# Group size when you joined Lumberjocks



## Jim Jakosh (Nov 24, 2009)

I have just noticed that we have 326,630 members in the Lumberjocks family.

Do you remember how many there were when you joined? 
It was at about 13,000 when I signed up as I was looking for instructions on setting up a lock miter when I came across this great site.

Also, does anyone know who was the FIRST Lumberjock? Was it Martin??

Cheers, Jim


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## GR8HUNTER (Jun 13, 2016)

i can only agree with *THIS IS WORST SITE EVER 🤬🤬🤬*


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## Dark_Lightning (Nov 20, 2009)

Martin built it, so probably the first member. There were about 20k members when I joined, in November of '09. 
Indeed, it's a great place.


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## Mesquiteman99 (Mar 8, 2011)

Even though I've only been a member since 2011, I can't tell you how many hours I've sat and stared in awe at the talent, skill and craftsmanship of you guys, the Lumberjocks. Hope I'm around to stare at a few more thousand. Easily, my favorite site. Thanks so much. MM


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## recycle1943 (Dec 16, 2013)

Jim, I don't have a clue. I didn't even realize it had been nearly 9 years since I joined. I am sure tho that I've gotten 20 plus years of knowledge from the fine woodworkers here.


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## lew (Feb 13, 2008)

Probably it was Martin. His profile says 6013 days. Not may LJ's have a more than 6000 days being a member.


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## OSU55 (Dec 14, 2012)

Been a member almost 10 yrs . Something tells me that 326k # is the total joined in the history of the site. Be interesting to see a chart of # of active members by year, ie how many posted at least one thing in a year.


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## littlecope (Oct 23, 2008)

There were close to, but not quite 6,000 Lj's when I joined 13 years ago
A *Big Deal* was made out of who would be # 10,000 (and later 20,000) but after that growth was so fast, no one paid attention anymore…
AND, we had the "BOT" invasion for a while, hundreds and hundreds of phony accounts


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## controlfreak (Jun 29, 2019)

Hmm, I suppose the bot accounts unless deleted could be a confounder. I don't care, I gain much good knowledge here and by looking at others fantastic work, get pulled further into what I still call my new hobby.


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## Dark_Lightning (Nov 20, 2009)

OK, Maybe it was A1Jim had 20k posts when I joined! 8^D He used to get a bit of teasing about it,

Many (hundreds) of the last few pages of the list of jocks have accounts with zero posts.


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## 280305 (Sep 28, 2008)

A long time ago, you could display the members in the order that they joined. This ordering allowed you to determine your number in the list. I did that once, but don't remember the number. Then that feature was removed, probably to obscure the fact that almost all new members are bogus, which is still true.

Since I joined 25 days before Mike (littlecope) I can use his number - a bit under 6,000!


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## Dark_Lightning (Nov 20, 2009)

> A long time ago, you could display the members in the order that they joined. This ordering allowed you to determine your number in the list. I did that once, but don t remember the number. Then that feature was removed, probably to obscure the fact that almost all new members are bogus, which is still true.
> 
> Since I joined 25 days before Mike (littlecope) I can use his number - a bit under 6,000!
> 
> - ChuckV


I joined ~11/20/2009, with "proof" of a welcome from none other than @Splinterman!
You're ~ 418 days ahead of me, 10k is probably closer to my member number. Not that important to know, really, just kind of interesting. I'm still here and enjoying it, which is saying something about the people.


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## 280305 (Sep 28, 2008)

Here is Martin's announcement of nearing 8,000 projects about 14 years ago:
https://www.lumberjocks.com/topics/3631

Martin's forums have a bunch of titles with "milestone" in them. These give an idea of the growth of the site at that time:
https://www.lumberjocks.com/msojka/topics/page/1


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## Jim Jakosh (Nov 24, 2009)

Hi Chucky. Thanks for referencing the announcements from Martin. I that last post he stated that on 3-3-2010 that there were 17,005. That is when I started. March of 2010 so I remembered 13,000 but I must have joined after I first looked at the site and saw 13,00 members and the numbers were moving pretty good back then.

Hi Mike, I remember the flood of phony accounts ( like the ones about 16,000 woodworkers). I still get spammers now and then that I send to Cricket, This is the best woodworking site on the web as far as I'm concerned and I have joined a few others but use LJ's exclusively!

Cheers, Jim


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## pottz (Sep 15, 2015)

i know they show we have over 326k members but there are only 1378 pages with 35 per page=48,230 ? so yeah must be a lot of phoney ones that have been deleted over the years.whatever the amount it's a great forum with some great people.


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## bandit571 (Jan 20, 2011)

How many remember all the "Wars" that used to go on, back in the day? That they finally had to shut down the "Off-Topic" all together? And you thought the "Basement" over at Saw Mill Creek is bad…..

