Topic: Can someone please explain the forum software to me?

[Pale]

One thing has been really bothering me and I'm sure there is a simple answer...

Why do some people appear on the "who's online" list in italics?

Right now it's mop_it_up and goldenphoenix on my list.

I don't get it.

[Mop it up]

We are anonymous users, only admins can see our online status. We are invisible to all others, even mods I think.

I go anom every now and then just for grins and giggles.

[Pale]

Oohhhhhhhhh...

Thanks.. sorry to spoil that you guys are currently online then. =P  I have to ask, how'd you know that was the reason?  Do you and GP have private anonymous users meetings?

I kid, I kid.

[ShyGuy]

It puts the girl posters in italics?

[Pale]

Mop_it_up is no longer in italics.

[Mop it up]

Two reasons I know:

GoldenPhoenix is always a hidden user when she visits. I'll see her post but her name never shows up on the list. I was also using the "hide" option last night and forgot to disable it today. I just switched it off.

I'm an admin at a ZetaBoard forum where anonymous users show up with an asterisk, so I figured the italics were probably due to something similar.

[Crimm]

You blew it man!  Now they know we stalk them.

Fun fact: Who's Online is our 12th most viewed page, you creepy bastards!

[BeautifulShy]

Please I knew you stalked us for a while.

Who's online is a great tool for Mafia.

[UncleBob]

Fun fact: Who's Online is our 12th most viewed page, you creepy bastards!

The page auto refreshes though.  If someone leaves it running in another tab/window (accidentally or on purpose, not knowing that it'll refresh), I could see how it'd easily rack up the views.  What's the top ten?

[S-U-P-E-R]

it's bad, but not as bad as the old one!

[Stratos]

Fun fact: Who's Online is our 12th most viewed page, you creepy bastards!

The page auto refreshes though.  If someone leaves it running in another tab/window (accidentally or on purpose, not knowing that it'll refresh), I could see how it'd easily rack up the views.  What's the top ten?

It's public information:
Official Wii Sales Thread         64268
Official Virtual Console Mondays Thread       55995
Official Avatar Discussion       43751
Mario Kart Wii Mega Thread       36763
Sony getting hit Hard lately       36399
"Hey I'm new!" Official Introduce Yourself to the Internet Thread       36206
The Conduit       34573
Official DS Sales Thread       34490
Animal Crossing: City Folk       34001
Amazing Deals!       33836

Go down near the bottom of the forum index and click "More Stats". It has the top posters, threads by views and by post among other things.

Another funny thing, I think it's odd that we get all these new people who just drop their friend code for games like Echoes of Time and then never return or participate in the forums.

Also, Vudu broke the 10k post mark recently. I like to look at the different forum stats. I don't know why, but forum stats and game sales are numbers I'm obsessed with. Too bad my personal stats don't seem to work right because my top ten boards by activity are all listed at 0% so I can't reflect on my own behavior.

Also of note is the competition for the top ten topics by reply as the PGC Aussie thread is still king at 4020 posts even though no one has posted there in a long while. But the Wii Sales thread is catching up with 3970 posts.

[Stratos]

How come you can see past 10, Crimm? Is that a mod power or something? I am curious what the rankings are below the top 10.

[Mop it up]

I find it strange how many people sign up here and never make a single post. If they're going to go through the trouble, the least they could do is say "hi".

[Stratos]

I'm actually baffled by people just dropping their codes and running. 6 of the 8 people who have a code posted for FFCC: Echoes have only posted that one code and they haven't been on for more than twenty minutes each on average. Do they even come back to get more codes?

I don't like to just add random people's FCs. I prefer to know who they are or have interacted with them to some degree.

Why do you go into anonymous mode, Mop it up? I am curious as to why you do that.

Actually GP being set as anonymous makes a lot of sense because I always wondered why she seemed to be offline every time she posted something new. I thought maybe she was at work and logged one really quick to post a message and then leave really fast every few minutes. I could upset Maxi's strategy next mafia game by setting myself to anonymous though I don't see much of a use for why I would want to be hidden outside of that. I'm not one to hide and like to keep myself open for conversations with others that could crop up.

[Crimm]

How come you can see past 10, Crimm? Is that a mod power or something? I am curious what the rankings are below the top 10.

I don't mean the forums.
I mean the entire site.

You creepy stalking bastards.

[BeautifulShy]

I'm actually baffled by people just dropping their codes and running. 6 of the 8 people who have a code posted for FFCC: Echoes have only posted that one code and they haven't been on for more than twenty minutes each on average. Do they even come back to get more codes?

I don't like to just add random people's FCs. I prefer to know who they are or have interacted with them to some degree.

Why do you go into anonymous mode, Mop it up? I am curious as to why you do that.

Actually GP being set as anonymous makes a lot of sense because I always wondered why she seemed to be offline every time she posted something new. I thought maybe she was at work and logged one really quick to post a message and then leave really fast every few minutes. I could upset Maxi's strategy next mafia game by setting myself to anonymous though I don't see much of a use for why I would want to be hidden outside of that. I'm not one to hide and like to keep myself open for conversations with others that could crop up.

There are ways around this.

[Stratos]

How come you can see past 10, Crimm? Is that a mod power or something? I am curious what the rankings are below the top 10.

I don't mean the forums.
I mean the entire site.

You creepy stalking bastards.

I'm not a stalker, Crimm. I'm just a curious person

What do you mean by on the entire site? Is this including the main site along with the forums as in actual hits it gets? That is funny if it is true...your right, we are a bunch of creepy stalking bastards 

And what do you mean by finding ways around this Maxi? You aren't considering hacking are you? Or are you just reducing it to guess work based on what threads the anonymous people are in?

[BeautifulShy]

No I am not talking about hacking.I'm not really sure how you do that.
I'm saying that there are ways to determine if someone is hidden other than if a hidden person posts.

[Stratos]

Yes, but most things I can think of are purely speculation and guesswork. The only thing you can get concrete information from is checking the last time someone logged on and if it is within minutes then that should show if they are (or were) on.

[BeautifulShy]

That is what I am talking about.

[Crimm]

Yes.  I mean the site.

[Stratos]

Crimm, out of curiosity, what are the most popular parts of the site? And do you take into account that some people may view certain articles like reviews only through the forums as opposed to through the main site? I know I do that a lot since I am always on the forums so if I see a new talkback thread I read the article there in the talkback thread and may not ever go to the actual sites page for that particular article.

[stevey]

More importantly, how many girls make up the 10.6:1 ratio? and who's the .6?

No, my avatar! why god why

[Mop it up]

I'm actually baffled by people just dropping their codes and running. 6 of the 8 people who have a code posted for FFCC: Echoes have only posted that one code and they haven't been on for more than twenty minutes each on average. Do they even come back to get more codes?

I know the feeling. With the Wi-Fi nights, there are always more votes cast than there are participants. Who knows where they run off to...

Why do you go into anonymous mode, Mop_it_up? I am curious as to why you do that.

Like I said, it's mostly for grins and giggles. I can see you but you can't see me!
I've used it only a few times, just to see if anything's really different.

Crimm, out of curiosity, what are the most popular parts of the site? And do you take into account that some people may view certain articles like reviews only through the forums as opposed to through the main site?

That's why I usually still click the link to the article when I view it through the forum, just in case the view counter is separate.

[Stratos]

The absenteeism is probably due to peoples preferred game not winning so they refrain from playing at all. I don't hold it against them since it is their choice, but I do wish they would stick around for the game if they happen to have it even if it was not their first pick.


I'm sure they compare the two numbers when judging hit totals. Plus the amount of forum feedback could be another indicator of interest. Posts and views can relay that information to them.