# How did we lose 445 members?



## skiprat (Apr 2, 2010)

I periodically look at the site stats to try and figure out if we will get to 1 million posts before we get to 10 000 members.
The other day I saw we had 9072 members, but today it says 8627.
Does membership lapse if people don't log on?


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## OKLAHOMAN (Apr 2, 2010)

Don't know but that's not a bad idea, if you don't log on in a certain amount of time(6 months?) your dropped, giving us a more realistic idea of the active membership.


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## Russianwolf (Apr 2, 2010)

Periodically Jeff asks a couple of us ex military members to reduce the population...... So we go out and procure all their pen making materials and banish them from the site. We use whatever force is deemed necessary, usually the 50 Cal.

We call it boys night out.:tongue:


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## witz1976 (Apr 2, 2010)

Russianwolf said:


> ...... So we go out and procure all their pen making materials and banish them from the site.


 
Yea??  So how come we are not finding sales on these materials??  Keeping these little war trophies?:tongue::biggrin:


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## Fred (Apr 2, 2010)

I don't believe folks are being dropped if they do not post after six months or so as stated above.

Look at the Members List and on the very first page there is a member from 2004 that has zero posts and he is still listed???? and there are many others on the list with similar stats.

Jeff  and the staff of moderators surely have their shoes filled with all the other things that must be attended to so I doubt that they just check the list of members ever so often and deletes those that do not post. Maybe there is some sort of subroutine in the programming that does this for them ... I just do not know.

Many folks come here just to glean information that seems pertinent to them at the time and they do not register. Many do register I guess to mark the fact that they came here in the first place. Many of us came here and stayed because we like the company of the other members. 

I personally have many folks from here that I e-mail to on a regular basis and share ideas and thoughts with on the various situations that this Forum does not discuss nor allow. That's fine and I respect that philosophy ... of course sometimes I do throw out some political jabs and get called to the office on them by the mods. Check out my signature line for an example ... 

Either way, what difference does it make as to how many members there are? We are all here for many common reasons and that is enough for me. I simply like the humor, intelligence sharing, thinking out loud, etc., that goes on all the time amongst us all.

We all have our own way of doing things and share our successes and failures so that others may hopefully learn something without duplicating efforts. Life is short enough so why waste time doing the same thing over and over and failing. We are trying to help each other to get ahead in this hobby for some and business for others.

Relax enjoy, share your thoughts, throw out your ideas. I am sure that someone will gather some much needed intelligence by us all helping one another.


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## RAdams (Apr 2, 2010)

witz1976 said:


> Yea?? So how come we are not finding sales on these materials?? Keeping these little war trophies?:tongue::biggrin:


 


They call it "Spoils of War" don't they?


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## OKLAHOMAN (Apr 2, 2010)

Fred said:


> *I don't believe folks are being dropped if they do not post after six months or so as stated above.*
> *I never stated that as fact but only might be a good idea and might be built into the software*
> 
> Look at the Members List and on the very first page there is a member from 2004 that has zero posts and he is still listed???? and there are many others on the list with similar stats.*One good reason to trim the roster*
> ...


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## MesquiteMan (Apr 2, 2010)

To my knowledge, we have not removed any names from the membership list.  That said, Jeff and I have discussed this in the past and he thought it was good to remove some of the ones that never post and have not visited in a long time so maybe he has started.  As the moderator of IAP, I do not have the ability to remove anyone other than simply baning them and that does not get done very frequently.  Even if I did ban someone, they will still show up on the membership list.


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## workinforwood (Apr 2, 2010)

The 445 members died from dust inhalation.  From doing a thorough study, I noticed that 30% of them where Brits, 25% where Americans, 20% where Canadians, 15% where Aussies, 9% where Irish, and apparently the final person was the Queen of England...and when I asked her why she said she was offended by Ron's Hair-do.:rotfl:


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## wolftat (Apr 2, 2010)

Russianwolf said:


> Periodically Jeff asks a couple of us ex military members to reduce the population...... So we go out and procure all their pen making materials and banish them from the site. We use whatever force is deemed necessary, usually the 50 Cal.
> 
> We call it boys night out.:tongue:


 How come they only gave me a pen knife to do it with?


