60, 000! October 20, 2007 6:15 PM   Subscribe

The undoubtedly charming, but thus far silent johngaymon is the sixty-thousandth member of this fair site. That's a lot of plates of beans.
posted by Schlimmbesserung to MetaFilter-Related at 6:15 PM (118 comments total)

We're closing in fast on 62K, in fact.
posted by cortex (staff) at 6:22 PM on October 20, 2007


I stopped looking at the number on the blue a long time ago and so I've thought we past 60K for months and months now.
posted by Ethereal Bligh at 6:26 PM on October 20, 2007


Dibs on 65536.
posted by Saucy Intruder at 6:27 PM on October 20, 2007


So now I'm part of the old guard?
posted by micayetoca at 6:46 PM on October 20, 2007


no
posted by Joseph Gurl at 6:46 PM on October 20, 2007


heh.
posted by rtha at 7:00 PM on October 20, 2007


61650 as of today.
posted by Rhomboid at 7:10 PM on October 20, 2007


how many actually paid?
posted by quonsar at 7:15 PM on October 20, 2007


Ya'll realize these numbers are virtually meaningless right?
posted by puke & cry at 7:28 PM on October 20, 2007


Virtually, but not entirely meaningless.
posted by yhbc at 7:33 PM on October 20, 2007


Not even a little meaningless. It's a direct indication of how long you've been on the site.

Not meaning what people want it to mean (how awesome I am) doesn't mean it's meaningless.
posted by smackfu at 7:44 PM on October 20, 2007 [2 favorites]


When I signed up, we had to post uphill. Both ways. In the snow. Shoeless.
posted by mr_crash_davis at 7:49 PM on October 20, 2007 [9 favorites]


66355, not 36. Base-zero, y'know.
posted by five fresh fish at 7:51 PM on October 20, 2007


Gah. 65535. I, putz.
posted by five fresh fish at 7:51 PM on October 20, 2007


When I signed up, we had to post uphill. Both ways. In the snow. Shoeless.

When I signed up, we had to sneak in. With our BRAINS.

(he said for the umpteenth time)
posted by yhbc at 8:11 PM on October 20, 2007 [1 favorite]


I'm 31610, and I still feel new here.
posted by jayder at 8:15 PM on October 20, 2007


When *I* signed up, we had to not post for 2 years, because we thought we'd screwed up the sign-in.
posted by Kattullus at 8:17 PM on October 20, 2007


When I signed up, we had to defeat an entire colosseum of five-year-olds.
posted by casarkos at 8:17 PM on October 20, 2007 [2 favorites]


Maybe there could be a new page saying "Newest Members"?

61662 is the highest I found.
posted by jayder at 8:20 PM on October 20, 2007


Maybe there could be a new page saying "Newest Members"?

I meant to say, "listing 'Newest Members." And it would include only those who had fully completed the signup process.
posted by jayder at 8:21 PM on October 20, 2007


When *I* signed up, we were very happy but disappointed not to be exactly the 31000th member. Ah well.
posted by MadamM at 8:32 PM on October 20, 2007


Let's call it NOOBS and be done with it.
posted by disclaimer at 8:32 PM on October 20, 2007


we had to defeat an entire colosseum of five-year-olds

Yeah, but they stopped giving them forks after user 13999.
posted by mediareport at 8:33 PM on October 20, 2007


Base-zero, y'know.

So there was a user before Matt?
posted by eyeballkid at 8:34 PM on October 20, 2007


When I signed up, we had to post uphill. Both ways. In the snow. Shoeless.

You had SNOW?!?
posted by rtha at 8:38 PM on October 20, 2007


The snow had melted by the time I joined and Mrs. Davis drove us to school.
posted by y2karl at 8:46 PM on October 20, 2007


how many actually paid?

Well, I don't know where the $5 mark came in, but more than half of usernumbers, by a small margin, are active confirmed accounts.
posted by cortex (staff) at 8:47 PM on October 20, 2007


We're closing in fast on 62K, in fact

64K ought to be enough for anybody.
posted by Blazecock Pileon at 8:48 PM on October 20, 2007 [23 favorites]


Clever. :)
posted by Ethereal Bligh at 8:50 PM on October 20, 2007


I wish we could send him some kind of in-site, electronic message to congratulate him.
posted by Rock Steady at 8:55 PM on October 20, 2007 [4 favorites]


Why do I have the haunting fear that once we hit 64K users, the MetaUniverse is going to collapse in on itself?
posted by wendell at 9:11 PM on October 20, 2007


“I wish we could send him some kind of in-site, electronic message to congratulate him.”

