Over 13,000 now

[RPBrown]

I just looked and we are over 13,000 strong on this forum. I remember when Charles was surprised at 1000.

Thank you Charles and all of the Mods for all you do and for keeping this a family forum

[gthaustex]

Indeed. We appreciate a place to voice our opinions, exchange knowledge and information and occasionally vent. Bravo.

[4copas]

Great news for the forum. Thanks to the mods and for all that goes into it.

And to all the 13,000 that have not joined the TFC........

Please join now. It's free and an opportunity to get behind one of the biggest voices we have right now of Texas CHL and Texas 2A Rights. Share with family and friends that support 2A Rights. Don't let up until you get ok or no thanks. Let's get this membership above and beyond the Texas CHL holder number.

[jmra]

Before you get too excited about that number you should look a little closer.
Total number of members of a forum or any entity for that matter means absolutely nothing. What is important is active members.
Of the the 13,102 listed members, 633 have reached senior member level (requires only 200 posts). I have not taken the time to count them, but a number of these 633 have not been active for some time. Some have died, some have moved out of state and no longer have a TX CHL, and others have simply moved on for various reasons.

Other numbers to consider:
10,250 members have 15 or fewer posts
9600 members have 10 or fewer posts
8500 members have 5 or fewer posts
6000 members have 1 or fewer posts
4250 members have never posted

Now, one could look at these numbers and assume that there has been a huge influx of new members. That would not be an accurate assumption as a significant number of the 10,250 members didn't just sign up. Many have been inactive for some time, some signed up years ago.

Now before you go thinking I'm trying to rip the forum, let me tell you that nothing could be further from the truth. I think this is an awesome forum and I am very thankful to Chas and the mods who have given so much of themselves to this forum and to preserving the rights of Texas gun owners.

That being said, we have a very serious problem that I believe is pointed out in these numbers. There are hundreds of thousands of Texas CHL holders and yet this forum (the best of its kind that I have been able to find) only has 633 senior members (how many of which are active I don't know).

What is this serious problem? Apathy! So before we go celebrating 13,000 members, maybe we should take a hard look at what that number actually represents.

[Beiruty]

Before you get too excited about that number you should look a little closer.
Total number of members of a forum or any entity for that matter means absolutely nothing. What is important is active members.
Of the the 13,102 listed members, 633 have reached senior member level (requires only 200 posts). I have not taken the time to count them, but a number of these 633 have not been active for some time. Some have died, some have moved out of state and no longer have a TX CHL, and others have simply moved on for various reasons.

Other numbers to consider:
10,250 members have 15 or fewer posts
9600 members have 10 or fewer posts
8500 members have 5 or fewer posts
6000 members have 1 or fewer posts
4250 members have never posted

Now, one could look at these numbers and assume that there has been a huge influx of new members. That would not be an accurate assumption as a significant number of the 10,250 members didn't just sign up. Many have been inactive for some time, some signed up years ago.

Now before you go thinking I'm trying to rip the forum, let me tell you that nothing could be further from the truth. I think this is an awesome forum and I am very thankful to Chas and the mods who have given so much of themselves to this forum and to preserving the rights of Texas gun owners.

That being said, we have a very serious problem that I believe is pointed out in these numbers. There are hundreds of thousands of Texas CHL holders and yet this forum (the best of its kind that I have been able to find) only has 633 senior members (how many of which are active I don't know).

What is this serious problem? Apathy! So before we go celebrating 13,000 members, maybe we should take a hard look at what that number actually represents.

Very good topic! Out of 600K we have 600 addicted to this forum. that is 1:1000. Not encouraging. Since even if we call for all out members to attend an event we never exceed couple thousands. We vigorously motivated for our CC right, but our numbers are still relatively small.

[rwg3]

Making senior member status appears to be difficult for the majority who sign up for the site. Let me offer the thought that it takes a much thicker skin than the majority are willing to cultivate to hang in here. There are a few posters who tend to dominate the topics. Some offer great technical and practical advice while others mostly offer their own social/political views on the topic. If you happen to agree with the viewpoints of a loud contingent then it is a happy place to be. If you don't then it is easy to see how people don't bother to contribute.

I stay for the technical advice. The political stuff not so much. I don't begrudge anyone's views, but don't always share them with the same vehemence. The posting sort does not surprise me. It would also be interesting to see the array analysis going in the other direction up the post totals.

