membership

could "da team" please delete members that have signed up and their last activity date was the sign up. and while we're at it...lets deep six the people that have not logged in this year at all. lets get the membership number to what it really is rather then this outrageously inflated ego stroking number.

in other words...a pain to "find" someone...

thanks in advance!

I agree. I always want to say Feliz Cumpleaños to active members when it is their birthday but with so many names of inactive posters I have to check those names that "sound" like an active poster just to discover they never posted at all! :mad:

Well, some people lurk for a very long time and never post. I know some who lurked over 2 years before they ever posted! :eek:

Granted, most who never post just never come around, but you don't want to throw out the babies with the bath water!

Too bad they can't develop a system that emails the members once a year and requires them to click a validation link to stay active or their membership is deleted.

But that would be too much to do by hand!

I have the same problem with a group that I run. I have over 80 members but I only hear from a fraction of them. Makes you wonder why they sign up in the first place?

I used to think that would be a good idea, too, or at least to remove the names like "MuffinMuncher" that have never posted. (I made that up! :p But there are a LOT of 'interesting' monikers in the archives!)

A lot of people read the boards. Not everyone needs to voice their opinion. (Don't look at me like I'm crazy, it's true!!!) Recently a poster made her 9th post in almost three years of being a member, and I often see that people are here reading the posts that haven't themselves posted for years.

I'm not saying it isn't a good idea to clear out the list, but it would require checking who is signing-in before deleting based solely on if and when they posted.

I agree. I always want to say Feliz Cumpleaños to active members when it is their birthday but with so many names of inactive posters I have to check those names that "sound" like an active poster just to discover they never posted at all! :mad:

:giggle: That's true, you do do that. :giggle:

We do delete members who have not logged into the site for a certain period of time. Right now it is two years, rather than 1 year.

This is why sometimes you will notice the membership count going down rather than up.

Even thought they don't post..a lot of people join and then just read. Some people just use the PM system...or what have you.

We get a list of how many members actually log into the site each day, and the site tracks how long it has been since each individual member has logged in. If it goes over two years since someone has logged in, we remove them.

We picked the two year mark because I have seen members leave and then return many times....and they were gone over a year.

I think you should have checked with me to see if we were already doing this, rather than assuming, before you said this.... "outrageously inflated ego stroking number". There's no ego about it. Those are the active members for the past two years.... :(

jo.... check with you? why??
when i go to membership, see 2005, last activity on the same as join date, you really think they are logging back in???
and yes...inflated numbers. i have heard it over the years...we have all these members, blah, blah.... inflated numbers.
so...if you delete those memberships and they come back after a year, ya think they could join again???

""" Those are the active members for the past two years.... """"

you're kidding right?????? i'm not buying.... i find it hard to believe we have 20,000 active members.

3 out of the 8 birthdays for today have "last activity" on the day they joined. one is a recent join date though..the other 2 are past your 2 year cut off. i honestly think two years is kinda much...

I delete every member who has not been active in the last two years UNLESS (and I should have added this before) they have a significant post count. There are about 200 members I have kept because they had significant post counts, and if I delete their membership it will remove their posts from being availble in the search system.

Im sorry if you don't believe me, but that's the truth. In fact, I just deleted them last month, and we went from around 25,0000 members down to 19,000 members in just a day.

And I know you may have heard different, because I have read that other places as well, but just because someone says that does not make it true.

when i click on a name, and it comes up last activity date, does that not include logging in?

There may be a few members that are over, as I have not deleted members this month yet.

There are 259 members that I have held on to with significant post counts past the two year date, because I wanted to keep the threads they started and I wanted their posts searchable in the search engine.

Other than that, yes, they all have logged into the site (not posted but logged into the site) in the last two years (maybe a few days over because I have not cleaned it up for about a month). It's kind of time consuming, so I don't do it daily or weekly...

when i click on a name, and it comes up last activity date, does that not include logging in?


I think it should. All I know is...we have something called "mass prune members" on the admin screen. I type in to find all members who have not logged in in 730 days (two years), and then I remove all those members, except for the 259 members I have kept with post counts over 11 posts.

