Plan9

...in my TFP user profile? It has like 1000 hits. This makes absolutely no sense.

I didn't think 1000 was much until I noticed more useful TFP users' numbers:

KirStang has had 63 viewers. Noodle is an attractive woman and only has 390.

Same with Snowy at 700. Who doesn't want to lurk in her profile? Monkie = 470.

Xerxys surprised me with 596 hits. Captain Weirdo (Uncle Phil) has a whopping 551.

Jazz has 700-something and he's older than Chuck Heston (a friggin' dead man).

...

I don't have personal information or a picture in my profile. It's totally empty.

Do people click on it looking for a real picture or something new and amazing?

I change my profile picture occasionally but it's all basically the same dead guy.

Stupid Question:

What the hell are all you looking at? And when do you go to TFP user profiles?

I view the user profile of new users listed on the main page to see if they're spammers.

I also hit up the user profile when I wanna send a PM when I'm on the main page.

What's your excuse?

Stupid Answers... GO.

Please stop masturbating in my profile.

__________________
Whatever you can carry.

"You should not drink... and bake."

filtherton

I look at your profile because it's the closest I can get to anonymously breathing heavily into your ear over the phone.

Daniel_

You look at each new user's profile, so they look at yours to try to work out who's stalking them.

You're generating your own traffic, dummy!

__________________

╔═════════════════════════════════════════╗
Overhead, the Albatross hangs motionless upon the air,
And deep beneath the rolling waves,
In labyrinths of Coral Caves,
The Echo of a distant time
Comes willowing across the sand;
And everthing is Green and Submarine
╚═════════════════════════════════════════╝

bagatelle

This is a very intriguing topic.

Some people get paranoid, if their profiles are viewed, some people get paranoid, if their profiles aren't viewed.

I don't know this forum well, but in other forums people make updates to their profiles, just for fun, if they have nothing else to do.

Does it count as a profile view, when you VM someone?

I usually go to someone's profile for a quick way to find their posts or threads they started.

When there are many people on board, I forget who they are, so I have to check, how old they were again (I like to know if I'm talking to a teenager or someone my age) and where they are from, also male or female.

ASL - that is quite essential to know, when you talk to someone. If someone has put up a picture, then it's usually easier to remember username as well.

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Plan9

You're correct on me being a dummy, but not for the reason you mentioned. Said new users never show up in my "Last 10 Profile Viewers" list.

__________________
Whatever you can carry.

"You should not drink... and bake."

Charlatan

It's because your posting manner makes you sound like a big asshole (only slightly less of an asshole than Jazz but you post more and so get more traffic) and people want to check our your profile to see if you are for reals.

(I still think you are a bot)

__________________
"My hands are on fire. Hands are on fire. Ain't got no more time for all you charlatans and liars."
- Old Man Luedecke

bagatelle

Guests can't view profiles in this forum?

Plan9, you could ask mods/admins to name your stalkers.

I only have 11 views on my profile.

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Plan9

Mmm, a good cross section of answers already. I see Filtherton has already supplied all the necessary homoeroticism for the life of this thread.

I guess any posting manner that involves more than a paragraph probably makes you out to be an asshole. I mean, just look at our boy Host.

And I won't even get into Tilted Politics. Mostly because I've been banned from it and partially because I'm not nearly smart enough.

Yeah, I figure you're right about familiarity, Bagatelle. I mean, I get Charlatan and Tecoyah confused all the time for some reason.

Which is funny given that the last time Tecoyah posted something Kurt Cobain was still alive.

...

I'm hoping for more serious answers. Anybody else wanna detail why they use User Profiles? Anything funny? We love funny.

Sometimes I pop into InfiniteLoser's profile to see if he's been active. He's my pigment-endowed WillRavel (circa 2007).

__________________
Whatever you can carry.

"You should not drink... and bake."

Fremen

I go into profiles to wish a happy birthday, or to pm someone.
I looked at yours the other day when we pm'd back and forth.

To tell you the truth, I was disappointed there wasn't more mustache involved.

