2500 oh so close!!

[matt]

Well...it's getting nice and close now.

Only 17 more members (at time of writing) for IIS to hit the 2500 mark:eyepop:

Not that it's all about numbers, but it's great to see this very popular and friendly site continue to grow and attract more people.

The more the merrier. I'm always interested to read of the experiences of new arrivals, particularly those making their first forays into astronomy:thumbsup:

I wonder who will be number 2500...and then 3000...and then....

I reckon it would be fun to have a membership number much like the numbers on the Aussie Cricket team player's caps and shirts which shows which number you were when you joined;)

I wonder which number I was? Hard to believe that was almost two years ago!

[ballaratdragons]

Matt, you are member number 492.

I have always had mine in my sig :thumbsup:

[matt]

Wow. Impressive. How'd you find that out, Ken?

Is there a member details section of the site with those details, outside of the Member List?

I'm still finding out new features of IIS...even today!:lol:

[ballaratdragons]

its a secret :lol:

[matt]

How long you been working for ASIO?:whistle: :lol:

[iceman]

Just hold your mouse over someone's name and look in the task bar or look at the URL after clicking on their profile. The ?u=XXX is the member # :)

[matt]

Ohhhhhhhh.......

Tricky:)

[ballaratdragons]

OK, you forced it out of me by busting my cover!

For anyone to find out their member number, Mouse over your Avatar or name and look at the URL down the bottom left of screen. Your member number is at the end of the URL.

In your case Matt, it is u=492

But keep this trick a secret. It's confidential ASIO stuff :lol:

[ballaratdragons]

Shucks, Mike posted the secret while I was typing it :doh:

[ballaratdragons]

Wierd but the newest member 'hutch4437' makes the total 2898.

Must have de-registered quite a few along the way.

[matt]

Hmmmmm:confuse3:

[ballaratdragons]

If you go through the members lists you will notice lots of members who registerd years ago and have never posted. Others with only 1 or 2 posts and never came back.

In all, there are probably only about 80 regularly active members, which is still quite a community!

[iceman]

yes there are gaps due to spammers who get banned, people who accidently register twice and then have their accounts merged, etc.
Those people aren't included in the total member tally.


Yeh it's a shame. I guess it's like that for every community, whether it's an online community or a real one, in any hobby. People lose interest, change hobbies, or signed up to ask a specific question, or during a specific event (like Comet McNaught).

The good thing is though, the general trend is very much still on the rise with well over 100 new members every month.


It's actually much more than that. There's usually 300+ members (logged in) browsing every day - that's not including guests and members who aren't logged in.
About 1/3 of those post every day.

[ballaratdragons]

Those are very good figures Mike!!! Some other Forums I'm in (Rugby League, Chevrolet, etc) boast of worldwide memberships over 10,000, and yet there are only about 50 or so actual active members.

But I am guilty of that too. I joined a Ford Forum just to ask one question.

[erick]

:ashamed::ashamed::ashamed:

I joined a woodworking forum. Got a member to help me machine up a really cheap wooden ball for a barndoor tracker I never built and haven't gone back there!! :rolleyes:

[matt]

That's what I would have thought:)

[Greg Bryant]

Also, more than 600 of the ~2500 members have posted at least 10 times, and nearly 900 have posted at least 5 times. That's a healthy participation rate for a site this large!

[ballaratdragons]

Good figures you point out Greg.

Yours would be interesting too.

I don't know your sales figures but I imagine that if you sold 5000 magazines, those 5000 are probably read by 10,000 people, or more. (figures used as example only)

There are 3 people in this house alone that read my copy each issue. The copies at our Clubroom are read by members and visitors.

So, you may be reaching many more people than sales figures show!

Same with this site. Visitors make up a huge readership.

All spreads interest in our hobby in one way or another :thumbsup:

[matt]

I know when I was sub-editing specialist interest mags back in the early 90s in Sydney the general rule of thumb was that for every magazine that was sold you could factor for another 10 people to read that particular magazine at some point in its life.

That's just an average, but according to the publisher it was a fairly accurate measure of readership.

[Ric]

Just checking if I've done this right, am I member No. 1013

Cheers

[matt]

Yep.

1013:thumbsup:

[Ric]

Cool, thanks Matt. It has a nice ring to it.

Cheers

[Gargoyle_Steve]

Yep Ric, you've got that dead right.
Apparently I'm No 871 - I feel like an old hand here now!

This reminds me of that episode of the Simpsons when Homer wanted to join the Stonecutters, and everyone had just a rank number, no names.... does anyone else remember that one?

[Ric]

:lol: I remember that episode Steve, good value.:thumbsup: I hope that Mike doesn' have any strange rituals for us in store.:lol:

Cheers

[snug]

Well i just got here last 2 weeks..so im just a baby at 2842..

When i was trying to decide on scope i read alot of Gargoyle Steves first posts you had exactly the same questions as i (i also do shift work) so i related alot to what u were asking at the time...and u had alot of simpson quotes (i take it your a fan). My son is at university in Brisbane studying the Simpsons!..

[Gargoyle_Steve]

Great minds think alike hey Snug? ;)

Yes I am a fan of the Simpsons - recently I was reminded that I'm both slightly older and slightly heavier than Homer, but I have better dress sense and plenty of hair (and all my own).
:D

I hope you found those old post of mine helpful, or perhaps I should say the answers and advice that others gave me here. I can honestly say I have learned SO much since joining this forum, a mere 16 months ago or so.

I've read your posts re your new adventures with your scope, Crayford focuser, etc - someone has always logged good advice for you, and that is the real strength of this forum.

Keep asking the questions, and I hope your enjoyment of astronomy grows day by day, er .. night by night! If you ever find yourself up SE Qld way come along to one of our gatherings at AstroRon's place, you'd be more than welcome - and Ron is a veritable encyclopedia of information all on his own !

[ballaratdragons]

Geez, I MUST be deprived. I've never watched the Simpsons.

And going by the ads, I never want to.

[Gargoyle_Steve]

That's ok Ken, there's apparently enough fans to have kept the show running in prime time since the 80's, and generate the full length movie. :thumbsup:

You never know, you may still find yourself having a few laughs :lol: were you to watch an episode, but obviously that IS your choice to make and I respect that you've made it.

Speaking of strange rituals Ric do you think standing around in open fields late at night, repeating various mantra's to ward off the evil Moon and clouds and moisture, and peering through incomprehensible devices at otherwise invisible objects would count?

I wonder what other strange rituals could Mike come up with??
;)

[ballaratdragons]

Yep Steve, I have met people who absolutely detest Star Trek and look at it's popularity and following, and the movies!

Different strokes for different folks. But I won't be watching Simpsons.

[Ric]

:rofl: :rofl:
All sounds perfectly normal to me Steve :whistle:

Cheers

[iceman]

We hit the 2500 overnight with a number of new signups :2thumbs:

Welcome to all new members, please feel free to say g'day and introduce yourselves!

And of course congrats to the IIS community for another milestone.

[[1ponders]]

:cool:

:welcome: to everybody.

[matt]

:cool: :drink: :drink: :party: :party:

Congrats!!!!

I have also noticed a few 'new' advertisers listed at right. Good to see them.