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INFO It’s already over the 26.000 and counting...

Here is the promised report showing SOS member access by country for the period from April 7, 2026, through June 7, 2026. To view the complete report, you will need spreadsheet software such as Microsoft Excel or Google Sheets. The full report is attached. For ease of reading, the table below includes only countries with 100 or more members accessing SOS during the reporting period. All countries and territories represented in the data can be found in the attached file.

**** Please note that these figures are based on the geographic location from which members accessed SOS during the reporting period. Because many users utilize VPN services, proxy servers, or other privacy tools that can mask their actual location, the country data should be considered an approximation and may not be 100% accurate.

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How many are bots? You'd think membership numbers that high would generate more posts.
 
How many are bots? You'd think membership numbers that high would generate more posts.
I am fairly certain that some of the traffic reflected in these reports comes from bots. Determining exactly how much of the traffic is generated by bots versus genuine visitors is difficult, if not possible, using the tools currently available to us.
As for the membership numbers, we discussed this in another thread. To post on SOS, a person must be a registered member, yet the vast majority of members are lurkers who visit the forum, read content, and follow discussions without actively participating. Those numbers are just statistics...
 
Here is the promised report showing SOS member access by country for the period from April 7, 2026, through June 7, 2026. To view the complete report, you will need spreadsheet software such as Microsoft Excel or Google Sheets. The full report is attached. For ease of reading, the table below includes only countries with 100 or more members accessing SOS during the reporting period. All countries and territories represented in the data can be found in the attached file.

**** Please note that these figures are based on the geographic location from which members accessed SOS during the reporting period. Because many users utilize VPN services, proxy servers, or other privacy tools that can mask their actual location, the country data should be considered an approximation and may not be 100% accurate.

View attachment 610194 View attachment 610195
Jim, who would have thought that China and Vietnam have so many boat builders! Great report thanks, Magic Mike
 
Jim, who would have thought that China and Vietnam have so many boat builders! Great report thanks, Magic Mike
I agree with Kurt's observation above. While China certainly has a large modeling community, I follow\subscribed several YouTube channels that focus primarily on plastic modeling. I believe that at least some of the traffic shown in the report is likely generated by bots rather than actual forum participants.
 
On the site, click members - current visitors - the vast majority are "Guest" - next are "Bot" -

As for registered members - I do not know how large a sample size would be required, but if the actual number that are current is important, I advise comparing the total sample size to the number that have visited within the last six months or last year. The percentage active when applied to 26,000 would probably be 2,000 or fewer.

Almost all are kit builders. One of the first things that a new kit builder will do is join as part of the fit of enthusiasm that led him to purchase his first kit. The attrition rate for first kits is probably closer to 99% than 90% but 90% will do.

Almost every new member who posts to the introduction writes that they are up grading from plastic.
When you think about it, there is a relatively small price to be paid - more rigging - for overshooting with a plastic kit.
However, with a wooden kit ...........
The specious posts of encouragement are most often just being cruel. It is lesson two in the frozen bird parable.
 
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