Members vs. Visitors

I was just wondering about the huge difference between actual registered members currently viewing the Board and the (unregistered) visitors. Like this exact moment it's 86 registered members vs. 860 visitors. I've seen the amount of visitors rise to 2000+ vs. a "constant" 100 members.

Who are these 2000 visitors and what are they doing here? LoL. Yeah I know it's a silly question. ATS is (without a doubt) a very interesting board and worth checking out. But isn't it boring to just look at the threads and not raise your opinion? Wouldn't 2000 more active members (and voices) at a given time make the board even more interesting? I know the choice to make a board closed (having to login before you can view) and keeping it open has its pro's and con's... Does having lurkers make the board a better or a worse place?
Does ATS get an income from the Ads that are shoved in front of the visitors?

Would it be possible for us to see (just for the sake of interest and curiosity) be able to give us some stats as to how many unique IP hits there is in a day, how many people register on a day, how registered members are actually active, etc.?

I'm just curious. Nothing important...

Here's a couple links you might like to look at:

www.big-boards.com...
www.alexa.com...

Thanks for the links Regenmacher!
Those are some pretty amazing stats! Hats of to top management for not wanting to make (big) money from all the traffic they get! (I'm sure you want to make more money out of it, but it doesn't cost me a cent to be a member here. So money isn't everything. Thanks. )

ATS gets a good share of aliens and ghosts, sinners and saviors, time warped and mentally warped, surfers that don't bother applying for membership!

Oh don't forget the drinkers and tinkers that drop in as well.

Having a closed board is far better than not, because you can have things like
- A community
- Jokes
- Contests
- Points
- Messaging
- Newsletter
- LOTS OF OTHER FEATURES

Non-members see about 90% of the ads on ATS.

If individuals are going to be accountable for their own posts then you need a "closed board" to ensure quality.

Many visitors find ATS through Google and other search engines which direct them to specific threads.

Some visitors are regulars who are happy just to read and not get involved.

Some have followed links from other sites. The big spike in the graph above is from Val's Fema Detainment camp thread which many sites linked to.

The ads do give ATS a small income which almost pays for the cost of running the board. Before that the brunt of the costs over the years has been shouldered by the three owners.

Having so many "visitors" makes ATS a better place. It elevates ATS above the run of the mill discussion boards. It gives members a greater insentive to post knowing that what they write could potentially reached thousands of people rather than just the same old crowd (no offence to the same old crowd of which I am one). You could say that the visitors are what make ATS different.

And ATS will never charge a membership fee to join or participate. It is completely against the ethos of the site and site owners who recognise that the most important contribution that members can make are well thought out posts and replies.

PS, I can' give you an up to date stat on this because the stat system has changed but before it did ATS was getting well over 1 million unique IPs a month. That should give you some idea of the potential reach that your written ideas, thoughts, and theories have when you post here.

[edit on 6-10-2005 by John bull 1]

Thanks for the feedback... Just want to clear up what I meant with "closed board"... (By my definition) this means that visitors can't see squad (none of the forums) without registering, much like the "really above top secret" forum... I know that lots of people refrain from looking at a website if they need to register first.

Just back to the cost of the board - and this might have been discussed a million times, but why don't you (the 3 owners) ask for donations as many other boards do? Yes, I know it's against the "ethos" of the owners - but donations are completely voluntary, and in return the donators get some points, a special title or something like that?

With the advent of a TV show I simply don't think that donations will be necessary. ATS is becoming self sufficient. Members donate (and get points) by posting. That is the single best way to keep ATS the way it is.

by Gemwolf:
...but donations are completely voluntary, and in return the donators get some points, a special title or something like that?

by John_bull_1:
Members donate (and get points) by posting. That is the single best way to keep ATS the way it is.

For what it's worth Jb1, I couldn't agree more.

IMO "points", "titles" and such are EARNED by picking your brain and sticking it on the boards [ewww]

Your contribution is your donation.

Originally posted by 12m8keall2c
For what it's worth Jb1, I couldn't agree more.

IMO "points", "titles" and such are EARNED by picking your brain and sticking it on the boards [ewww]

Your contribution is your donation.

LoL! I agree with that 100%...

I was just thinking in the direction of "rewarding" the owner(s) of the site. They have the kind of Site traffic any business could only dream off, yet they (the owners) refuse to make use of the opportunity - and again hats of to them for not being greedy! You know, they get little in return - except for spreading "the word" and personal satisfaction. So I was just thinking that these guys should get some sort of reward for their effort. They are paying for ATS out of their own pockets... And we just use (and abuse) their "gift"...

Originally posted by Regenmacher
Here's a couple links you might like to look at:

that was a big jump near Oct. 4. wat happened during that time? the elections for ATS?

Put simply this is what happened.

www.abovetopsecret.com...

Over 300,000 views.

Alot of sites linked to it.

Originally posted by deltaboy
that was a big jump near Oct. 4. wat happened during that time? the elections for ATS?

I'll give you a clue;
"It has something to do with a big gust of wind."

Originally posted by Gemwolf

I was just thinking in the direction of "rewarding" the owner(s) of the site. They have the kind of Site traffic any business could only dream off, yet they (the owners) refuse to make use of the opportunity - and again hats of to them for not being greedy!

As one of the owners I would like to point out that we only refuse to charge people to participate...

As JB1 astutely pointed out the BEST "contribution/donation" a person can make is an excellent post/thread.

It's because of these incredible posts and threads that a major Hollywood Production company wants to make a TV show based on this website. That's never been done.

There are plenty of websites that have been spawned by a TV show but never has there been a website that has been deemed interesting enough to create a TV show off of.

That quality which has attracted this attention and consequently the efforts to get a show in production and on the air is the posts made by our members and staff.

The single most important thing is NOT money, it's not fame, it's not getting our investment back ( we may never get all of that back )...

What is MOST important is keeping this community alive and well. There simply isn't anything else quite like ATS anywhere. They say the best type of flattery is imitation, well there's plenty of that to go around out there. SkepticOverlord was the first Admin (that I know of) to put icons in front of a forum link. Within a couple months nearly every board I looked at had them. One small but obvious example.

Springer...





[edit on 10-6-2005 by Springer]

Originally posted by Springer
They say the best type of flattery is imitation, well there's plenty of that to go around out there. SkepticOverlord was the first Admin (that I know of) to put icons in front of a forum link. Within a couple months nearly every board I looked at had them. One small but obvious example.

That pretty much says it all, don't it?

ATS will always be ATS, nothing can break that promise.