I don't.
posted by Ethereal Bligh at 9:14 PM on October 20, 2007


66355, not 36. Base-zero, y'know.

I hope you mean zero based and not base-zero. Also, since matthowie is "#1" and not "#0" we are clearly one-based.
posted by delmoi at 9:24 PM on October 20, 2007


When I signed up, 14k'ers ruled!

...and we still do.
posted by WolfDaddy at 9:24 PM on October 20, 2007 [4 favorites]


"undoubtedly charming"? Yeah, right. More like a total prick who's gonna flip out one day and call all MeFiers spineless dingleberries because we wouldn't support his linkless FPP urging all atheists to hurl their laptops into the Bay of Pigs as a protest against the latest Sigur Ros free download being too slow.
posted by flapjax at midnite at 9:38 PM on October 20, 2007 [2 favorites]


Yeah, right. More like a total prick who's gonna flip out one day and call all MeFiers spineless dingleberries because we wouldn't support his linkless FPP urging all atheists to hurl their laptops into the Bay of Pigs as a protest against the latest Sigur Ros free download being too slow.

Dude, decaf!
posted by loquacious at 9:47 PM on October 20, 2007


Yeah, right. More like a total prick who's gonna flip out one day and call all MeFiers spineless dingleberries because we wouldn't support his linkless FPP urging all atheists to hurl their laptops into the Bay of Pigs as a protest against the latest Sigur Ros free download being too slow.

Or another musician.
posted by humannaire at 9:48 PM on October 20, 2007


You forgot about mac snob.
posted by baphomet at 9:50 PM on October 20, 2007


Or another musician.

Heh heh! Although I bet if he were a musician we'd have seen a MeFiMusic post by now...
posted by flapjax at midnite at 9:54 PM on October 20, 2007


Aww. Pretty soon I'm going to feel all old-school.
posted by danb at 10:18 PM on October 20, 2007


When I signed up, 14k'ers ruled!

...and we still do.


Wheee!
posted by gummi at 10:28 PM on October 20, 2007 [1 favorite]


When I signed up, we didn't have to give Matt five dollars.

*feels bad for being a freeloader*
posted by bluishorange at 10:29 PM on October 20, 2007


I remember the hazing us 15k'ers got from you 14k'ers - before this place became all pc and shit.
posted by Samuel Farrow at 10:37 PM on October 20, 2007


quick! Close new registrations so we can all feel special again!
posted by Avenger at 10:45 PM on October 20, 2007 [2 favorites]


Whoops. I suppose base zero would be rather pointless.

Anyhoo, 65535 is the important number. If things are going to go wonky because of a bit overflow error, they'll occur at (2^n)-1.

I suppose 65536 has significance as the proof that there hasn't been a bit overflow error yet. I guess that's one way it could be worth calling dibs on. Although, otoh, if there is an error, calling that account would be moot.

Beans, meet plate!
posted by five fresh fish at 11:18 PM on October 20, 2007


This is the kind of thread where I only half heartedly read what anyone has to say, because I'm too busy mousing over your names to see what your user number might be. I'm in awe of the three-digit posters.
posted by croutonsupafreak at 11:33 PM on October 20, 2007 [1 favorite]


before this place became all pc and shit.

I dunno, Samuel, I figure there's probably more Mac users than ever, now.
posted by flapjax at midnite at 11:35 PM on October 20, 2007


Well I got in before the halfway point.
posted by empath at 12:09 AM on October 21, 2007


i wonder if matt could make money by selling some of the blank low user numbers.

my one is smaller than yours!
posted by Dillonlikescookies at 12:40 AM on October 21, 2007 [1 favorite]


Of course, when I joined it was all Gracie Fields around here.
posted by Jofus at 12:41 AM on October 21, 2007


Signing up for my MeFi account was the most fun I ever had. Nothing like answering the door and seeing the high-priced call girls with the eightball of pure Peruvian flake that Matt promptly sent over. Granted, you n00bs have to pay five bucks, but it's well worth the night of debauchery. Wait, you still do get the hookers and blow, right?
posted by Devils Slide at 1:04 AM on October 21, 2007 [2 favorites]


More like a total prick who's gonna flip out one day

He's got to be nice than that arsehole moviescrazy, who never even bloody paid.
posted by cillit bang at 1:07 AM on October 21, 2007


it was so long ago, that i don't actually remember signing up
posted by jedrek at 1:12 AM on October 21, 2007


my one is smaller than yours!
posted by Dillonlikescookies at 12:40 AM on October 21


Only by 3.
posted by Devils Slide at 1:27 AM on October 21, 2007


I'm pretty sure the last 20K are all socks.
Man, it's a helluva thing when us billionaires start drunk posting.
posted by maryh at 1:46 AM on October 21, 2007 [1 favorite]


So around 36,000 people signed up after me. Even if only 15% of those actually paid, that's almost $45,000 extra bucks in Matt's pockets.

