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Free Republic 2nd Qtr 2024 Fundraising Target: $81,000 Receipts & Pledges to-date: $20,503
25%  
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Who reads FR? [FReepathon thread 9.6]
Conservapedia-An Illustrated Guide ^ | Jan 18, 2011

Posted on 01/18/2011 9:22:15 AM PST by bezelbub

At www.freerepublic.com, we find the question Who reads FR? to be answered in the following way:

Over 300,000 people have registered for posting privileges on Free Republic since inception in 1996 and our forum is read daily by over one hundred thousand freedom loving citizens and patriots from all around the country, and all around the world. We're currently delivering over thirty million pageviews per month to over one million visitors.
This number of 300,000 users is sometimes quoted (i.e., "On one conservative Web site, Freerepublic.com, some of the site's 300,000 registered users have recently used discussion threads to encourage votes for Bristol." - www.people.com), and adorns the front page of freerepublic since Dec 2008 (waybackmachine.com).
But it was wrong then - and it is still wrong now.

So, why aren't there 300,000 freepers?

When registering for posting privileges, any user gets an identification number. The user normally doesn't see this ID, it is only used for internal purposes. Jim Robinson got the number 1, the number 100,000 is taken by The 100,000th FReeper! Unfortunately, these consecutive numbers seem to have been assigned at the beginning of the registration process, not after a successful creation of an account. So each failed try to register increased the used ids, but not the number of accounts. Both numbers diverged pretty fast, but the bug wasn't mended until Feb 2010, when the new mile-stone of 350,000 attempted registrations arrived. By then, the two numbers differed by roughly 100,000. In fact, when freerepublic announced to have 300,000 registered users for the first time ind Dec 2008, the number really was closer to 230,000 - and today, it is less than 270,000.

And what has been done about it?

The way the powers-to-be have chosen to get the numbers right is obvious: they wait for the reality to fit the stated fact. The number of created accounts wasn't updated for two years, and probably won't be changed for another two years, until the number of registered freepers meets the announcement on the front page.

Just for the record: I think that the number of pageviews and visitors are correct. And I doubt that the makers of the site willingly inflated the numbers of created accounts. It seems to be just an honest mistake, and an easy one to make. But when they found the bug, wouldn't it have been the right thing to change the number, as they knew that it was false?


TOPICS: Breaking News; News/Current Events
KEYWORDS: bobbymcgee; faq; freerepublic; livetocomplain; statistics
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To: mnehring; John Robinson
That really is kind of a side diversion as the main problem I have with your analysis is how you came up with the 28% variance in registrations and membership.

1. Just by looking at the IDs and by counting valid accounts.
2. John Robinson should be able to check the numbers with ease. In fact, I'd rather appreciate if he takes his time for this task: it should be a simply query on Freerepublic's database.

101 posted on 01/18/2011 11:25:47 AM PST by bezelbub
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To: bezelbub; mnehring

What’s your point? This is NOT something that’s important. It’s simply a nonsense point of contention.


102 posted on 01/18/2011 11:29:35 AM PST by DJ MacWoW (America! The wolves are at your door! How will you answer the knock?)
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To: bezelbub
Just by looking at the IDs and by counting valid accounts.

Wow, how sad for you. I would suggest seeing someone for your OCD issues.

103 posted on 01/18/2011 11:35:50 AM PST by mnehring
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To: DJ MacWoW

I agree, and a major waste of time if they manually counted accounts as they claim. It would really suck for them if JR changed how the IDs populate somewhere mid stream, thus, making all that time spent even more of a waste.


104 posted on 01/18/2011 11:37:18 AM PST by mnehring
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To: bezelbub
The issue remains.. why is this number so important to you?
105 posted on 01/18/2011 11:38:51 AM PST by humblegunner (Blogger Overlord)
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To: mnehring

This non-issue matters not a whit to FR’s popularity. Simply sounds like someone nattering for attention.


106 posted on 01/18/2011 11:39:36 AM PST by DJ MacWoW (America! The wolves are at your door! How will you answer the knock?)
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To: Jim Robinson

You are being very patient...

Like I said at the top of the thread

he is going to make the number drop to
299,999
And I don’t really care if he does.


107 posted on 01/18/2011 11:41:06 AM PST by Rightly Biased (Do you know how awkward it is to have a political argument with a naked man?)
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To: humblegunner
The issue remains.. why is this number so important to you?

The number is important enough to be featured on the main page of freerepublic.com - shouldn't it be correct?

108 posted on 01/18/2011 11:41:22 AM PST by bezelbub
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To: DJ MacWoW
Simply sounds like someone nattering for attention.

