Any idea what's going on with the user count?

[SuperTed]

Just curious - is PE v 3.0 THAT popular? ;)

[markwoll]

It looks more like a cumulative total, rather than a snapshot.
It may be that the logins appear on the list until they time out, unless the person logs out of the site.

mark

[Scott Bails]

Yeah, I think Duncan said that it might be that everyone who clicks the "Remember Me" button is counted as being here, whether they're actually here or not.

And maybe every time you log in, it counts you again.



...or something.

[SuperTed]

Can't wait to see where the numbers end up eventually!

[Duncan Glenday]

Yeah, I think Duncan said that it might be that everyone who clicks the "Remember Me" button is counted as being here, whether they're actually here or not.


Correct



And maybe every time you log in, it counts you again.


No.



Here's what happens:

Those counts are for members who are 'logged in'.

If you click the "remember me" button when you log in, then it keeps you logged in for a lot longer than the system's default 15 minutes. (I've set it to a VERY long time, so that we don't have to keep logging in again and again.)

This means that - by your choice - you remain 'logged in' even after you leave the site.

And that means that as a 'logged-in user', you are included in the count of 'logged-in' users.

The counts would be a lot more realistic if I were to reset that parameter to 15 minutes. Then it would only counts people who are logged in at present, and in the last 15 mins. But then ... you'd be re-entering your user-ID and password again and again...

[SuperTed]

Thank you, o wise one! :D

[Gruno]

Did this suddenly change? Now it seems there are less posters viewing/visiting the site. Did the mods disable something? A lot less ames on the front page.

[Sean]

Well, it wasn't meant to be the way it was a week ago. Something got stuck and those never cleared after their sessions. Now it's corrected and more realistic.

[Dana5140]

SO, why does everyone have post counts of 0?

[80s were ok]

wow,so right now only like 100+ people are on PE viewing the main board?

[Sean]

SO, why does everyone have post counts of 0?

Because if we didn't there would be competition for who can post the most. It's happened before when we posted those stats at the old site. It's something we'd rather not be reminded of. It's about quality here (we hope), not quantity.

[Dana5140]

Who knew? I actually like to see my count, since it lets me know how often I am visiting.

[spacefreak]

Who knew? I actually like to see my count, since it lets me know how often I am visiting.

Yes, it would be nice to display the post counter.

[Sean]

The side effects wouldn't be pretty.

[Rarebird]

The side effects wouldn't be pretty.

Can't we just behave like grown-ups? Most fora have post counters and I never got the feeling some people were just trying to get as much posts as possible.

[Adrian]

Can't we just behave like grown-ups? Most fora have post counters and I never got the feeling some people were just trying to get as much posts as possible.

There would inevitably be those who see it as a competition, though. I agree with Sean. Too bad the "Posts" line can't be removed completely -- then maybe the question wouldn't even come up.

[80s were ok]

There would inevitably be those who see it as a competition, though. I agree with Sean. Too bad the "Posts" line can't be removed completely -- then maybe the question wouldn't even come up.

what kind of morons turn post numbers into competitions? But if it really happens on other boards, then I'm for not having it happen on this board. Is there still a limit of 75 posts per week per member?

[Sean]

Not at the moment....

[sonic]

Not only do you get post count competition, but you get a hierarchy as well — those with the most post counts end up dominating the forums. It's human (animal, actually) nature. Even worse are forums with 'like/dislike' features.

[Trane]

what kind of morons turn post numbers into competitions? But if it really happens on other boards, then I'm for not having it happen on this board. Is there still a limit of 75 posts per week per member?

Well, in some forums (like PA), there was a competition about the bigger poster > some thought it was prestigious to show that they spent/waste so much time on forums .... some have 80 or 100 000 posts since its birth in early 04 (and they joined well afterwards)... Some guy (Smart¨Patrol) joined in April of this year and has almost 6 000 posts

Some forums even have a star-system partly linked to the number of posts entered...