I just checked that screen and put in members who had not been active in 800 days, and the only names that came up were the 259 members I was intentionally saving due to post counts.

Okay, I double checked. I last pruned members about 20 days ago, so there are no members other than the 259 I have kept who have not logged in in the last 750 days.

When I prune inactive members this month, it will be back down to the two year limit...etc.

Does that make sense?

If you find members who are listed here who have not been active for over 2 years (and a month, I guess) and who do not have more than 10 posts, you should let me know. There should be only 259 members retained who have been inactive for longer than that, and that is to save their posts and threads.

Hope this helps...

how about we cull out all members who's last activity was their join date. and that is more then 6 months ago...then watch numbers drop!

and another question/idea....

when members ask for membership to be deleted, can we please make it policy, once you post something here, it becomes rob's property and post/threads will NOT be deleted with your membership. how i wish we could go back in time...some of that old stuff that went to heaven...priceless!:D

Well first, thats not our policy right now. The moderators would all have to discuss whether or not to change that, and then clear it with Rob.

But second, I wouldn't even know how to go about that. I would have to go through every single member by hand, and then remove those who have not logged in since their join date.

I don't care about the numbers..it is as close to accurate as we can get it.

When I first started on here as an admin, I think we only had a couple thousand members. Last month we had 25,000 member, this month we have 20,000 members.

Im not purposely misleading anyone or attempting to inflate the numbers....and I guess I felt like that was what I was being accused of. I have seen me accused of that other places.... :(

So, Im sorry if I went overboard....I just felt defensive.

well discuss
present
change

lets get a more accurate idea here.

and please the 2 year thing...way to long!

and another question/idea....

when members ask for membership to be deleted, can we please make it policy, once you post something here, it becomes rob's property and post/threads will NOT be deleted with your membership. how i wish we could go back in time...some of that old stuff that went to heaven...priceless!:D
I do not agree with the above. Let's say a member is going through a tough time in their marriage, and perhaps they have an affair and post here, and on top of that they totally trash the spouse. Once they overcome the problem and want to rebuild their marriage it would be a horror if the reconciled spouse found all the post done during an irrational period of the OP's life.

I think that if you want to have your posts deleted, you should be able to.

I do not agree with the above. Let's say a member is going through a tough time in their marriage, and perhaps they have an affair and post here, and on top of that they totally trash the spouse. Once they overcome the problem and want to rebuild their marriage it would be a horror if the reconciled spouse found all the post done during an irrational period of the OP's life.

I think that if you want to have your posts deleted, you should be able to.

I agree with this 100%. There might me other instances as well, like someone in real life recognizes you and you want to remove your posts to prevent problems in real life. There are many other instances where it might be necessary to delete posts.

I just realize I said the exact thing Sheila stated before: problems in real life. I'm such a bonehead!:Thud::paperbag:

well then perhaps choose carefully what you post...

i think it is unfair to have a thread broken all to heck... or a thread gone to heaven which could have had some valuable insights/thoughts/suggestions

I do not agree with the above. Let's say a member is going through a tough time in their marriage, and perhaps they have an affair and post here, and on top of that they totally trash the spouse. Once they overcome the problem and want to rebuild their marriage it would be a horror if the reconciled spouse found all the post done during an irrational period of the OP's life.

I think that if you want to have your posts deleted, you should be able to.

I agree as well. If it upsets people that I may delete it then they can choose to avoid my threads. It's my safety net to being courageous about aspects of my life.

Though I believe I've only deleted one thread of mine since I've been here and because it brought me a lot of pain and I couldn't move beyond it. Unfortunately I don't think searching support should come at the cost of me forever being reminded of a death/affair/etc. I disagree with that.

When a member deletes their membership their posts are not deleted unless they request them deleted. Marcy's are still out there, but you can't search for posts made by her anymore since her membership is gone. :(

But if it was brought before the mods, there would be no doubt I'd vote no to the change.

well then perhaps choose carefully what you post...

i think it is unfair to have a thread broken all to heck... or a thread gone to heaven which could have had some valuable insights/thoughts/suggestions

Let's keep things in perspective. It is better to break an on line thread than to break a real life relationship, or lose a job or a child custody battle! :eek:

Some people use the same ID for all their on line persona's, although Sheila is not my real name, I use it in other chat rooms, I give out my sheila email when I suspect spam is forthcoming, and sometimes we may post our face in our AV.

