to put it together and then, it would be worse than stale hamburger.
14,880 posted on
04/29/2007 11:02:35 AM PDT by
Kevmo
(Duncan Hunter just needs one Rudy G Campaign Video: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RVBtPIrEleM)
To: si tacuissem
I’m curious as to how you arrived at the 800 number...Surely you didn’t manually count each post?!
14,887 posted on
04/29/2007 11:18:15 AM PDT by
rockrr
(Never argue with a man who buys ammo in bulk...)
To: si tacuissem
Over 850 freeper took part in this thread, 39 are now banned or suspended:
Freeper |
Last Post |
quidnunc |
04/21/2007 |
Texasforever |
04/21/2007 |
habs4ever |
04/22/2007 |
Howlin |
04/22/2007 |
KATIE-O |
04/22/2007 |
NGRY |
04/22/2007 |
Peach |
04/22/2007 |
stuned_beeber |
04/22/2007 |
Zeroisanumber |
04/23/2007 |
AZRepublican |
04/23/2007 |
B-bone |
04/23/2007 |
kellynch |
04/23/2007 |
motzman |
04/23/2007 |
Pukin Dog |
04/23/2007 |
Al Simmons |
04/24/2007 |
Dominic Harr |
04/24/2007 |
Sam Hill |
04/24/2007 |
68 grunt |
04/25/2007 |
BeHoldAPaleHorse |
04/25/2007 |
cicero's_son |
04/25/2007 |
debg |
04/25/2007 |
GenuineChocolateFace |
04/25/2007 |
jasoncann |
04/25/2007 |
Just sayin |
04/25/2007 |
justshutupandtakeit |
04/25/2007 |
meg88 |
04/25/2007 |
oceanview |
04/25/2007 |
RadioAstronomer |
04/25/2007 |
shaylalala |
04/26/2007 |
sully777 |
04/26/2007 |
Cincinatus' Wife |
04/29/2007 |
dukakis kerry the dream team |
04/29/2007 |
GSlob |
04/29/2007 |
ilovew |
04/29/2007 |
Jhensy |
04/29/2007 |
RexTheRunt |
04/29/2007 |
sissyjane |
04/29/2007 |
IrishRainy |
04/30/2007 |
veronica |
04/30/2007 |
Bilbo Baggins phrased this Golden Rule for online-comunities:I don't know half of you half as well as I should like; and I like less than half of you as well as you deserve.
I'm sorry to witness this blood-letting...
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