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## Padre (Apr 2, 2010)

I am a moderator on the VTwin Motorcycle forum.  I go through the membership at least once a month to cull any spammers or folks who have been on more than 1 year with no posts.


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## skiprat (Apr 2, 2010)

I used my browser back button and got this screen shot.
Of course, it really doesn't matter, I was just wondering how it happened that's all:wink:


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## PenPal (Apr 2, 2010)

I am fascinated by any dialogue regarding removal of persons from membership based on contributions, in our country it is compulsory to vote meaning we get the elected govt we all vote for. In some countries it is not compulsory to vote hence they get the govt some vote for. Since the forum is not a democratic but privately run forum that listens to discussion, provides info via a library etc, does not have a rule excluding inactivity it should rest there.

I applaud the IAP who indicate their acceptance of guys like me within the name International hence it attracted Ratty and so many genius turners to enrich the whole group.

A benefit for me also has been the many sellers of quality wood and products and with our dollar hovering around the 90 cents to US and the great service USPS provides at a very fair rate membership may consist of buyers of members selling another statistic that is not revealed or will ever be seen in total. Some of those not sending in posts may have spent untold sums to sellers.

Thank you IAP for your diversity in the around 9000 members.

Peter.


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## RAdams (Apr 2, 2010)

workinforwood said:


> The 445 members died from dust inhalation. From doing a thorough study, I noticed that 30% of them where Brits, 25% where Americans, 20% where Canadians, 15% where Aussies, 9% where Irish, and apparently the final person was the Queen of England...and when I asked her why she said she was offended by Ron's Hair-do.:rotfl:


 


My Hair???

Uh Queen.... I hate to be the one to tell you this, but pale slate blue is not a natural hair color.... Even for an old lady!:biggrin:


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## titan2 (Apr 2, 2010)

Fred said:


> I don't believe folks are being dropped if they do not post after six months or so as stated above.
> 
> Look at the Members List and on the very first page there is a member from 2004 that has zero posts and he is still listed???? and there are many others on the list with similar stats.
> 
> ...


 
Is that *'rice of chains'* or is it *'price of chains'*.........

A very true statement in deed!!!!


Barney


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## Buzzzz4 (Apr 2, 2010)

I'm thinking they at the chicken in a can.


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## ldb2000 (Apr 2, 2010)

Buzzzz4 said:


> I'm thinking they at the chicken in a can.


 
They didn't have to eat it .... they just looked at it and went screaming off into the night !!!!


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## Toni (Apr 2, 2010)

Just too funny...I can see Ron's hair causing membership to drop


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## jeff (Apr 2, 2010)

Here's the story. It's quite simple.

Every few months, I purge inactive members. These are members who joined years ago, have not visited in years, and have made no posts. This last purge, which removed something like 180 members, was for members who joined more than 5 years ago, have not visited in 3 years, and who have never made a post.


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## Toni (Apr 2, 2010)

so what you are saying is "you flushed them all down the toilet"


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## jeff (Apr 2, 2010)

Toni said:


> so what you are saying is "you flushed them all down the toilet"


They go to penturners wonderland!


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## Rfturner (Apr 2, 2010)

The mystery is solved. Although I don't know why anybody would Join IAP and never use it. We will get to 10000 soon enough. When we get there we should have a competition of sorts.


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## Toni (Apr 2, 2010)

> They go to penturners wonderland!


 
Is Johnny Boy there??


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## MarkHix (Apr 2, 2010)

Toni said:


> so what you are saying is "you flushed them all down the toilet"



Now that was funny!  Glad I wasn't drinking or I would need a new laptop.