And I say without a hint of sarcasm or malice, he deserves every cent, because this place rocks.

I would be very curious to know exactly how many of those 36,000 people are actually fully paid up new members. I wonder why so many of the others sign up and then never complete the process. Is $5 really all that much to ask. I spend more on lunch most days.
posted by Effigy2000 at 2:26 AM on October 21, 2007


I spend more on lunch most days.

There is no free MeFi.
posted by flapjax at midnite at 2:42 AM on October 21, 2007


When I joined y2karl was y1karl.
posted by jonmc at 5:30 AM on October 21, 2007


I plan to spend five bucks on a second account when I can be #8675309.
posted by JanetLand at 6:08 AM on October 21, 2007


Basically, anyone who joined before me is past-it and passé; anyone who came after me is a hopeless neophyte who just doesn't get this place.
Once again, I am right and the whole world is wrong.
posted by Abiezer at 6:19 AM on October 21, 2007 [1 favorite]


woo woo all aboard the man train
posted by Mr. President Dr. Steve Elvis America at 7:27 AM on October 21, 2007


i wonder if matt could make money by selling some of the blank low user numbers.

Can't. We had to delete those to free up server resources.
posted by cortex (staff) at 8:13 AM on October 21, 2007 [2 favorites]


Seriously, WTF is the point of this post?
posted by BeerFilter at 8:48 AM on October 21, 2007


Lamest callout ever.
posted by BeerFilter at 8:49 AM on October 21, 2007


When I signed up, 14k'ers ruled!
...and we still do.


Damn tootin'.
posted by languagehat at 8:59 AM on October 21, 2007


Aw, this place is all grown up now. And doesn't put food on its head anymore.
posted by konolia at 9:30 AM on October 21, 2007


"So there was a user before Matt?"

And the atheists sigh, "Who created user #0?"
posted by klangklangston at 9:54 AM on October 21, 2007 [1 favorite]


mathowies all the way down, klang
posted by cortex (staff) at 10:12 AM on October 21, 2007 [3 favorites]


Who else in this thread is a November 18, 2004?
posted by baphomet at 10:12 AM on October 21, 2007


Metafilter is now as populous a Greenwich, Connecticut.

(and almost as friendly).
posted by psmealey at 10:49 AM on October 21, 2007


Ya'll realize these numbers are virtually meaningless right?

You realize it's y'all (as in you + all), right?
posted by Tehanu at 11:16 AM on October 21, 2007


When I joined y2karl was y1karl.

when i joined, jonmc was jonmxcix.
posted by quonsar at 11:28 AM on October 21, 2007 [8 favorites]


Well, I don't know where the $5 mark came in

I signed up pretty promptly after registrations reopened, so I'm guessing 18k onwards is the paying customers, and everyone else is the freeloaders.
posted by roofus at 12:55 PM on October 21, 2007


60kers--unbelievable : >

welcome! : >
posted by amberglow at 1:02 PM on October 21, 2007


When I signed up, 14k'ers ruled!

...and we still do.


totally.
posted by amberglow at 1:03 PM on October 21, 2007


Always will.
posted by CunningLinguist at 1:14 PM on October 21, 2007


Who else in this thread is a November 18, 2004?
posted by baphomet at 10:12 AM on October 2


Me. I still feel like a noob.
posted by doctor_negative at 1:15 PM on October 21, 2007


when I joined, cortex was neural tube.
posted by heeeraldo at 1:18 PM on October 21, 2007 [1 favorite]


You realize it's y'all (as in you + all), right?

Well excuse me.
posted by puke & cry at 1:23 PM on October 21, 2007


baphomet - I joined on November 18th as well. Are we very, very special people?
posted by Hobgoblin at 1:45 PM on October 21, 2007


When I joined y2karl was y1karl.

when i joined, jonmc was jonmxcix.


When I joined, quonsar was trionsar. Whatever.

So if vacant numbers were deleted, then we won't have an "overflow" when we hit #65336 but we MIGHT when we get 65336 active members. Now that would be something to make a pool on. I'm thinking either Election Day 2008 or December 12, 2012...
posted by wendell at 1:56 PM on October 21, 2007


When I joined, a Bush was something I peed on.