Site has matured a lot, since then….maybe?


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## 280305 (Sep 28, 2008)

> How many remember all the "Wars" that used to go on, back in the day? That they finally had to shut down the "Off-Topic" all together? And you thought the "Basement" over at Saw Mill Creek is bad…..
> 
> Site has matured a lot, since then….maybe?
> 
> - bandit571


A few people went absolutely bonkers on here. I think that Martin was working non-stop trying to control all the nasty stuff that was being posted all over the place.


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## Jim Jakosh (Nov 24, 2009)

Times have changes and it is peaceful and encouraging now!......................Cheers, Jim


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## wildwoodbybrianjohns (Aug 22, 2019)

I joined 1089 days ago. Newbie. Greenhorn. Fledgling. Neophyte.


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## gdaveg (Aug 1, 2020)

Jim,

I tried simple ratios of days site has been up and running with my days since joining and total members. Answer is about 250,000th out of 326630.

Think that is wrong. So I really have no idea. Maybe Cricket could find the number for me.

Pottz makes a strong argument that membership total is more like 50,000 or so.

I was not here for the Bot attack, they probably screwed the numbers up.


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## pottz (Sep 15, 2015)

i think they let that number stick because it sounds better when your selling advertising ?


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## controlfreak (Jun 29, 2019)

I think advertisers want to know how many active users there are. This brings up the question, are bots active? Most get shut out before 10 posts so I doubt it. On a side note, I can't recall ever clicking on a side bar ad. How about the rest of you?


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## pottz (Sep 15, 2015)

> I think advertisers want to know how many active users there are. This brings up the question, are bots active? Most get shut out before 10 posts so I doubt it. On a side note, I can t recall ever clicking on a side bar ad. How about the rest of you?
> 
> - controlfreak


i never do.


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## bandit571 (Jan 20, 2011)

What side bar ad? As long as I stay logged on here…never see any ads….and..Ghostery seems to get rid of any.

This "Coffee Shop" was brought back several times on a trial basis…..until most of the major troublemakers got the hint….only then was it allowed to stay.

I think my 12 yr anni. is coming up this winter….maybe it was last winter? Haven't figured it out, just yet…

Just checked…12 Jan. 2011


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## splintergroup (Jan 20, 2015)

This is something I like about this site. Very annoying if you don't log in, lots of identical side bar ads. If you do log in. zero ads 8^)


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## Jim Jakosh (Nov 24, 2009)

Pottzy…That is a very good observation . ..that would make the real number 48,230 or only 14.8% of what is showing as the total. Those are the true woodworkers!!!!!!!!

Cheers, Jim


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## Dark_Lightning (Nov 20, 2009)

Well, there are hundreds of pages of members even in the list, who have never even posted, let alone posted projects. Ghosts…


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## pottz (Sep 15, 2015)

yeah why join if your not gonna post.i mean you can look for free.


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## bandit571 (Jan 20, 2011)

There are a few that used to post…spam….they joined up….then started enough posts to allow them more spam…until Cricket shuts them down…..Sometimes, on a busy, spammy weekend…they sometimes get missed and remain…as ghosts.

Others just sign up, then merely lurk…maybe a post every few years…


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## bandit571 (Jan 20, 2011)

This sort of topic comes up maybe once or twice a year….always the same…."They can't be REAL, because they never post" Then, the usual…"We NEED to change the software to…."

Sometimes, there will even be a rare…name calling fight….about what to do ( IF anything) about all these "bogus" members…..


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## Dark_Lightning (Nov 20, 2009)

> This sort of topic comes up maybe once or twice a year….always the same…."They can t be REAL, because they never post" Then, the usual…"We NEED to change the software to…."
> 
> Sometimes, there will even be a rare…name calling fight….about what to do ( IF anything) about all these "bogus" members…..
> 
> - bandit571


Nothing hurt by those (literally) thousands of non-posters being members. They're still invited to post. Maybe they found a better wood working site. Hahahahhahah!

Then,


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## 280305 (Sep 28, 2008)

There use to be some people who volunteered as greeters of new members. It was a nice touch, but is now just about impossible. Yesterday there were 42 new members and so far today 20

Anybody want to welcome new members "3 Kings Hauling & More- Junk Removal Fairfield" and "cheapkolkataescorts"?


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## Jim Jakosh (Nov 24, 2009)

Sounds like more spammers! I got a friend offer from some woman and I checked her out and she had about 40 friend offers to guys in 5 minutes…another spammer.

Jim


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## pottz (Sep 15, 2015)

someone said a1jim used to greet every new member but stopped because it got to be too much.probably why his count is so high.ever check out surfin2 he has thousands of greetings to people.looks like thats all he did here.


