Forum User Stats: Analyze Popularity, Magnanimity & More

[BillTre]

Using numbers collected from website use by individuals could be interesting in a number of ways.
This was discussed before to some extent WRT which posters were good.

Here are some other ideas along this line:
Most likes/single posting: indicates a popular (presumably usefulness in some way) posting
Likes/single thread: indicates a popular thread
Responses/single thread: indicates a popular threadl.
Likes given: indicator of magnanimity.
Ratio of likes given to likes received: balance of popularity and magnanimity.

Average of post scores accumulated for a particular person: Lifetime stats for a person
Average of post scores accumulated over a year for a particular person: annual stats for a person

I think this has to do with my liking of baseball stats.

 

[llatosz]

You will not believe this but I was JUST thinking "I wonder what the user with the highest comment to like ratio is" and THEN, i clicked on unanswered threads and saw your post! I love the idea! But i don't think there should be any rewards for being the leader in any category, it would encourage like fishing. BUT, it would also encourage people to be more helpful rather than giving vague hints and pointing people in a 270 degree sector of a circle and leaving them to shoot in the dark, maybe it would encourage people to point others in a 20 degree sector of a circle. Nobody has 2 hours to spend on one question lol

 

[Borek]

Check Info/Members in the upper menu.

 

[mfb]

Posts in the lounge (including this forum) don't increase the counter, so ratios of X to posts are misleading. We have users with likes but without counting posts.

I don't have statistics, but here are some high values:

In terms of "most liked post":
46: Marcus has passed on - a post from his son
42: Marcus has passed on - the first post
The thread probably has the largest like/post ratio in a thread longer than a few posts. 105 posts, 566 likes.
29: Support physicsforums
26: This post with an equation
24: The forum rules

Likes per thread:
1495: Today I learned
1454: Random Thoughts part 4
1329: Random Thoughts Part 5
1324: Lame Jokes
1041: Random Thoughts part 6

Responses/single thread: Here are the long threads, with one long thread here. I wouldn't expect threads with more than 2000 replies elsewhere.

Most posts and so on: Member lists

 

[Fervent Freyja]

Quality likes are more valuable than popularity likes, the two should not be confused as being the same. Differentiating between the two on here is next to impossible. Plus, there are numerous reasons a post might get a like. A valuable like would be one that is given to a post reply by the OP, but then again, some OP's don't get the responses they preferred, even when they need to read it.

It's hard to tell if a member is really trying to help the OP or is just posting a reply to fish for validating likes from other members. This can be discerned when a person starts jumbling off with unnecessary sophisticated responses and doesn't even really ever answer the OP's question. Not for the OP to see or benefit from, but as braggadocio- "See, I'm smart, cool, or whatever, too!". I also frequently see threads where the higher quality posts are not liked, and instead another post may be liked, for a reason not related to the content even. Members have different personalities, some might have one that might deter others from giving them a like, even when they deliver a quality response.

Also, you can request to have your like count reduced, so you really can't judge a person by their like count. I have been on the fence about requesting this to be done occasionally myself. You should know that most that have been on here for more than a few years don't have a fairly reflecting post-to-like ratio, mfb and borek would both have a count many times their current if the like button would have been available when they started on PF. A person could be placing posts in forums that don't affect post count, but all the likes there still count, so a persons post-to-like ratio could be misinterpreted. There is one member on here that I think is absolutely awesome and probably the best in cosmology, but he keeps a low profile. His like count does not reflect that though. Members that intimidate others with their proficiency might be downplayed by the others, thereby receiving fewer likes. The dynamics on here vary...

You will not believe this but I was JUST thinking "I wonder what the user with the highest comment to like ratio is"

There is no way to truly show who would have the highest post-to-like ratio, for many reasons.

 

[ZapperZ]

I would have had a lot more LIKES had @Greg Bernhardt not hijacked many of my FAQ/Insight posts!

{ZapperZ runs away and hides}

Zz.

 

[Greg Bernhardt]

I would have had a lot more LIKES had @Greg Bernhardt not hijacked many of my FAQ/Insight posts!

{ZapperZ runs away and hides}

Zz.

You lost 20 from the TOC thread. The individual Insights are all under your name ;)

 

[ZapperZ]

You lost 20 from the TOC thread. The individual Insights are all under your name ;)

Hey, I'm petty, bitter, and insecure. Those 20 really make a difference!

:)

Zz.

 

[Greg Bernhardt]

Hey, I'm petty, bitter, and insecure. Those 20 really makes a difference!

:)

Zz.

There I made up for 1 :D

 

[ZapperZ]

It just hit me that getting LIKES for this post is not really a compliment, is it?



Zz.

 

[Drakkith]

Most posts and so on: Member lists

@berkeman really needs to get a hobby or two.

 

[mfb]

View attachment 121885
It just hit me that getting LIKES for this post is not really a compliment, is it?

We just tried to reduce the difference!