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

November 25, 2004 1:29 PM

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.
posted by DrJohnEvans to MetaFilter-Related at 1:29 PM (47 comments total)

Works in opera too
posted by Capn at 1:38 PM on November 25, 2004

I just tried it in two diff threads (firefox, os x) and it told me the average age was 1222 or something like that.
posted by dobbs at 2:17 PM on November 25, 2004

dobbs: which threads?
posted by DrJohnEvans at 2:21 PM on November 25, 2004

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.
posted by DrJohnEvans at 2:29 PM on November 25, 2004

Well this meta thread tells me the average age is 14872.
posted by dobbs at 4:46 PM on November 25, 2004

I feel younger already
posted by matteo at 4:48 PM on November 25, 2004

Can you make one that calculates IQ, too?
posted by rushmc at 5:02 PM on November 25, 2004

I'm just posting to further lower the average of this thread.
posted by mkn at 5:07 PM on November 25, 2004

I'm just wondering where the age info comes from. There's no "birthday" or "age" box on the profile page i have.
posted by reflecked at 5:12 PM on November 25, 2004

It's 'age' as derived from your user number. The higher it is means the 'younger' the user (i.e. more recently joined).
posted by John Shaft at 5:16 PM on November 25, 2004

In Safari it says the oldest user is 100,000; the youngest is 0 and the average is "NaN"
posted by terrapin at 5:30 PM on November 25, 2004

use the median, it is a better estimator than average (find that value that is > half of values in the list)
posted by MzB at 5:31 PM on November 25, 2004

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.
posted by Kleptophoria! at 5:32 PM on November 25, 2004

DrJohn you adorable geek, what a fun toy ! and yes, like mkn, i'm just posting to help lower the average.
posted by t r a c y at 5:56 PM on November 25, 2004

I obviously completely misunderstood the point of the tool. :) LOL.
posted by dobbs at 6:06 PM on November 25, 2004

Guess I better post to counter-act tracy. (=
posted by id at 6:28 PM on November 25, 2004

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.
posted by reflecked at 6:49 PM on November 25, 2004

I love useless toys like this. *ding*
posted by dabitch at 7:08 PM on November 25, 2004

If I comment more often, do you all get older?
posted by Kleptophoria! at 7:10 PM on November 25, 2004

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...!
posted by t r a c y at 7:16 PM on November 25, 2004

11087.
posted by wendell at 7:26 PM on November 25, 2004

10592.
posted by wendell at 7:27 PM on November 25, 2004

10140.
posted by wendell at 7:27 PM on November 25, 2004

9727.
something to do at MetaFilter while under the influence of tryptophan...
posted by wendell at 7:29 PM on November 25, 2004

9346.
You probably guessed this isn't the first time I drove down an average.
posted by wendell at 7:30 PM on November 25, 2004

Fantastic, DJE. Very cool. 8994.
posted by Optimus Chyme at 8:44 PM on November 25, 2004

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.
posted by DrJohnEvans at 9:08 PM on November 25, 2004

Unless is did the math wrong, which is quite likely, here is a median bookmarklet.
posted by mexican at 9:53 PM on November 25, 2004

I totally copied code from DrJohnEvans
posted by mexican at 9:56 PM on November 25, 2004

I'm having too much fun now; this is exhausting. Thanks, Mr. M.D.-Doctorman!
posted by taz at 10:20 PM on November 25, 2004

Let's try that link again. median
posted by mexican at 10:32 PM on November 25, 2004

That's awesome, mexican. The median user is me!
posted by DrJohnEvans at 10:33 PM on November 25, 2004

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.
posted by fvw at 10:35 PM on November 25, 2004

I like this.
posted by BradNelson at 10:57 PM on November 25, 2004

10538!
posted by WolfDaddy at 5:27 AM on November 26, 2004

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

(Nice toy. Not sure what to do with it, but nice toy.)
posted by chicobangs at 6:14 AM on November 26, 2004

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.
posted by Mitheral at 8:47 AM on November 26, 2004

*dingdingding*
just doing my part to change da numbahs
posted by dabitch at 12:30 PM on November 26, 2004

10296.

We'll never make 10,000!

(especially if I keep bringing it back up...)
posted by arto at 1:17 PM on November 26, 2004

I'm still the median. Qui est votre papa?
posted by DrJohnEvans at 1:24 PM on November 26, 2004

I don't mean to bring y'all down, but...
posted by wendell at 1:54 PM on November 26, 2004

...come to think of it, I DO!
posted by wendell at 1:55 PM on November 26, 2004

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?
posted by buddhanarchist at 5:22 PM on November 26, 2004

whoops-- meant to post at a different thread-- damn back button--please ignore...
posted by buddhanarchist at 5:41 PM on November 26, 2004

Way to screw up the average, man. Now we'll never get to 10000.
posted by DrJohnEvans at 6:56 PM on November 26, 2004

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.
posted by mexican at 7:12 PM on November 26, 2004

10713
posted by Megafly at 12:49 PM on November 27, 2004