__________________
Google

bum4evr

I always pick a user at random and view their profile 50 or so times a day just to mess with their head.

I see my evil plan is working.

levite

You know, I never even noticed the whole "this page has had x visits" thing. I never really go to profiles (mine or anyone else's) so I just didn't see it.

I think I might've gone to yours, Plan9, and a few of the other regulars whose posts I like a lot, way back when I first came to TFP, because I was like, who is that guy, anyway? But I just figure posts are more interesting than profiles, I guess.

Turns out there've been 80 visits to my profile. I have no idea what that means.

__________________
Dull sublunary lovers love,
Whose soul is sense, cannot admit
Absence, because it doth remove
That thing which elemented it.

(From "A Valediction: Forbidding Mourning" by John Donne)

Plan9

Well, that's what I'm here for, Levite.

I don't just contemplate my navel because I'm retarded; I do it because I'm genuinely intrigued by that weird flesh knot.

__________________
Whatever you can carry.

"You should not drink... and bake."

uncle phil

captain weirdo?

__________________
"We were wrong, terribly wrong. (We) should not have tried to fight a guerrilla war with conventional military tactics against a foe willing to absorb enormous casualties...in a country lacking the fundamental political stability necessary to conduct effective military and pacification operations. It could not be done and it was not done."
- Robert S. McNamara
-----------------------------------------
"We will take our napalm and flame throwers out of the land that scarcely knows the use of matches...
We will leave you your small joys and smaller troubles."
- Eugene McCarthy in "Vietnam Message"
-----------------------------------------
never wrestle with a pig.
you both get dirty;
the pig likes it.

noodle

Sometimes if I know someone has recently posted in a thread, but I can't remember which one, I'll go to their profile and search under recent posts.

And thanks for the compliment. I'll take attractive woman over captain weirdo.

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mixedmedia

my profile has had more than 1200 views, but it should be no great mystery why that is...

Frankly, I have been looking at profiles (more often lately) of members that I don't know if I notice that they've looked at my blog or my profile page because I do wonder if I am being 'watched.' It's probably paranoid, but then again maybe not. Ultimately, it doesn't matter one way or the other. But new members appearing out of the blue on my blog or profile page raise my curiosity so I check them out.

Oh, and when sending a message to someone, I usually send it from their profile page. I never have gotten used to the little drop down thingy. I usually forget that it's there.

__________________
Most people go through life dreading they'll have a traumatic experience. Freaks were born with their trauma. They've already passed their test in life. They're aristocrats. - Diane Arbus
PESSIMISM, n. A philosophy forced upon the convictions of the observer by the disheartening prevalence of the optimist with his scarecrow hope and his unsightly smile. - Ambrose Bierce

bagatelle

It sounds funny (to me) that people post in blogs and then wonder about getting views. *headscratch*

I could understand maybe, if the poster could select who are able to view their profile or blogs, but when posting in public, I kind of think, anyone can read and I should not be bothered about their motives.

I wonder about monitoring though. Since I don't know the inner life of any mod, does this task of moderating attract to certain type of people in particular. Forum software allows you to make all kinds of statictics about people's online habits, with some coding even more. At which point can you start calling moderator a stalker? Or is he/she always only doing his job?

Don't panic, this is what has come up in some other forums. I was told once by one woman (regular member, not a mod), that she volunteers to help catch online predators by faking her identity and poses as teenager in several forums. I would not do that, unless I was an authorized person, like a cop.

I do understand there is a threat, but how much unneeded paranoia is there compared to how many people actually stalk others with evil intentions.

Plan9, are you sure, they aren't all your own visits to your profile?

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Plan9

Viewing the user's blog and their user profile is not the same, is it? I'm not sure.

And I'm not worried about TFP staff learning about my forum habits.

They'd quickly lose interest after they see how often I edit posts and hit "New Posts."

I mean, I've already edited this post like four times and opened New Posts twice.

__________________
Whatever you can carry.

"You should not drink... and bake."

mixedmedia

I don't wonder about getting views on my blog ordinarily.

