I'm curious about Fluther statistics ...
Such as:
Total number of users?
How long has it been around? (and why had I never heard of it before?)
How did most users find out about it? other than the ABers who were told by other ABers on Blacker Friday
How many users appear on an average weekday / weekend?
Average age of users? (They seem to be at least generally more mature, if not ‘older’—not that age matters a damn, until you stop adding to your own.)
Are these closely held secrets, or is there a link that I’ve missed somewhere to say “All you ever needed to know about Fluther that wasn’t in the FAQ.” not that I’ve read the FAQ that carefully, either
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15 Answers
The easiest way to get a glimpse at some of these statistics is to check out the awards page. You can see how many times each award has been issued and that gives you and idea as to how many users haven’t been drive-by users and have participated at least some.
GQ!
I can’t wait to see the real statistics but from me, I can say that I’m on every day or every other day. I’m a youngin’, still wet behind the ears and a lot are around my age, you would be surprised! And yes, we have secrets…Pay no attention to the man behind the curtain….
but I’d say the biggest secret is that [Removed by Fluther Moderators]
Total: A Fluther’s worth!
Been around: Since at least October of 2006. It’s a well-kept secret!
I found out by word of mouth; One of my housemates is and was a long-time member.
Not sure about age. I only know the age of very few users, but it’s also not something I’ve ever wondered about…
@timtrueman Thanks for those links. Comparing AB to Fluther, via the quantcast link, it seems that AB has been (let’s say ‘was’) a lot more popular, by orders of magnitude. But I like the quality here better. (On the other hand, I can see that a large influx of ABers… or users from any other source coming en masse… could upset things a bit. I hope we don’t upset things here; I like the look and feel.)
@EmpressPixie I’ve been looking at the various badges, but some of them are pretty, um, let’s say “cryptic”. But utterly charming. I like them a lot, and hope to earn more.
@Clair I expect to be on daily as well. Thanks. (I love the wit of the redacted part of your response.)
@Beta_Orionis Thanks. I hadn’t wondered too much about AB, since it was so obvious that so many of the users (especially lately) were teens (apparently grammar school dropouts as well—‘deffinately’ spelling school dropouts). I was only curious because the general maturity level here seems so much higher. This would be a good secret to keep, I think.
I know there are users here as young as 14, as well as jellies in their 60’s.
Personally, I’m 19 and have been for years.
@CyanoticWasp I think part of the reason Fluther has remained such a secret is, very simply, because unlike Answerbag, Yahoo Answers, Wiki Answers (notice the pattern) etc. Fluther’s description and name aren’t explicitly about answers. If you’re younger, you’re likely to search for similar sites via “answers,” “questions and answers,” or something similar. Googling in that direction does not yield Fluther even 10 pages into the results!
That means most of us probably had specific questions, likely open ended, or were directed here from other mature members (who may felt the invitees had something to contribute.) Regardless, I still find the sense of community remarkable, and I’m so glad I’m here.
@Darwin Astrochuck is younger than 14!
Muahahaha, I like that plan!
Even better: nothing but the hat.
Interesting comments, @CyanoticWasp. My impression has been that there’s a very broad distribution of ages, from adolescence into the seventies. Sometimes it does seem to me that college age is by far the biggest demographic, but you know, different threads tend to attract different age groups, so people’s perceptions are likely to be skewed by what they look at.
But we didn’t have to answer a questionnaire when we joined, so I don’t see how there could be personal stats on users. It would all be anecdotal.
By the way, the badges are a very recent innovation, and some of us don’t pay any attention to them whatsoever. I think they’re just for fun and don’t mean anything, and I ignore them.
Welcome to fluther!
Don’t tell anyone about us, though. We like to be exclusive.~
@Beta_Orionis : your comment hits almost exactly the note I was thinking—Fluther isn’t really a Q/A site in the usual sense, because its less about “picking the best answer” and more about standing in the swirl of different perspectives and letting that diversity enrich your understanding of a topic. That’s much more ‘adult’ than trying to squeeze out the ‘right’ answer to each question.
@rangerr – But not in the real world. He would be too short to drive the postal truck if he were.
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