His secret service bodyguards weren't too happy when I did that.
posted by Effigy2000 at 2:05 PM on October 21, 2007


it's so weird to think that 1/3 of the site signed up after me. When I signed up, 40K seemed like such a huge number.
posted by Phire at 5:00 PM on October 21, 2007


When I joined, wendell was Wendy.

oops! Sorry ma'am--er, I mean, man!
posted by y2karl at 5:02 PM on October 21, 2007


When I joined, giants walked the Earth MetaFilter.
posted by Ethereal Bligh at 5:55 PM on October 21, 2007


When I joined, math was still uninjured.
posted by cortex (staff) at 5:57 PM on October 21, 2007 [2 favorites]


More like john'sgaymom amirite?

Welcome to thunderdome kid.
posted by ND¢ at 6:04 PM on October 21, 2007


so I'm guessing 18k onwards is the paying customers, and everyone else is the freeloaders.
Answered just like a noob...what nooby you be?
posted by thomcatspike at 8:15 PM on October 21, 2007


when I joined, people still knew where my handle came from.

I'm sad now.

Also, 14k'ers, suck it. 10k is the new 1k.
posted by po at 10:47 PM on October 21, 2007


When I joined, the fish in quonsar's pants was still a single-celled organism. (For creationists, it was like his whole pubic area was one big, empty garden of Eden.)
posted by taz at 12:22 AM on October 22, 2007 [1 favorite]


when I joined, people still knew where my handle came from.

So it's not the River Po, then?

You're a po' boy, long way from home?

OK, I give up.
posted by flapjax at midnite at 12:33 AM on October 22, 2007


When I first joined, Dumbledore was not yet gay.
posted by psmealey at 3:05 AM on October 22, 2007


I'm a fi-dolla noob. But I'm one of the first. :)
posted by Malor at 4:23 AM on October 22, 2007


Sweet. A temporary twenty-something in life, and permanent twenty-something on Metafilter.
posted by generichuman at 5:45 AM on October 22, 2007


OK, I give up.

Hint: Tubby custard!

I am also a fi-dolla n00b, but I am one of the firster than Malor.

(PS, you were always my favourite, Po. The others had the fame and the gay handbag scandal and the drinking problems, but you had the real talent).
posted by Sparx at 6:06 AM on October 22, 2007


I have no idea why I waited so long to join, but my number does not represent my silent, lurking presence accurately. I wish I could remember how I ended up here, but I do seem to recall the vast majority of the posts were matthowie's.
posted by squasha at 6:57 AM on October 22, 2007


Who else in this thread is a November 18, 2004?
posted by baphomet at 10:12 AM on October 2
Me!!!
posted by yodelingisfun at 7:09 AM on October 22, 2007


November 18, 2004?
Me, too.
posted by redfisch at 7:27 AM on October 22, 2007


When I joined Jason Kottke handed us name tags at the door. Zeldman took our coats.
posted by TimTypeZed at 8:30 AM on October 22, 2007


When I joined, we had to sacrifice a virgin to get in. What? We didn't have to sacrifice a virgin to get in? Damn! That was my last virgin, too. Would have come in handy, later.
posted by It's Raining Florence Henderson at 9:30 AM on October 22, 2007


April 22, 2000

kottke: Desired username please.
Me: weretable and the undead chairs. All lowercase.
kottke: Look, before I became a web genius, I took physics in school. I have eclectic tastes. I'm dorky but cute. But I don't understand what that name means. Pick something else.
heather: I use my own name.
fraying: Mine is a reference to my celebrated site that explores short narrative essay forms in the new medium.
heather: Derek, you're so funny.
Me: Mr. President Dr. Steve El.....
kottke: Which one?
Me: Which one?
kottke: Mr. President or Dr. Steve?
Me: Mr.....President........Dr...........Steve........Elvis......
kottke: Elvis?
Me: Spaces in between.
kottke: He wants spaces. Do we do spaces? Has anyone tried spaces yet?
Me: America. That's it.
kottke: No wait. Too confusing. Pick something else.
megnut: Mine is what my Grammies called me.
zeldman: I use my name, but it's so evocative of New York. Can I have your coat please?
kottke: Wendell, quit playing with the secret email machine. Do you have a new name yet?
Me: It's Raining Florence Henderson.
kottke: Now you're just being silly.
Me: Kraftmatic Adjustable Cheese.
kottke: I like that. What do you think, Meg?
megnut (wrinkling nose): I don't know. It's okay, I guess. Heather?
heather: Quit being such a spaz, man. Pick something normal.
Me: Okay, but it won't seem very clever.