It's that I have a valid reason to wonder if there is a specific person logging in under a unique IP and watching my activity here.

And, no, views on the blogs and the profiles are not the same.

__________________
Most people go through life dreading they'll have a traumatic experience. Freaks were born with their trauma. They've already passed their test in life. They're aristocrats. - Diane Arbus
PESSIMISM, n. A philosophy forced upon the convictions of the observer by the disheartening prevalence of the optimist with his scarecrow hope and his unsightly smile. - Ambrose Bierce

Jove

Because I want to give you a big manly bear hug and your user profile will let me imagine such interactions.

The_Jazz

Me? Well it's because folks like you ask me to go there (cough, cough) or I don't recognize them and want to make sure that they aren't spammers. And it's always interesting to see who's been to my page, especially if I've never been to theirs.

__________________
"They that can give up essential liberty to obtain a little temporary safety deserve neither liberty nor safety." - B. Franklin
"There ought to be limits to freedom." - George W. Bush
"We have met the enemy and he is us." - Pogo

jewels

An interesting first post will prompt me to see if I missed other posts by that person. And curiosity may have me peeking to see if they've disclosed where they live or any fascinating personal info. Not necessarily for stalking purposes though. The profiles are there for us to put as little or as much as we want to disclose.

Also, I find it easier to search for a particular post through an individual's profile than through the Search function.

__________________
We are always more anxious to be distinguished for a talent which we do not possess, than to be praised for the fifteen which we do possess.
Mark Twain

bagatelle

I'm a bit of a clickomaniac. I like playing games, which require mouse-clicking, I like to click things like New Posts often. This also applies to reading things, I may go to a same post to read again. Very often in English, I didn't get the post right at the first time.

Most people are normally curious and like jewels says, want to see more about a person, that seems interesting. It's hard to pick up a conversation, if you only have an avatar to go with.

I'm not really into blogs much, because they haven't been an active feature in other forums. I don't really know how posters expect them to function. They look like diaries to me, and replying to them is a bit like writing to another person's diary. I'm not sure if that's even desired, especially if I don't know the person well.

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snowy

This is one of the reasons I look at user profiles too.

Yeah, after having a run-in with my own brother here on TFP, I started keeping better track of people who viewed my blog when the entries weren't private (most of my entries are private since my brother stopped by...he hasn't been back since, but I'm still cautious). So that's another reason I look at user profiles.

Plus, sometimes that's how I PM people, or I'm curious as to how many posts they've gotten up to.

__________________
If I am not better, at least I am different. --Jean-Jacques Rousseau

StanT

Mine has 13 views, it seems that I'm every bit as boring as I see myself.

I look at profile occasionally to find age if I think it is relevant. I simply don't post things that I wouldn't want public.

bagatelle

You meant someone from real life? I wouldn't want someone, I know, to follow my posting, if they don't take part in conversations themselves.

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Lindy

False modesty aside, you are an interesting and intriguing character, Planet Nine. If you're a dummy, the ventriloquist must be at genius level.
I've probably looked at your profile, but can't remember for certain. Headed there right now...
Then I'll check out my own.

Lindy

LordEden

I often use profiles as a point that I can PM users. I also like to check on a few users when they last logged in so I can see they are the pathetic loser who anon posts about their crappy love life.

I hate Filtherton used up all the necessary homoeroticism for this thread, I was going to throw a comment about how I rubbed my hairy belly and watched his profile for juicy edits.

The best way to stalk Plan is to search for his old username on google images. Trippy man, trippy.

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Vice-President of the CinnamonGirl Fan Club - The Meat of the Zombiesquirrel and CinnamonGirl Sandwich

mixedmedia

yez. see what I mean. ;-)

and it irks me to think that I would have to skulk around posting private blog entries at a website where I've felt pretty free to post whatever and wherever I like for so long. so in general, I continue to blog publicly, 'cause I'm stubborn like that.

but I have to admit that my curiosity and a certain sense of probability keeps me looking at the recent visitors that I don't recognize - there and on my profile. at least for now. I'm sure that will wear off over time.

