500 members!

[CtahhR]

As an update to this marker post thread there's still plenty of things to celebrate about the forum. With renovations to the forum ongoing over the last two years and still far from complete - the size of the task is tribute to the shear amount of use the forum has and has had.

Over 4,000 members have now registered to the forum (although that does include users that have since been banned for inappropriate behaviour or spamming).
There are over 10,000 threads (even though the number fluctuates due to ebay feeds coming and going) containing over 100,000 posts.
The forum marketplace has had more than 3,000 offers on it, with considerably more items finding new homes.

The "renovations" to the forum over the last two years have included the vast expansion of the "Soviet Bloc" section with the large array of subsections with all sorts of items from the Communist world and former Communist nations. Now containing over 3,300 threads (compared to the 3,700+ Soviet threads) but continually expanding - more "Soviet Sphere" sections coming soon.
There are many new sections in the "Soviet Awards" section too. A full renovation of the Badges and Paper sections with more clearly defined subsections, no more confusing of military and labour awards. A "Table Medal" and "Award Groups" sections. there has also been a streamlining of threads - one award, one thread - making navigation considerably easier.

The forum software does sometimes struggle with the demands on it and some threads, posts or images have been lost or corrupted. This is simply a drawback of the software and nothing else. Very infrequently does this problem impact a popular thread but it does happen.

Due to forum restrictions in the early days, when the young internet had considerably less bandwidth, posts were restricted to single attachments, this problem has been solved with the collapse of old posts spread out over posts due to image restrictions into single posts. All those "reverse", "and the back" and "serial number" type posts are now merged with other items of each item. This collapsing of posts does make post counts reduce in number but the sheer number of posts in the same time has ensured a maintenance of the number of posts on the forum. "Old" forum users that are now inactive will have seen a sharp drop in their post counts but all the information is there - just not split over an inflated number of posts. Currently active "old" forum users from the single image restriction period may not have even seen a reduction in post count. Post count, like age is generally just a number.

Just reading every post on the forum takes a formidable period of time let alone merging or moving a post so renovations continue. The sheer number of posts and information available on the forum is a solid testament to the diligence, loyalty, intelligence and enthusiasm of the forum's members.

I've certainly tried to do my bit during this time. In the last two years I've posted over 5,000 new posts which include over 7,000 new images and fortunately for enthusiasts of all things Soviet or awards this is only the start and for now I have only just brushed on documented Soviet groups and haven't even bothered with uniforms yet. More to come with time.

Now the best news has been saved for last!
On average the site gets over a million hits a month, over 35,500 hit per day - 25 hits per minute!

With the latest forum statistics between February 2013 and July 2013, the number of visitors is up by 8.3% with the number of page views up 10.5% - don't let anyone try to persuade you otherwise, the forum is more popular than ever. With the forum in its twelfth year there are more people finding and offering more information than ever - it's certainly not all been said and done yet.

With more access to information, communication, research resources and other enthusiasts the forum certainly has a very bright and ever expanding future.

All members adding to the images and information on the forum can be assured that they are making a positive impact on the hobby as a whole.

Congratulations to all.