[lrpettit]

I suspect that there are a LOT of people who read this forum who don't post much. This is a technical forum more than a social forum. In a social forum, you might expect everybody to post equally. In a technical forum, the most technical members are the ones that respond to questions. I rarely post because I rarely have something constructive to offer but I'm out here reading every day. I've learned far more from this forum than I learned in the one day class because of technical expertise of this forum's members. If it helps to understand, computer forums are the same way.

[K.Mooneyham]

I suspect that there are a LOT of people who read this forum who don't post much. This is a technical forum more than a social forum. In a social forum, you might expect everybody to post equally. In a technical forum, the most technical members are the ones that respond to questions. I rarely post because I rarely have something constructive to offer but I'm out here reading every day. I've learned far more from this forum than I learned in the one day class because of technical expertise of this forum's members. If it helps to understand, computer forums are the same way.

I admit to being one of the opinionated folks who post quite a bit. I don't belong to any other forums anymore, so this one gets my attention. I've learned an ENORMOUS amount of information of this forum, though, and in fact, I read it for quite a while before I ever joined.

[Dadtodabone]

If you happen to agree with the viewpoints of a loud contingent then it is a happy place to be. If you don't then it is easy to see how people don't bother to contribute.

My BIL quit the forum. He had convinced me to stop lurking and join, I then found out that he had quit the week before I joined.

[jmra]

I just saw on another thread where Chas stated that the forum is getting 7 to 10 million hits a month. That is huge! It would appear that as someone stated earlier a lot of "guest" read the forum.
Reading Chas' post has brightened my day. Now I am willing to join the celebration.

[RJGold]

Before you get too excited about that number you should look a little closer.
Total number of members of a forum or any entity for that matter means absolutely nothing. What is important is active members.
Of the the 13,102 listed members, 633 have reached senior member level (requires only 200 posts). I have not taken the time to count them, but a number of these 633 have not been active for some time. Some have died, some have moved out of state and no longer have a TX CHL, and others have simply moved on for various reasons.

Other numbers to consider:
10,250 members have 15 or fewer posts
9600 members have 10 or fewer posts
8500 members have 5 or fewer posts
6000 members have 1 or fewer posts
4250 members have never posted

Now, one could look at these numbers and assume that there has been a huge influx of new members. That would not be an accurate assumption as a significant number of the 10,250 members didn't just sign up. Many have been inactive for some time, some signed up years ago.

Now before you go thinking I'm trying to rip the forum, let me tell you that nothing could be further from the truth. I think this is an awesome forum and I am very thankful to Chas and the mods who have given so much of themselves to this forum and to preserving the rights of Texas gun owners.

That being said, we have a very serious problem that I believe is pointed out in these numbers. There are hundreds of thousands of Texas CHL holders and yet this forum (the best of its kind that I have been able to find) only has 633 senior members (how many of which are active I don't know).

What is this serious problem? Apathy! So before we go celebrating 13,000 members, maybe we should take a hard look at what that number actually represents.

I don't think you can blame the fact that only 600+ folks have made it to Senior Member and fewer than that actively participate in this forum on apathy. That assumption requires that you also assume the only outlet for these folks is this forum.

I enjoy this forum and get good information (and entertainment) from it but not everyone chooses this type of format to get or give their information.

All the information you have presented does is categorize what happens to members as they progress (or don't) along the path. I waterski as a hobby and was a member of a forum that addressed that sport and issues associated with it (not as highly charged but there are political issues dealing with boating and waterskiing). I saw the same sort of filtering there in terms of who eventually became Senior Members and stayed with the forum.

The same thing would happen if you put 1000 or so folks in a large room and watched them. We would clump into groups and after a while would be in fairly well defined groups based on our interest in the conversations taking place. In each group, a small percentage of dominating personalities would control the conversation, a small percentage of others would chime in from time to time, and the rest would seldom interject or would just be there listening. I am not a psychologist, just watch people and have seen this pattern repeated.

Lastly, I don't tend to get my political coaching from sites like this. Don't get me wrong, I enjoy seeing the information presented here and the details that are presented here to help us understand the finer points of some bills but I know who my representatives are (local, state, and federal), I know what their stands are on issues, I know what I want to support and how, and I vote my agenda and contact my reps on issues as I see fit. I normally don't participate in the political discussions on this site as most escalate quickly into passionate discussions and I choose not to engage in that form of discussion in this format.