__________________
Most people go through life dreading they'll have a traumatic experience. Freaks were born with their trauma. They've already passed their test in life. They're aristocrats. - Diane Arbus
PESSIMISM, n. A philosophy forced upon the convictions of the observer by the disheartening prevalence of the optimist with his scarecrow hope and his unsightly smile. - Ambrose Bierce

cruisinmags

crazy stuff cause ive been there too!

Martian

Hmm. I'm only ten behind you, and ever since I got a job and got all Respectable I've only been posting about once a decade.

What the hell, TFP?! You're making me nervous.

__________________
I wake up in the morning more tired than before I slept
I get through cryin' and I'm sadder than before I wept
I get through thinkin' now, and the thoughts have left my head
I get through speakin' and I can't remember, not a word that I said

- Ben Harper, Show Me A Little Shame

snowy

The less you post, the more often I look at your profile to see if you've been on lately.

__________________
If I am not better, at least I am different. --Jean-Jacques Rousseau

dlish

9er, i looked at your profile the other day for the first time to check out your Usergroups.. (back room stuff).

i occasionally go to someones to send a PM, or after my spamer radar has been tripped. sometimes i will go in there when i want to search for someones post that i read recently insteading hitting the search button.

9er, FYI post #17 has been edited only once , 3 mins apart.

__________________
An injustice anywhere, is an injustice everywhere

I always sign my facebook comments with ()()===========(}. Does that make me gay?
- Filthy

Plan9

I can't do it when you watch!

But, no, seriously... I can edit posts for like 60 seconds after the original "Submit" without it hanging the "Last Edited" tag. Does that factor in?

...

And my user group bans are obvious. Tilted Politics. Tilted Exhibition. Tilted Religion. Tilted Children. Tilted MENSA. Tilted Meet-Ups.

I miss any?

__________________
Whatever you can carry.

"You should not drink... and bake."

bagatelle

lol... What groups are those? What did you do?

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Daniel_

I was going to ask them to lock me out of Tilted Homeopathy, but then I realised the less I look at it, the more effective it is.

Someone should come up with a name for that...

__________________

╔═════════════════════════════════════════╗
Overhead, the Albatross hangs motionless upon the air,
And deep beneath the rolling waves,
In labyrinths of Coral Caves,
The Echo of a distant time
Comes willowing across the sand;
And everthing is Green and Submarine
╚═════════════════════════════════════════╝

Jetée

To anyone willing to assist: what does the internet-acronym ASL mean to indicate?

It's difficult to search for something in which you have no basis for context, so the big G probably isn't going to be a friendly neighbor in this regard.
I thought I had this pegged earlier in the day when I stumbled onto a :17 clip on the big G's video archive (re: youtube) and it stated as such: "Age, Sex, Location".

Is the above right (in what you have always believed 'ASL' stood for), or could there be differing aspects of the initials, dependent on the topic of immediate convervsation?


OP: I try to view my own user profile only, if I can help it. Paranoia is a crazy thing, and so, I'd rather delve into my own than involve anyone else.

__________________
As human beings, our greatness lies not so much in being able to remake the world (that is the myth of the Atomic Age) as in being able to remake ourselves.

—Mohandas K. Gandhi

Plan9

Anybody born after 1980 knows that ASL means Age, Sex, Location in reference to Internet-speak.

__________________
Whatever you can carry.

"You should not drink... and bake."

bagatelle

As a foreign english speaker I often check thefreedictionary for any definitions:

ASL - What does ASL stand for? Acronyms and abbreviations by the Free Online Dictionary.

Urbandictionary is more accurate on being up-to-date: Urban Dictionary: asl

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Plan9

...aside from the obvious references to American Sign Language, bits of military jargon, etc.

And, yeah, I made post #37 in the context of America's Internet-raised middle class youth.

__________________
Whatever you can carry.

"You should not drink... and bake."

snowy

BTW, I love the tags on this thread.

Now I want a cheese sandwich.

__________________
If I am not better, at least I am different. --Jean-Jacques Rousseau