I try to be very careful about what I post, but when you are in distress maybe you do not realize how public your posts are. You only need to google Sheila4pd and my AL posts come up. It is spooky.

well then perhaps choose carefully what you post...

i think it is unfair to have a thread broken all to heck... or a thread gone to heaven which could have had some valuable insights/thoughts/suggestions


There are many people who do not have a strong support system in rl and this is the only place where they can be totally honest about the issues that they are dealing with and gain insight into their situation. Many of the stuff that are discuss here, people would never discuss them with their spouse, friends or any random person in real life. Maybe you don't discuss personal issues here, but many people do, especially newcomers who are confused about their situation.

fair enough...

With the mass exodus here on the boards........

How does one delete all posts and also, how does one delete their account completely leaving no trace of being here?

And......when one is banned, do they have notification that they are being banned along with the option to delete everything to their name?



sora

With the mass exodus here on the boards........

How does one delete all posts and also, how does one delete their account completely leaving no trace of being here?

And......when one is banned, do they have notification that they are being banned along with the option to delete everything to their name?



sora

It all has to be done on the adminstrative/moderator level, Sora.

When I left last year, I requested that my membership and ALL my posts be deleted. Jo-Admin was kind enough to do that for me, although, thousands of posts caused her quite a bit of work. Many of my old posts still show up as quoted in other members posts.

I'm not sure what happens in the case of someone who's banned.

i've seen some banned people(mark) who's posts are still around...

so "da team" whats the real deal???

It all has to be done on the adminstrative/moderator level, Sora.

When I left last year, I requested that my membership and ALL my posts be deleted. Jo-Admin was kind enough to do that for me, although, thousands of posts caused her quite a bit of work. Many of my old posts still show up as quoted in other members posts.

I'm not sure what happens in the case of someone who's banned.

Thank you Trish.

Once again, I think we should ask about current policy before we comment or make any judgements...(not directing this at anyone in particular)

It is already our policy that when a member leaves, all their posts and threads have to stay UNLESS there are extenuating circumstances...such as legal problems, etc.

Banned members posts stay, deleted members posts stay under "guest".

This has been our policy for a long time.

btw...I forgot to post this because I had to leave, but according to the software statistics we have had right around 13,000 active members in the last year, and we get between 100 and 150 new applications for membership each week. All those members are not approved; however. Some of them are obviously spammers, and Katrina and Rob-Admin and I go through each every application for the site, and check any email addresses or IP addresses that seem off. Only the legitimate members are approved. I would say probably 25% of those who apply are spammers..unfortunately. :(

btw...I forgot to post this because I had to leave, but according to the software statistics we have had right around 13,000 active members in the last year, and we get between 100 and 150 new applications for membership each week. All those members are not approved; however. Some of them are obviously spammers, and Katrina and Rob-Admin and I go through each every application for the site, and check any email addresses or IP addresses that seem off. Only the legitimate members are approved. I would say probably 25% of those who apply are spammers..unfortunately. :(

Really..how in the heck did you ever let ME into this site?? LOL J/K!

Cuz your just extra special!

And well, because your email address was legitimate... :o

Cuz your just extra special!

And well, because your email address was legitimate... :o

haha I know I am very very special...I have that effect on many Jo...

Dang, Spammers. (NOT YOU, JENNYJEN! :p ) I see them listed in "our newest member" all the time and I always think of how much work they create. :(

I'm lost Christina...why does this matter?

