Member Count vs. Post Count

[Lady Lex]

I am always first attracted by Post Count when deciding whether or not to join a forum. A high post count is awesome, it shows that everyone is replying regularily and the plots are non-stop!

However...

I know of a site that has nearly the same amount of threads as I do, yet half of the so-called threads are one word/sentences like "linked back" or "list has been updated" and other pointless things like that. Then as far as actual threads/plots go, there is only between 50-60. I'm sorry, but trying to pass off OOC comments about what has been done as threads is LAME. I'm not about to join a site where an admin is more interested in replying to ads or telling their members that they updated some list or plotting page when any loyal member can see for themselves. I mean, does the admin of this site think their members are blind?

The only time I find this acceptable is when someone posts an app and you reply to it with "accepted". I used a graphic myself. *grin* You can't very well let it sit there and expect the applicant to guess whether or not their character was accepted or not.

I have close to 4000 posts, but I know it is probably more around 3000 ACTUAL threads/stories. The rest is the "accepted" graphic, apps and advertisements.

Member count is tricky. A lot of people are scared off by a ton of members. A lot of the time, I will straight out ask on the Cbox if that number is actual members or accounts. On my own site we have about 20+ active members, each of them play a few characters so the member count is at 85. I've always wished there was a way to have the actual member count seperate from the number of accounts/characters on the site. I think if you visit a cool forum and you see a huge member count, you should just ask if that is actual active members count or if that is just how many characters there are.

The only way to avoid that is to have one account and one account only that you post every character on. Some people prefer this, but it's not my style. I have 8 accounts and I have no problem switching between them when I need to. I just use the same PW for all of them and an easy login name to make it easy. Also, having the charrie swap box is very handy, too!

A LOT of sites have a Who's Who list. We currently just added one and it helps! You can see each actual member and the characters they play. I would say if you are a person who is concerned about member count being too high, look for a Who's Who board!

I also believe that there should be some sort of ratio, as "Technical Wizard" has suggested. I agree with the 2:7 ratio!

Then there's those site with 5 members or less and there are like 1000 threads... well then, you probably know who the site is really all about then.

[Mommochi]

When looking at a forum, I look to see if people are truly active in posting rather than just logging on than off. I have that kind of problem with new members, but they haven't posted their character yet, and coming onto the forum just shows that they're working on it in a word processor and will be posting them shortly. There's a lot more required to posting a character than RPing, because the char app explains who they are, how they act, how they think, and what they went through in life. Role play should be fun, so there's not a high sentence count because you're not writing a book. Anyway, the new members are given two weeks to think out their first application.

Where as the overall posting goes, there are about five solid people who are on multiple times a day, four who are on once a day, then others who are weekly based. It's hard to get a ratio, but there are things to do and chars to interact with. I feel as though a large amount of people who are on constantly, always posting makes new members, especially those new to RPing, tend to shy away and feel forced. I also feel like letting members have multiple accounts lessens this post ratio, versus members with multiple characters which boosts the postings and the threads you can play in.

When I search or make a new forum, I think about how many boards there are as well. Is there enough places to explore in? Are there too many for the amount of RPers that this just looks like a wasteland? People look at the amount of places, and if they're empty and thredless than they won't join because it's way too big and they have the feeling nothing's going on. The fact with having multiple characters helps that out, though.

The fact of the matter is, you have to look at everything if you're going to consider the post ratio and how many members there are. Have you glanced through the rules and seen what's allowed and what isn't? Also, is there such a large amount you're required to type for just one post? I've seen a sight that had they're members post at least three paragraphs of eight sentences during role play, which to me that might as well be three posts. It takes up your time to participate in other areas, and that too can effect your post ratings.

[the infection____]

When I look at sites, I tend to look at them based on the skin. I'm very vain about that, I'll admit it, and also whether someone is online at the time. I tend to be a kick-start sort of person, and I prefer to join a site when it's newer and I enjoy being a first member because it's like you get personal dibs. Everyone loves you because you actually dared to join.

But, really, I think post count trumps member count. You can have 1000 members on your site, but if none of them post you're really considered pretty much inactive, even if twenty people joined just yesterday. A forum isn't about members, it's about posting and talking and discussions, not how big it can get before it crashes and burns. You can have five people on a forum, but if they're all posting daily then you look like an active, well-built forum with people who are willing to post, and that's what really counts.

[AshFR]

Feb 10, 2010 14:34:55 GMT -8 Artemis said:

An oldie but a goodie.

As a forum grows, no doubt it will attract the attention of more and more people who become interested and register on the forum. Whether they stay and post is up to them, but regardless of whether they stay or go, they add to the total member count of the forum.

