State of the Forum Address

[handejector]

Yesterday, Jan 14, 2011, we attained some milestone figures on this Forum:

70,000 members.
1,000,000 posts.

Coincidentally, we also just concluded our busiest 30 day period in the history of this board: Dec 13, 2010 -Jan 13, 2011:

10,014,879 Page Views (that's TEN MILLION!)
588,972 Visits
258,967 Absolute Unique Visitors

On Jan 2, 2011, we had our 100,000th thread started.

A bit of explanation:
10,014,879 Page Views means just that- in 30 days, we had over 10 MILLION pages viewed.

588,972 Visits means just that- over 1/2 million visits to this board occured in those 30 days.

258,967 Absolute Unique Visitors means just that- well over 1/4 million DIFFERENT people visited this board in the last 30 days.

100,000 threads and 1,000,000 posts:

Of course, in the 10 year history of this board, we have had several million posts, and God only knows how many threads. Before moving to our current setup, both parabellum (the former owner) and I had to prune the board regularly. If the posts exceeded 250,000, there was an exorbitant "storage fee" per month charged by our former hosting service. Under our current setup, we will NEVER prune the board again of any significant content as long as we can bear the cost.

70,000 Members-

I took over the board Dec 28, 2008. On Jan 1, 2009, the board had 39,777 Registered Members. As I type this, we have 70,030 Registered Members for an increase of 30,253 in 24 months and 14 days, a 76% increase.

I certainly did NOT do this alone.

I extend my eternal gratitude to:

SmithNut
45Wheelgun
Smith357
and the Mods, past and present:
BarbC
ChattanoogaPhil
Dan M
Doc44
Firehouse
Joni_Lynn
Noah Zark
rburg
s&wchad
snw19_357
Thiokol

I would also like to thank the former owner, parabellum, and the Mods VictorLouis and Osprey for the years that they put in keeping this board going and growing. I do not know other former staff members, but my gratitude to you also.

And last, but not least, I thank YOU, the members, who make this board what it is.

I can only see more growth and improvement for this board.

Rest assured, we shall always strive for excellence.
______________________________________
A few PRIZES to commemorate the event:

1,000,000th Post-
This is by 28Shooter - Post #42 in this thread- I got a JOB!!!!!
A set of Keith Brown Magna grips for the round butt K and L frames:

____________________

100,000th Thread-
It is the thread brass count... by Ed333
An S&W factory Counter Mat:

____________________

70,000th Member-
openbolt
The much coveted S&W factory prop rod-

 

[hazman]

no surprise to me, iv'e been a member to other forums and this by far is the very best !!!. keep it up everybody.

 

[Xfuzz]

Great board....thanks for all your hard work.

Howie

 

[rags]

SALUTE! ...to Lee and the Mods! Great place huh?

rags

 

[gunlovingirl]

I'm sure, had I not been busy with surgeries, hospitalizations and other distractions, we would have hit the million post mark a lot sooner!
Congratulations Lee and all the members!

 

[Bullseye 2620]

These numbers speak for themselves, but most impressive is the almost doubling of registered members in the last two years. I'd say that's a vote of confidence!


Bullseye

 

[zercool]

I reckon all of us on both sides of the aisle can stand up and cheer for this one...

Thanks again, Lee.

 

[BikerRN]

I tried to join years ago, but due to my Email server, was denied membership.
It seems some Email servers are excluded from membership. It wasn't until I switched servers, which I was not going to do just to have a membership here, that I could join.
In my short time here I have enjoyed myself, and look forward to participating more. I only wish certain servers weren't blocked.

Biker

 

[handejector]

I tried to join years ago, but due to my Email server, was denied membership.
It seems some Email servers are excluded from membership. It wasn't until I switched servers, which I was not going to do just to have a membership here, that I could join.
In my short time here I have enjoyed myself, and look forward to participating more. I only wish certain servers weren't blocked.

Biker

email servers have not been blocked in about 2 years......

 

[oldfella]

Growth comes with success, success comes with good management... If posts had not been accidentally chopped, I'd have a million posts

Pete

 

[Doc Mark]

Good Morning,

Hearty congratulations to Lee, and all the Mods, for the outstanding efforts on their parts!! Lee, though we have never met, in the flesh, I know you to be a good and honorable man, and I appreciate what you do for all members, myself included! Here's to many more great years of friendship, fun, festivities, and the Smith & Wesson forum!! Take care, and God Bless!

Every Good Wish,
Doc

 

[max]

I am glad to have such a fine place to visit and relax. In addition, I have made some good friends here.

 

[turnerriver]

I'm glad your hard work has paid off,Lee.I agree-this is the best forum I've ever been associated with-thanks for making it happen.
Best regards,
turnerriver
SWCA # 1426

 

[corpulent]

The member who posted the millionth post should get a prize.

 

[29aholic]

Congrats Lee!!! I am a member of a couple of other forums never visit any but this one. I think my grand total of posts on all the others is maybe 30-40 combined.
This forum has been great to and for me and I look forward to several more years of participation.

 

[wuluf]

I regularly visit about 6 gun related forums..i always come here first and stay the longest. Great place, congratulations on the milestones.

 

[Len]

Congratulations and thanks to Lee and the moderators.

The way the numbers document the popularity of the site is no surprise to me. When a site is as informational, civil and, I have to admit, humorous as this one can be, it's going to draw a crowd!

Thanks again, and great work!

Len

 

[seagill]

Thanks for all your hard work. In my short time as a member, I've gained a wealth of knowledge. Thanks also to the members who so willingly share their expertise.

 

[Rule3]

I have a question about total membership (70,000)

On the list of members, there are some names that have been a member for a long time but have 0 posts. I realize some folks just like to look and read and not say much which is fine and dandy.

Is there a way for you or the staff to actually determine if those folks are visiting and using the site??

Just curious if they signed up and never utilize the site.

Thanks for "Weekend Update" sure is much nicer and a better forum than before.

 

[Badkarma 1]

A big congrats to Lee and all the mods for doing a great job! And to my fellow members for keeping things interesting!
It's not surprising how this site had grown IMO, what with a lot new people buying firearms and wanting to know more about them, or want to know more about Smith & Wesson in specific. They want the straight dope and we hopefully provide it!
And on a personal note; I've roamed around the net for a few years looking for a gun web site to hang out at and share what knowledge I have, as well as learn from those who know. Well I found that place right here! It's clean, professional, and very well organized! Well Done people! Dale