The number of hits mentioned in another response points to the "hotness" of gun issues at the moment and I think points to the fact that this is a credible forum for those discussions.

My two cents on this issue...

[RPBrown]

In the beginning, I was posting quite often. Then my work load increased and could only get to a computer maybe once a week. Then I started having to travel a 5 state area to oversee crews. I was fortunate enough to have a laptop and could get on more often but my hours were still long and I wouldn't post a lot, just read. Now I am back to a position where I can (and do) post more. But as one of the long time senior (both on the forum and age) I just have a little under 2200 posts. So you see there are reasons that people are not as active.

Now, on another note, there are those that have to join to be able to ask a specific question. And as stated above, there are many, many more that visit here for specific reasons that do not join.

What I am saying is that for any number of reasons, there are a LOT of people that come here for information. That is because there are some of the most CHL knowlegable people around.

[chasfm11]

I suspect that there are a LOT of people who read this forum who don't post much. This is a technical forum more than a social forum. In a social forum, you might expect everybody to post equally. In a technical forum, the most technical members are the ones that respond to questions. I rarely post because I rarely have something constructive to offer but I'm out here reading every day. I've learned far more from this forum than I learned in the one day class because of technical expertise of this forum's members. If it helps to understand, computer forums are the same way.

I admit to being one of the opinionated folks who post quite a bit. I don't belong to any other forums anymore, so this one gets my attention. I've learned an ENORMOUS amount of information of this forum, though, and in fact, I read it for quite a while before I ever joined.

x2
I was very active on a couple of RV forums for several years (3K+ posts on just one of them) before finding this forum. I was and still am a neophyte in the world of guns but I've learned a great deal on a variety of subjects.

I have a good friend who has had his CHL since they became available. I helped him sign on but he will never post because he is just not very Internet savvy. He does read occasionally. I suspect that there are more people like him than not.

[sjfcontrol]

Before you get too excited about that number you should look a little closer.
Total number of members of a forum or any entity for that matter means absolutely nothing. What is important is active members.
Of the the 13,102 listed members, 633 have reached senior member level (requires only 200 posts). I have not taken the time to count them, but a number of these 633 have not been active for some time. Some have died, some have moved out of state and no longer have a TX CHL, and others have simply moved on for various reasons.

Other numbers to consider:
10,250 members have 15 or fewer posts
9600 members have 10 or fewer posts
8500 members have 5 or fewer posts
6000 members have 1 or fewer posts
4250 members have never posted

Now, one could look at these numbers and assume that there has been a huge influx of new members. That would not be an accurate assumption as a significant number of the 10,250 members didn't just sign up. Many have been inactive for some time, some signed up years ago.

Now before you go thinking I'm trying to rip the forum, let me tell you that nothing could be further from the truth. I think this is an awesome forum and I am very thankful to Chas and the mods who have given so much of themselves to this forum and to preserving the rights of Texas gun owners.

That being said, we have a very serious problem that I believe is pointed out in these numbers. There are hundreds of thousands of Texas CHL holders and yet this forum (the best of its kind that I have been able to find) only has 633 senior members (how many of which are active I don't know).

What is this serious problem? Apathy! So before we go celebrating 13,000 members, maybe we should take a hard look at what that number actually represents.

Well, in true 'progressive' mode, I propose that nobody "needs" more than 6000 posts. Therefore we should confiscate post counts for anybody over 6000, and distribute them to those of us with fewer than 6000 posts. (Look out, TAM!)

[thatguy]

I suspect that there are a LOT of people who read this forum who don't post much. This is a technical forum more than a social forum. In a social forum, you might expect everybody to post equally. In a technical forum, the most technical members are the ones that respond to questions. I rarely post because I rarely have something constructive to offer but I'm out here reading every day. I've learned far more from this forum than I learned in the one day class because of technical expertise of this forum's members. If it helps to understand, computer forums are the same way.

As for me, I don't post much either. I have learned way more on this forum than I have ever taught and I highly recommend this forum to my students, friends and family mainly due to the "G" rating and we all know how other sites can operate...

I would also think that most who visit this site are very new to shooting and this site can be very overwhelming as far as information and opinions are concerned and nobody wants to be "that guy". You know, that guy who makes a statement or asks a questions and we dismiss as already been discussed or redundant. While you can't please everyone but I would ask we think twice before responding to a post. The number one thing I try to bring to shooting is patience.