If you over 50,000 noobs are good today, before bedtime I'll tell you the story about how Matt was drafted onto the early Blogger All-Star team, how for awhile it seemed like the promise for all the aspiring web writers of real grownup jobs someday until evhead shut it down without handing out the last weeks' cheques, and how ev then went off to write a bitter blog complaining about how everyone in the web world are cheap bastards until he sold out to Google, bought his yacht and sailed off to Polynesia to find the women of Gauguin paintings.
posted by TimTypeZed at 10:52 AM on October 22, 2007 [3 favorites]


Fun fact: the average length of a username for an active account is 8.4 characters.

The average length goes up to 8.6 if you include pending (that is, post-$5, unpaid) accounts.

Which suggests one or both of the following:

- cheapskates pick long names;
- people with long usernames commit a typo the first time they try to register said beasts.

The More You Know *====----
posted by cortex (staff) at 11:53 AM on October 22, 2007 [4 favorites]


^^^ Faved for going to the trouble of including the little shooting star.
posted by Rock Steady at 12:42 PM on October 22, 2007


With each new member, my "noob" label diminishes, and my hipster cred goes up.
posted by spiderskull at 2:29 PM on October 22, 2007


Yay, I'm below average!

Oh, wait...
posted by deborah at 2:58 PM on October 22, 2007


With each new member, my "noob" label diminishes, and my hipster cred goes up.

exactly! : >
posted by amberglow at 3:32 PM on October 22, 2007


I squeezed in just below 20K following at least a year (and possibly closer to two) longing, wishing, desiring _deeply_ for an account. Then I got one, never posted an FPP, and rarely comment. I'm barely past lurking. I'm not sure how that makes me feel. Possibly intimidated by the older kids.
posted by StephenF at 4:16 PM on October 22, 2007


Who else in this thread is a November 18, 2004?
posted by baphomet at 10:12 AM on October 2

Missed it by that much...
posted by miss lynnster at 4:16 PM on October 22, 2007


Who else in this thread is a November 18, 2004?

Guilty.
posted by Tommy Gnosis at 4:20 PM on October 22, 2007


Who else in this thread is a November 18, 2004?

November 19, here.
posted by candyland at 5:30 PM on October 22, 2007


November 19 here, too.

Wow, that's very weird. I was trying to verify roughly how many people registered on November 18.... I was able to see that Sparx was username 180-and-change... but suddenly, in the last few minutes, clicking on people's names lists them by name instead of by number.

How frustrating. How are we supposed to be properly, like, elitist and stuff? :)
posted by Malor at 8:27 PM on October 22, 2007


For extra weirdness, it works "correctly" (the old way, with numbers instead of username.mefi) on the first page that came up after that post.

Mommy, I'm confused.
posted by Malor at 8:28 PM on October 22, 2007


Who else in this thread is a November 18, 2004?
        |        |        v
posted by knave at 11:09 PM on October 22, 2007


Well, I don't know where the $5 mark came in

I signed up pretty promptly after registrations reopened, so I'm guessing 18k onwards is the paying customers, and everyone else is the freeloaders.



As the very first five dollar nOOb, I endorse this message and welcome whatshisname to the site.

NB: 10 people signed up before me, but none of them active posters, so technically I am the 10th five dollar nOOb: the nOObness starts at 17578.
posted by Meatbomb at 1:09 AM on October 23, 2007


Just finished my latest translation! Will send manuscript in a minute. It's a detective novel and will be published by a very big publisher. Big time and small cheques here I come!
posted by Abiezer at 1:57 AM on October 23, 2007


Shit, so eager to brag, I got the wrong thread! Anyway, point is I'm a clever bastard.
posted by Abiezer at 1:58 AM on October 23, 2007


Malor: Dunno if this is relevent, but for me, having a comment being previewed changes the usernumber-based links in comments to username-based ones.

And hey - I'm November 18th too, and didn't even realise until you pointed it out. Quick, let's form a cabal before anyone notices.
posted by Sparx at 2:29 AM on October 23, 2007


As always, I was fashionably late to the party. I think I found the site in July or Aug 2001, but having just getting out of one online community, I lurked for 5 years. Keeping things casual, you know, not wanting to get too serious, etc. Looking back now I see I was first quoted on the Blue in Oct 2001, though. That's gotta be worth some oldster cred. But hey, once we hit 75k I'll be on the early adopter side of the user numbers.

*wanders off to practice shaking fist at kids and to get a lawn*
posted by 1f2frfbf at 12:07 PM on October 23, 2007


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