I'm lost Christina...why does this matter?

it has to have a "reason" for questioning/suggesting/getting information???

so then 13,000 is a more accurate number.
and it is good to know that not everyone who has past through has gone to ageless heaven.

now i really can't see what the big deal was my starting this thread, asking some questions and that everyone can see, and why it has to have a reason, or why i should have just asked privately.
whats the difference?

no wait...out of that 13,000 i would imagine at least a thirds activity was on their "join" date...so a more accurate number.... 8,542 :)

hey Christina I dont mind you asking...I am a bit intrigued with the workings of a board behind the scenes....I always have visions of people beavering away behind the screen typing away.....I imagine it would be like managing a virtual world...hard work....

hey Christina I dont mind you asking...I am a bit intrigued with the workings of a board behind the scenes....I always have visions of people beavering away behind the screen typing away.....I imagine it would be like managing a virtual world...hard work....


*LOL* or just a virtual managing!! :D
*thinking i'm so darn funny*

I imagine it would be like managing a virtual world...hard work....


Hey Freespirit....although I think it's a thankless task for those who volunteer for these moderation positions...it's not really a technically difficult task. Moderation tools are built into the software. The most difficult task is keeping on top of what people are saying....

Miffy is right...it's not really difficult on a every day basis, it's just time consuming.

Christina...the number on the site is accurate if you remove members every two years. That IS the accurate number. Im certainly not misleading anyone. If you want a one year statistic, then 13,000 is an accurate number. We delete members after the two year mark. Some sites do not delete them at all. Some delete after a year. Point being, we are not posting an inaccurate number. I have always said we delete inactive members are two years...

I don't know what the percentage is that are not active after the first day they log in, but no matter what that percentage is...they were still active in the last year soooo..... :)

I don't mind anyone ASKING about information. This thread felt more like accusations and assumptions to ME, and then once the orginal assumption was incorrect (that we do not delete old members), it moved on to another topic...(we don't delete old members within a reasonable amount of time), and THEN moved on to another assumptive topic...that's all.

imformation gathering...always a good thing!:D

I agree with that...being informed is always a good thing.

btw...I forgot to post this because I had to leave, but according to the software statistics we have had right around 13,000 active members in the last year, and we get between 100 and 150 new applications for membership each week. All those members are not approved; however. Some of them are obviously spammers, and Katrina and Rob-Admin and I go through each every application for the site, and check any email addresses or IP addresses that seem off. Only the legitimate members are approved. I would say probably 25% of those who apply are spammers..unfortunately. :(

I have a confession. I tried 2 within days apart to try and obtain a second account. I wanted to post something personal but did not want anyone to know it was me.

I used a legit email, a cute name, and my own IP address.

Denied both times, due to supicious name and suspicion of being a spammer.

Imagine that.......me a spammer. :rolleyes:

Interesting huh.....guess I can't have 2 accounts.....

I have a confession. I tried 2 within days apart to try and obtain a second account. I wanted to post something personal but did not want anyone to know it was me.

I used a legit email, a cute name, and my own IP address.

Denied both times, due to supicious name and suspicion of being a spammer.

Imagine that.......me a spammer. :rolleyes:

Interesting huh.....guess I can't have 2 accounts.....

Sora, it's in the rules that you can't have 2 accounts. ;)

Here's the rule:

6. Members are allowed to maintain only one Agelesslove.com screen identity at any given time.

Sora, it's in the rules that you can't have 2 accounts. ;)

Here's the rule:

Thanks Rob.

I have a confession. I tried 2 within days apart to try and obtain a second account. I wanted to post something personal but did not want anyone to know it was me.

I used a legit email, a cute name, and my own IP address.

Denied both times, due to supicious name and suspicion of being a spammer.

Imagine that.......me a spammer. :rolleyes:

Interesting huh.....guess I can't have 2 accounts.....

Sora, I thought that was Jeremy trying to do that due to the email address he was using and that it matched his old user account here. I sent him a PM because I wasn't sure what was going on. But, didn't know it was you or I'd have PM'd you. But, yeah, Rob's right, the rules state you can only have one user account.

Sora, I thought that was Jeremy trying to do that due to the email address he was using and that it matched his old user account here. I sent him a PM because I wasn't sure what was going on. But, didn't know it was you or I'd have PM'd you. But, yeah, Rob's right, the rules state you can only have one user account.

haha....he needs to check his PMs......but yeah, it was me....

thank you
sora