Comments on: Here's a little bookmarklet that tells you the average user age contibuting to the thread.

Here's a little bookmarklet that tells you the average user age contibuting to the thread.

DrJohnEvans — Thu, 25 Nov 2004 13:29:24 -0800

So I keep noticing thousands of new usernames in comment threads (which is awesome), and I got to wondering about how user age/contribution patterns were evolving on a threadwise level with the new users settling in. Being a non-statistician, I didn't care enough to perform a serious study, so I just threw together a little bookmarklet that tells you the average user age contributing to the page. It's totally worthless, but a bit of fun.

By: Capn

Capn — Thu, 25 Nov 2004 13:38:09 -0800

Works in opera too

By: dobbs

dobbs — Thu, 25 Nov 2004 14:17:24 -0800

I just tried it in two diff threads (firefox, os x) and it told me the average age was 1222 or something like that.

By: DrJohnEvans

DrJohnEvans — Thu, 25 Nov 2004 14:21:42 -0800

dobbs: which threads?

By: DrJohnEvans

DrJohnEvans — Thu, 25 Nov 2004 14:29:31 -0800

Hm, it doesn't yet work for the MeFi front page when you're not logged in, because for top-secret reasons, user links are displayed completely differently then. Interesting.

By: dobbs

dobbs — Thu, 25 Nov 2004 16:46:12 -0800

Well this meta thread tells me the average age is 14872.

By: matteo

matteo — Thu, 25 Nov 2004 16:48:11 -0800

I feel younger already

By: rushmc

rushmc — Thu, 25 Nov 2004 17:02:46 -0800

Can you make one that calculates IQ, too?

By: mkn

mkn — Thu, 25 Nov 2004 17:07:22 -0800

I'm just posting to further lower the average of this thread.

By: reflecked

reflecked — Thu, 25 Nov 2004 17:12:27 -0800

I'm just wondering where the age info comes from. There's no "birthday" or "age" box on the profile page i have.

By: John Shaft

John Shaft — Thu, 25 Nov 2004 17:16:30 -0800

It's 'age' as derived from your user number. The higher it is means the 'younger' the user (i.e. more recently joined).

By: terrapin

terrapin — Thu, 25 Nov 2004 17:30:44 -0800

In Safari it says the oldest user is 100,000; the youngest is 0 and the average is "NaN"

By: MzB

MzB — Thu, 25 Nov 2004 17:31:31 -0800

use the median, it is a better estimator than average (find that value that is > half of values in the list)

By: Kleptophoria!

Kleptophoria! — Thu, 25 Nov 2004 17:32:07 -0800

The bookmarklet thing sends fairies to the houses of all the thread contributors while they are asleep, and gives them a kiss. If the kiss is true and pure, a new fairy is born. That's how the average age is calculated

What John Shaft said.

By: t r a c y

t r a c y — Thu, 25 Nov 2004 17:56:02 -0800

DrJohn you adorable geek, what a fun toy ! and yes, like mkn, i'm just posting to help lower the average.

By: dobbs

dobbs — Thu, 25 Nov 2004 18:06:42 -0800

I obviously completely misunderstood the point of the tool. :) LOL.

By: id

id — Thu, 25 Nov 2004 18:28:33 -0800

Guess I better post to counter-act tracy. (=

By: reflecked

reflecked — Thu, 25 Nov 2004 18:49:44 -0800

Kissed by a fairy? May i have two? I'd prefer a pair o' fairies, thankyouverymuch.

and.. thank you JohnShaft.

This post is my contribution to skewing.

By: dabitch

dabitch — Thu, 25 Nov 2004 19:08:14 -0800

I love useless toys like this. *ding*

By: Kleptophoria!

Kleptophoria! — Thu, 25 Nov 2004 19:10:45 -0800

If I comment more often, do you all get older?

By: t r a c y

t r a c y — Thu, 25 Nov 2004 19:16:11 -0800

posted by id at 6:28 PM PST on November 25

i've said it for years... the net is nothing but a playground for people's ids, and look, there's one of them running around right now...!

By: wendell

wendell — Thu, 25 Nov 2004 19:26:42 -0800

11087.

By: wendell

wendell — Thu, 25 Nov 2004 19:27:04 -0800

10592.

By: wendell

wendell — Thu, 25 Nov 2004 19:27:33 -0800

10140.