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## OSU55 (Dec 14, 2012)

As someone mentioned I also suspect keeping the membership # inflated helps financially.

The # of real posting type members interests me from the perspective that "traffic level" seems to have decreased significantly over the past 5 yrs ago. Is there are daily post count? Any historical post counts? They probably include spam but that has always occurred.

Seems like people prefer more of the daily FB instant gratification approach vs a more structured site like LJ's, where you can store things in a blog, do reviews, etc and tie it all together. This type of site brings much more value IMO.


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## 280305 (Sep 28, 2008)

> As someone mentioned I also suspect keeping the membership # inflated helps financially.
> 
> The # of real posting type members interests me from the perspective that "traffic level" seems to have decreased significantly over the past 5 yrs ago. Is there are daily post count? Any historical post counts? They probably include spam but that has always occurred.
> 
> ...


I agree that participation is down. One sign is the number of projects in the Daily Top 15, currently just four projects. It used to be very unusual to see fewer than 15 projects there. When you look at the members who are online, that is also way below what is used to be, even including some people who probably never log out. But, there are 37 new "members" so far today!


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## Jim Jakosh (Nov 24, 2009)

This is still the best woodworking site on the Net!.


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## pottz (Sep 15, 2015)

> This is still the best woodworking site on the Net!.
> 
> - Jim Jakosh


+100 jim.i aint goin nowhere.checked out martins new forum awhile back.not even close to pulling me over.


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## 280305 (Sep 28, 2008)

> This is still the best woodworking site on the Net!.
> 
> - Jim Jakosh


Very true!


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## splintergroup (Jan 20, 2015)

Spent some time on usenet rec.woodworking as that was the first mainstream version of interest-specific sites available back in the early 80's

Unmoderated it totally devolved into a bunch of whiny haters after which I moved here.

Much better crowd! 8^)


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## bandit571 (Jan 20, 2011)

Should have been on FWW "Knots", once "Mel" got started up….

Also…another nasty place was "Wood-on-Line Forums"

Wondering how many here that were "banned", just changed their account, and name…and came right back?


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## Jim Jakosh (Nov 24, 2009)

Sure is , Bruce, and some very talented people posting here..downright professionals!!

cheers, Jim


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## robscastle (May 13, 2012)

Jim read below,

https://www.lumberjocks.com/robscastle/blog/82882

Now for some reason the first project is missing along with maybe the first 4
Harveys train is currently sitting at the first traceable project

https://www.lumberjocks.com/projects/5

I spent a great deal of time attempting to recognise the first 10 members for the LJs 10 years but found with all the intrigue and oddities within the site it was very strange to say the least.

So I contacted the administrators and effectively got a "why would you bother" attitude.

Much the same as the In Memoriam Tab, it appears to be "All Too Hard".


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## pottz (Sep 15, 2015)

dont even get me started on the memoriam rob.ive talked to the admin a few time about it.no one in power seems too care about those that made this forum what it is.very sad.


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## Jim Jakosh (Nov 24, 2009)

Thanks for that link, Rob. I see there was interest before:
The first 10 LJs members to join and contribute to LJs after Martin Sojka in 2006 are:-
1. harvey 06 Mar contacted and confirmed deceased should be posted to in memorandum
2. Ellen 25Mar contacted still active
3 Teresa 25Mar awaiting reply
4. Handi 04 Apr contacted and still active
5. sawdust 03May awaitng reply
6. Roger 04 May awaiting reply ( received a reply Jan 2017 and active again)
7. Mark A DeCou 05 May contacted and still very active
8. Karson 10 May awating reply (received a reply late 2016 still around)
9. Caocian 24 May waiting reply
10. Pat Sherman 07 Jun awaiting reply
and just for good measure a few reserves
11. TonyWard 21Jul contacted and still active.

Hi Pottzy. I too was disappointed that the Memorandum list is no longer updated. I have lost a few Lumberjock friends and now they are not remembered here like all used to be.

Jim


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## bandit571 (Jan 20, 2011)

Stumpy Knobs group has lost several…including Roger, aka Rex…


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## pottz (Sep 15, 2015)

one big one…......charles neil who contributed a tremendous amount to this forum.sad he will be forgotten. maybe if we all made our voices heard they might listen.mine alone went silent !


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## Jim Jakosh (Nov 24, 2009)

What is the reason that" In Memorandum " stopped being updated??


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## pottz (Sep 15, 2015)

> What is the reason that" In Memorandum " stopped being updated??
> 
> - Jim Jakosh


jim ive asked and never given an answer ! only it's not working this time !