Yep.. there was a guy over at one of the anti-sites who had a similar obsession over fundraisers keeping charts and graphs for how much time each took and the donations day by day, jumping up and down if something took an hour or a day longer than before.. it was really sad to watch his obsession and how he kept posting it as though anyone cared beyond his little circle.

The numbers that really count in my opinion, are not number of Freepers but number of external views (that, according to all external analysis websites, reach into the millions per day). That shows influence.

109 posted on 01/18/2011 11:42:15 AM PST by mnehring
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To: bezelbub

The number on the front page is just a nice round number and is close enough for marketing purposes. Technically, it is accurate even based on your own analysis because the only quantifible number one has to go on is member number. Everything else is assumptions. You really need a life.


110 posted on 01/18/2011 11:43:54 AM PST by mnehring
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To: bezelbub

Well, that’s all well and good, but I repeat, who cares? The inactive accounts are people who registered screen names but never activated their accounts. Don’t know if he still does it or not, but John used to purge the unactivated accounts after a month or so. We still have somewhere in the general neighborhood of 300,000 registered screen names. Whatever the number of registered screen names, it’s my guess that there has been considerable interest in what the FReepers have to say.

Freedom’s just another word for nothing’ left to lose:
Nothin’ left is all she left for me.
Feeling good was easy, Lord, when Bobby sang the blues.
Buddy, that was good enough for me;
Good enough for me and Bobby McGee.

La da da la la na na na
La da da na na.
La la la da, Me and Bobby McGee.
La la la la la da da da
La la la da da.
La la la da, Me and Bobby McGee.

La la la la la na na na
La la la da da.
La da da da, Me and Bobby McGee.
La la la la la da da da.................


111 posted on 01/18/2011 11:44:04 AM PST by Jim Robinson (Rebellion is brewing!! Nuke the corrupt commie bastards to HELL!!)
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To: Jim Robinson
John used to purge the unactivated accounts after a month or so.

LOL, there is the big oops to all that time the OP put into counting accounts... I wonder how many wasted hours of counting that just shot down?

112 posted on 01/18/2011 11:46:39 AM PST by mnehring
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To: Responsibility2nd
I’m not sure if Pablo is happy about being displaced.

Pablo is cool with it.

He is supportive as well as wily.

113 posted on 01/18/2011 11:51:00 AM PST by humblegunner (Blogger Overlord)
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To: Jim Robinson

lalalalala ...just donated....good enough for me!


114 posted on 01/18/2011 11:51:50 AM PST by caww
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To: bezelbub

Besides, we got more important things to worry about:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=45-6duFvfuI&NR=1


115 posted on 01/18/2011 11:52:23 AM PST by Jim Robinson (Rebellion is brewing!! Nuke the corrupt commie bastards to HELL!!)
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To: Jim Robinson; don-o

Nope, this is the worst:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cd_Fdly3rX8


116 posted on 01/18/2011 11:59:26 AM PST by wagglebee ("A political party cannot be all things to all people." -- Ronald Reagan, 3/1/75)
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To: caww

Thank you very much, caww!!

Woo hoo!!

And we have incoming:

$100.00 from Never Never Land
$20.00 from Pennsylvania
$10.00 from Never Never Land
$10.00 from Colorado
$50.00 from California

Thank you all very much!!


117 posted on 01/18/2011 12:02:11 PM PST by Jim Robinson (Rebellion is brewing!! Nuke the corrupt commie bastards to HELL!!)
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To: bezelbub; mnehring; John Robinson; Jim Robinson
> John Robinson should be able to check the numbers with ease. In fact, I'd rather appreciate if he takes his time for this task...

You've got to be kidding.

John maintains this site, keeping it running, improving it, dealing with issues around the clock...

I'm the director of system administration for a software company whose offices span the globe and operate 24/7, and I have some appreciation for what John is doing, in fairly decent detail.

I wouldn't want him spending even 3 milliseconds counting up numbers like that. Who bloody cares, except as an estimate? "About 300,000" is fine with me, and I suggest you re-arrange your priorities so that it's fine with you, too.

"Take his time for this task"... geez, you must be a riot at parties.

118 posted on 01/18/2011 12:03:15 PM PST by dayglored (Listen, strange women lying in ponds distributing swords is no basis for a system of government!)
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To: wagglebee
ding ding ding,

Sorry Mr. Jacks, if you're out there somewhere...

119 posted on 01/18/2011 12:06:08 PM PST by BlueDragon
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To: Allegra

"he's just one of those European types"...wait anybody feel that?"

120 posted on 01/18/2011 12:08:28 PM PST by Doogle ((USAF.68-73..8th TFW Ubon Thailand..never store a threat you should have eliminated))
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