By: wendell

wendell — Thu, 25 Nov 2004 19:29:17 -0800

9727.
something to do at MetaFilter while under the influence of tryptophan...

By: wendell

wendell — Thu, 25 Nov 2004 19:30:42 -0800

9346.
You probably guessed this isn't the first time I drove down an average.

By: Optimus Chyme

Optimus Chyme — Thu, 25 Nov 2004 20:44:50 -0800

Fantastic, DJE. Very cool. 8994.

By: DrJohnEvans

DrJohnEvans — Thu, 25 Nov 2004 21:08:41 -0800

The front page averages; interpret at your own risk:

MetaFilter: 12564 (new user privileges are just starting to kick in)
MetaTalk: 12085
Ask MetaFilter: 14260

I might figure out a median one at some point; that's a good idea. Sorry about Safari; I've no access to an appropriate development platform.

By: mexican

mexican — Thu, 25 Nov 2004 21:53:48 -0800

Unless is did the math wrong, which is quite likely, here is a median bookmarklet.

By: mexican

mexican — Thu, 25 Nov 2004 21:56:14 -0800

I totally copied code from DrJohnEvans

By: taz

taz — Thu, 25 Nov 2004 22:20:11 -0800

I'm having too much fun now; this is exhausting. Thanks, Mr. M.D.-Doctorman!

By: mexican

mexican — Thu, 25 Nov 2004 22:32:31 -0800

Let's try that link again. median

By: DrJohnEvans

DrJohnEvans — Thu, 25 Nov 2004 22:33:32 -0800

That's awesome, mexican. The median user is me!

By: fvw

fvw — Thu, 25 Nov 2004 22:35:00 -0800

Are the two fairies in question Amberglow and WolfDaddy? Just asking&

just posting to make my mark on the average. But then again that's what I always do.

By: BradNelson

BradNelson — Thu, 25 Nov 2004 22:57:20 -0800

I like this.

By: WolfDaddy

WolfDaddy — Fri, 26 Nov 2004 05:27:05 -0800

10538!

By: chicobangs

chicobangs — Fri, 26 Nov 2004 06:14:29 -0800

Bringin' it down, bringin' it down...

(Nice toy. Not sure what to do with it, but nice toy.)

By: Mitheral

Mitheral — Fri, 26 Nov 2004 08:47:22 -0800

If I comment more often, do you all get older?

Nope, the only way to get older around here is to encourage others join the light side.

By: dabitch

dabitch — Fri, 26 Nov 2004 12:30:18 -0800

*dingdingding*
just doing my part to change da numbahs

By: arto

arto — Fri, 26 Nov 2004 13:17:56 -0800

10296.

We'll never make 10,000!

(especially if I keep bringing it back up...)

By: DrJohnEvans

DrJohnEvans — Fri, 26 Nov 2004 13:24:32 -0800

I'm still the median. Qui est votre papa?

By: wendell

wendell — Fri, 26 Nov 2004 13:54:59 -0800

I don't mean to bring y'all down, but...

By: wendell

wendell — Fri, 26 Nov 2004 13:55:47 -0800

...come to think of it, I DO!

By: buddhanarchist

buddhanarchist — Fri, 26 Nov 2004 17:22:15 -0800

not to digress to an earlier point which might be worth pursuing or anything: by default, your username owns you: you decide (sometimes a bit too spontaneously/haphazardly) what your username will be, and then you're indentured to it: you can't change it-- or lose your ranking, stats, etc. There must be some way to change this, some new approach, as the internet is becoming a life long activity, and the name one chooses-- or improvises-- when 17 may not be what you want at 30... is there anyway to create a new name, but keep your history? Or become a new user.. but with traces from your past 'life' still active. IS this not an opportunity to innovate? Any ideas?

By: buddhanarchist

buddhanarchist — Fri, 26 Nov 2004 17:41:04 -0800

whoops-- meant to post at a different thread-- damn back button--please ignore...

By: DrJohnEvans

DrJohnEvans — Fri, 26 Nov 2004 18:56:13 -0800

Way to screw up the average, man. Now we'll never get to 10000.

By: mexican

mexican — Fri, 26 Nov 2004 19:12:44 -0800

DrJohnEvans, you're only the median if you give extra weight in the direction of users who have posted more than one comment. I made another version that calculates the average and the median with no extra weight for multiple comments.

By: Megafly

Megafly — Sat, 27 Nov 2004 12:49:02 -0800

10713