Comparing the post and member counts is a common thing to do when looking at a forum you're considering joining. An equal ratio means steady registrations and posts. A high post to member ratio could signify a very active community, while the opposite could mean a newer forum that many people find interesting (or in contrast, one that is only good for a few minutes before leaving).

What is your take on comparing member and post count? Is it something you consider when looking at other forums to join? Likewise, on your forum, do you make an effort to clear out old members to affect the ratio, or do you let them stay to boost member count?

Discuss!

Delete inactive members, member-count means nothing nor does Post Count I can speak this with experience on mind, the amount of post a forum has is useless in regards to the quality of the post. If the members are inactive than that's wrong, if the majority of the post aren't quality then it's wrong as-well do you mean which one I favor over, not sure I quite get this topic but both are uselss to an extent I guess the fact they post would be better but I have to stress this post count means nothing compared to the quality of it. In regards I rather have post-count as it's much more useful than member-count I must stress that post count isn't all that great either but you are asking for which one I prefer over each other. Inactive members will be deleted...both post count and member count are useless you have to ask yourself these questions. 
 
Do these members commonly post? 
Are most of these post contributing to the discussion at hand much?
Do these members commonly register?

On regards to attracting members I also don't want members who don't log in or eh to some instinct lurkers...


They are both not so grad in regards to the quality which do I prefer?

Post IF it's quality, still I rather have useless post than inactive members are will I but who's to say the members are inactive...

Hmm...

[AshFR]

I am always first attracted by Post Count when deciding whether or not to join a forum. A high post count is awesome, it shows that everyone is replying regularily and the plots are non-stop!

However...

Exactly, a post count show's that you have an ACTIVE community. 

I know of a site that has nearly the same amount of threads as I do, yet half of the so-called threads are one word/sentences like "linked back" or "list has been updated" and other pointless things like that. Then as far as actual threads/plots go, there is only between 50-60. I'm sorry, but trying to pass off OOC comments about what has been done as threads is LAME. I'm not about to join a site where an admin is more interested in replying to ads or telling their members that they updated some list or plotting page when any loyal member can see for themselves. I mean, does the admin of this site think their members are blind?

Are the updates major? Are the updates small updates? Regardless you are right if one person is making up the post, in a thread like this I do not count it so I may go for member count, but is that the only active thread are there many other active threads are only that thread? The members MAY be blind maybe I'm talking for myself, you never know I do have ADHD and do miss major updates. 

The only time I find this acceptable is when someone posts an app and you reply to it with "accepted". I used a graphic myself. *grin* You can't very well let it sit there and expect the applicant to guess whether or not their character was accepted or not.

That's fine I guess, but  this is RP boards in the like, is this right for none-RP boards? I think RP boards are bound to have some reply due to it being story-telling ish I majorly make lengthy post, yes that's true but if they have to say accepted to every character doesn't that mean they're members are active to make so many characters? I'm not all that with RP boards so I cannot say much

I have close to 4000 posts, but I know it is probably more around 3000 ACTUAL threads/stories. The rest is the "accepted" graphic, apps and advertisements.

I see what you mean, but is the forum in active community regardless of whether the  active members are small?[1]

[quote[Member count is tricky. A lot of people are scared off by a ton of members. A lot of the time, I will straight out ask on the Cbox if that number is actual members or accounts. On my own site we have about 20+ active members[1], each of them play a few characters so the member count is at 85. I've always wished there was a way to have the actual member count seperate from the number of characters on the site.

Global accounts are coming but do they still count a separate  member? Yes I think they do tricky, you are right about that... 

I think if you visit a cool forum and you see a huge member count, you should just ask if that is actual active members count or if that is just how many characters there are.

Can you still see active members in the past hour are look around the board yourself, unless you have to register to view but I think that's a different discussion thread about that...

[quote[The only way to avoid that is to have one account and one account only that you post every character on. Some people prefer this, but it's not my style. I have 8 accounts and I have no problem switching between them when I need to. I just use the same PW for all of them and an easy login name to make it easy. Also, having the charrie swap box is very handy, too![[2]

It would be much easier to switch with the global account.., but I guess that's not quite here yet, [2] yes the new character swapping would do great in RP forums.

A LOT of sites have a Who's Who list. We currently just added one and it helps! You can see each actual member and the characters they play. I would say if you are a person who is concerned about member count being too high, look for a Who's Who board!

I also believe that there should be some sort of ratio, as "Technical Wizard" has suggested. I agree with the 2:7 ratio!

Then there's those site with 5 members or less and there are like 1000 threads... well then, you probably know who the site is really all about then.

Red text is my text.

[* protego admin!]