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## Dark_Lightning (Nov 20, 2009)

There has been a claim by the management that the software is difficult to deal with, as a reason for the "In Memory" page's lack of updates. That's a memory which may be incorrect, on my part. Near as I can tell, the first page of "most active" jocks has something like 7 deceased members.


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## pottz (Sep 15, 2015)

> There has been a claim by the management that the software is difficult to deal with, as a reason for the "In Memory" page s lack of updates. That s a memory which may be incorrect, on my part. Near as I can tell, the first page of "most active" jocks has something like 7 deceased members.
> 
> - Dark_Lightning


DAMN!!!! im on the first page !!!!!


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## Dark_Lightning (Nov 20, 2009)

IK,R? Posted like crazy, then augured in. I could be wrong, +/- 1, though. I'll welcome posts here from members saying, "I'm not dead, yet!". 8^P


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## pottz (Sep 15, 2015)

> IK,R? Posted like crazy, then augured in. I could be wrong, +/- 1, though. I ll welcome posts here from members saying, "I m not dead, yet!". 8^P
> 
> - Dark_Lightning


ill make sure to let you guys know when im dead !


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## robscastle (May 13, 2012)

Just to add fact to a possibly unpleasant situation:-

Here is LJ member dingle, AKA Danny for those interested go to his home page and read #6 to #14.
Then tell me again in this day and age its still all too hard.

Who was/is Dingle?... actually it was a friend of Jim's for a start and of no other interest to me than to have him (and others) recognised in the In memoriam Tab… howerer I failed.

Same with Harvey, however when I found out of his departure I posted a message in his home page advising any body showing interest the situation.

That's enough for now,... however I am still looking to find out who pinched my sander!


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## pottz (Sep 15, 2015)

> Just to add fact to a possibly unpleasant situation:-
> 
> Here is LJ member dingle, AKA Danny for those interested go to his home page and read #6 to #14.
> Then tell me again in this day and age its still all too hard.
> ...


buddy were fighting a losing battle i think.you and i alone arn't gonna make the powers in charge do what should have been done years ago.we need backup and i mean a loud collective voice to wake them up and realize it's important and the "decent" thing to do.so will others join us ? i doubt it buddy.people talk but thats about as far as it gets….............


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## Jim Jakosh (Nov 24, 2009)

I hear you all loud and clear. Dingle was my very good friend Danny Biddle who got our shop started in Arizona. We did everything together down there and he was killed in a motorhome roll over on his anniversary. Bob Collins from down under was another good friend who is not on the In Memorandum tab.

I'll see what I can do. If all else fails, we could start an In Memorandum forum topic right here in the coffee lounge.

........Jim


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## BB1 (Jan 29, 2016)

Jim - thank you for pursuing this.


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## Jim Jakosh (Nov 24, 2009)

I have a note in to Cricket to see if there is a workaround to make it work again…or else we will devise a method to capture the information even if in a Forum topic on here.

cheers, Jim


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## Peteybadboy (Jan 23, 2013)

Jim it was under 200k 10 years ago when I joined.


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## Jim Jakosh (Nov 24, 2009)

I just heard from Cricket on the In Memoriam tab:
per Cricket/
We are working on this, but it has to wait for the software to be updated….so it is in the works and not a dead topic.

cheers, Jim


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## pottz (Sep 15, 2015)

good to hear jim,at least there is hope.


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## Jim Jakosh (Nov 24, 2009)

Yup. I hope it gets done before I kick the bucket!!...Cheers,, Jim


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## Jim Jakosh (Nov 24, 2009)

You know on this new LJ site, the number of members is under 50,000


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## LeeRoyMan (Feb 23, 2019)

The first time I joined was 2009, Then before the new site started gaining traction, like it is now, was 2014.
And now I'm hoping to make it my new home as this home has changed from the uniqueness it had and it will Never come back.


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## Dark_Lightning (Nov 20, 2009)

Jim Jakosh said:


> You know on this new LJ site, the number of members is under 50,000


I'd say that people who joined and never commented, or only commented possibly once or twice probably don't care that their account was flushed into the bit bucket. I don't see any complaints from them. Not trying to be harsh, just stating an observation. I've been dropped out of the membership on sites when I didn't post for a few years. It's not a new or nefarious phenomenon. I personally think that's refreshing that there is no brag about so many members, when perhaps only 500 or less regularly contribute.


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## EricFai (Sep 30, 2018)

Good Point, I don't remember how many were here when i signed up back in 2018. The changes are a mixed bag for me. I do miss the project posting, which is way down. That is what brought me to the site, many ideas. Guess time will tell, I have noticed that all of the posting has dropped off. Yes, there are new members signing up, but some of those are not really posting much either. I have also seen longtime member posting here an there, and some are no longer posting.

Just saying.


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