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## cutter (Apr 2, 2010)

*Lurker*

Hi all
I am sorry for not posting but I get all the answers I am looking for without a post.
I do make pens but seldom sell any - just gifts and such.
It is mainly a hobby and alot of fun to see all the different ideas you all come up with.
I also buy frequently from members.
I joined 7/08 and have learned so much on here it is unbelievable.
Again I am sorry it doesnt go over so good to some that I am just here to learn and not post.
Ed "Cutter"


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## CaptG (Apr 2, 2010)

Hi Ed, quick, jump over to the introductions forum and make a quick post so we can welcome you in the proper way without hijacking this post.


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## ldb2000 (Apr 2, 2010)

Ed , nothing to be sorry about . We have all been lurkers here at one time or another but it is much more fun to join in . Now that you've broken the ice go introduce yourself . Welcome to the group !!!


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## cutter (Apr 2, 2010)

Not trying to hijack just answering the question why some members are here without posting.


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## Daniel (Apr 2, 2010)

I know I have been in on at least a couple of discussions of how to go about removing inactive accounts. Nobody has ever liked the idea of deleting anything based on lack of posts. there are simply far to many members that simply do not post even though they visit regularly. Seems from Jeff's post above that at least some degree of comfort has been reached that will allow dead memberships to be removed without risk of deleting active members. I also think that not logging in for three years is a pretty safe bet. Otherwise I know for a fact there are a lot more active members here than just those that post. Lots of new names appear during group buys and such, many communicate through private channels only. whatever works for them. but mearly post count is not at all a reliable way to purge truly inactive accounts.


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## Jgrden (Apr 2, 2010)

cutter said:


> Hi all
> I am sorry for not posting but I get all the answers I am looking for without a post.
> I do make pens but seldom sell any - just gifts and such.
> It is mainly a hobby and alot of fun to see all the different ideas you all come up with.
> ...


C'mon Ed, let's see some of your work. :biggrin::biggrin:


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## RAdams (Apr 3, 2010)

Jgrden said:


> C'mon Ed, let's see some of your work. :biggrin::biggrin:


 



+1... and welcome!


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## RAdams (Apr 3, 2010)

Toni said:


> Is Johnny Boy there??


 


Johnny Depp is a weird little man.:biggrin:


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## DCBluesman (Apr 3, 2010)

No visits in three years sounds like a reasonable time to drop someone from the roster.


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## MesquiteMan (Apr 3, 2010)

Let me repeat what Jeff said above...no one has ever been deleted based on post count.  When the roster does get purged, the only people deleted are folks who have not even VISITED IAP for a couple of years.  Sounds quite reasonable to me.


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## workinforwood (Apr 3, 2010)

I bet there is some guy out there right now looking at his calendar because he last posted and visited 3 yrs and 15 days ago and was just about to come back for his annual 3 yr visit, but he is now deleted and feels shunned!  You guys are a bunch of 3 yr visitor racists! :wink::tongue:


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## DurocShark (Apr 4, 2010)

A couple of forums I'm involved in do an annual email to the member roster: Log in or your account will be deleted.


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## Mark (Apr 4, 2010)

On a season based site (like landscaping or snow removal) several forums use a two year period. Something more along the lines of a monthly or weekly site, I've seen a one year limit and then an email before removal 30 days later.

Some sites just leave the members there. It makes them feel good and boosts the numbers. I was a mod on a motorcycle based site. We only had 15 - 30 active posting members. Max of 195 members that just cruised through every so often. The membership list was well over 8000. Some members were over 4 years past due (so to speak). But the site was always up for sale and they didn't want to diminish the stats.


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## hunter-27 (Apr 4, 2010)

MesquiteMan said:


> Let me repeat what Jeff said above...no one has ever been deleted based on post count. When the roster does get purged, the only people deleted are folks who have not even VISITED IAP for a couple of years. Sounds quite reasonable to me.


 Scary as it may be, I agree completely.:wink:


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