I definitely compare. There is some sites out there where they have such a small app, that they each create 12 characters but only post with 2.
So when you see 60 members with 300 posts it makes you wonder.
That's why I think sites like that should avoid this by making character limits until certain amount of posts!
I definitely judge and join based off high member count as well as post count!

[Mandoli]

Member count, no doubt. I'd rather have five members who contribute to the board regularly, with posts that are more than one-liners or one-word responses, rather than all of the one-liners and one-word response posts.

I've run many different sites in my life - the most successful one of them had about a dozen active members. Everyone was pretty much chiming in with detailed posts, such as recaps and news reports. It made things pretty fun, because you always had something new to talk about.

With short posts with no detail, I find there's nothing to reply to.

[Hacksaw Hugglemonster]

I keep the members there. I know people are very busy with jobs, school, or whatever. It's still the internet. I let them know they still have an account if they ever want to come back, and then they have the potential to become active and you'd be glad you kept them there. It's about welcoming them in to your community. If they're inactive, why delete them? They come back, after being gone for a good reason, and they could see you deleted their account and could get the impression they aren't wanted and go somewhere else.

So therefore, I keep all member accounts. Not for just the member count, but to keep our community open.

[loonawynd]

I personally look at activity in general. I see how many people log on regularly, how many posts and topics there are and then decide if its worth it. Some forums are very slow with little activity for various reasons and others very active. So for me I give them all a chance.

The other thing I think is important to look at is admin and moderator activity. See how often the admins and mods log in and how often they actually contribute to the boards. If the admins are active on a forum even if not many other members are active I think its a good sign.

[loonawynd]

Apr 12, 2010 8:28:27 GMT -8 garth said:

You know this is a very tough, If the member count is high and active it may be tough for new members to get comfortable. But if there are not many members but only a few (3-5) members then they all know each other so well. Making it just as difficult for people to get into. Its gotta be the perfect amount ;D

How do you judge this though?  What would be the perfect amount?  Why would smaller amounts of members make it harder for new members to fit in?  Wouldn't it actually be easier because there are fewer members?

[Sassy]

I really don't think either matter too much. As long as you have great people in your forum, numbers don't matter ... and as for post count ... if it's only spam stuff, why bother ... if it's only one word, or just a smiley all the time, why bother.

Member that contribute to a forum, and bring a part of themselves into that forum, is what counts. Not numbers.

[loonawynd]

Aug 4, 2014 17:47:48 GMT -8 Sassy said:

Member that contribute to a forum, and bring a part of themselves into that forum, is what counts. Not numbers.

I agree.  Communities are made by the people at participate in them.  Even if its not all the time, so long as you are paying attention and showing an interest in what is going on in the forum and the community you are an active member.  You share yourself with the other members.  This applies to role play forums as much as it does discussion forums.

[Sassy]

Aug 4, 2014 18:17:33 GMT -8 loonawynd said:

Aug 4, 2014 17:47:48 GMT -8 Sassy said:

Member that contribute to a forum, and bring a part of themselves into that forum, is what counts. Not numbers.

I agree.  Communities are made by the people at participate in them.  Even if its not all the time, so long as you are paying attention and showing an interest in what is going on in the forum and the community you are an active member.  You share yourself with the other members.  This applies to role play forums as much as it does discussion forums.

I fully agree.  Participating means taking the time to read posts and contributing and answering posts.   

[loonawynd]

Aug 4, 2014 18:18:55 GMT -8 Sassy said:

I fully agree.  Participating means taking the time to read posts and contributing and answering posts.   

Even lurkers are apart of the community.  Lurkers at least log on (which you can tell at the bottom of the forum page) so you know they are at least reading threads and seeing what is going on.  Then when there is something they really want to discuss they will. 

[garth]

Aug 4, 2014 17:42:54 GMT -8 loonawynd said:

Apr 12, 2010 8:28:27 GMT -8 garth said:

You know this is a very tough, If the member count is high and active it may be tough for new members to get comfortable. But if there are not many members but only a few (3-5) members then they all know each other so well. Making it just as difficult for people to get into. Its gotta be the perfect amount ;D

How do you judge this though?  What would be the perfect amount?  Why would smaller amounts of members make it harder for new members to fit in?  Wouldn't it actually be easier because there are fewer members?

Sometimes its very difficult to push yourself into a forum where its 3-4 normal members, Often they will prefer the company of their friends than someone new. Its like being the new kid at a school, in a large enough school you may end up being alone and just drifting. Some large schools tend to have cliques which you can put yourself in, whereas a smaller school may just have a few tight groups and if they aren't looking for more you're just a loner in a small spot. Not every small forum will be like this, but there are a few like it.