Three Years We Grew in Virtual Sun and Shower

I hope I am not foreshadowing with that reference in the title.  The number three seems to be under represented it literary titles once you begin to exclude things like  “Now We Are Three.”  And even Bill Wordsworth can use a link now and again.

It has been three years since I set out to start a record of my gaming hobby, both past and present.  I think, for the most part, I have succeed in my modest goal.  I haven’t written as much about ancient gaming as I would have liked, but I have gotten a few of the tales I planned on written.  And I have kept up with the current goings on, including the occasional news item or press release to serve as a sign post on the road that is this virtual gaming journey.

And, as I did at the end of the first and second years, I will take a few minutes to see where I have ended up.

Basics Statistics

What has happened here and how has it changed from a year ago?

Page Views by Month - Growth Has Slowed

Page Views by Month – Growth Has Slowed

  • Days since launch: 1096 (+365)
  • Posts total: 1,257 (+360)
  • Average posts per day: 1.15 (-0.08)
  • Comments: 7,281 (+3,239)
  • Average comments per post: 5.8 (+1.3)
  • Average comments per day: 6.6  (+1.1)
  • Spam comments: 114,282 (+28,662)
  • Average spam comments per day: 104.27 (-13)
  • Comment signal to noise ratio: 1 to 16 (-5)

So over the last year I wrote a few less posts per day, people commented more, and spammers spammed just a bit less.  All probably good things!

Incoming!

Or who sends traffic to The Ancient Gaming Noob.

All time

Over the last year

Outgoing!

And then there are the sites to which I send traffic.  There is some overlap between inbound and outbound that shows that I share a readership with some of these sites.

Of course, the site I send the most traffic to is Nick Yee’s guild name generator, thanks to an accident of Google.

But that site aside, we have:

All time

Over the last year

Most Viewed Posts

The most viewed posts over the history of the blog are:

  1. Play On: Guild Name Generator
  2. How To Find An Agent in EVE Online
  3. Shaymin Event at Toys R Us
  4. Getting Upper Blackrock Spire Access
  5. What Is A “Tank” In EVE?
  6. Rotom Secret Key Event
  7. Is There Hope for a Science Fiction MMORPG?
  8. Five LEGO Video Game Titles I Want
  9. 2008 MMORPG Progdictionations
  10. LEGO Star Wars: The Complete Saga

A few expected items on that list, but enough that aren’t just accidents of Google to make me happy.

Items Aged 20 Years or More

Writing about my older gaming experiences has been a challenge, mostly due to the failings of memory.  Still, I can sometimes dig out enough information via various sources to put together something credible to help me recall the past.  So I have a few posts in that area:

Inspirational Blogs

And then there are blogs out there that I should probably link to more often or comment on more frequently because I read them regularly.

Measuring Success

I said at the top that I think I have succeeded in my goal so far, but how does one measure success with such a nebulous goal?

I think the fact that I post regularly is such a measure.

But more than that, the fact that I like to go back and look at what I have written.  If I am sitting around I will often just click the Random Post button just to see what comes up.

Or, alternatively, I will look through some of the tag listings, like those for Toril MUD or the Instance Group to see where I’ve been.

And What Now?

Well, just a big thanks for stopping by, reading my stuff and commenting on occasion.

I don’t have any plans to change what I write about or how I do it.  Real life may interfere from time to time of course and once in a while I realize that I spend more time writing about games than playing them, but that to shall pass.

23 thoughts on “Three Years We Grew in Virtual Sun and Shower”

  1. Stabs

    Congratulations, that’s quite a milestone!

    It’s a super blog and you’re doing quite a service to people who enjoy reading about games with the sites you route us to.

    Hope you enjoy the next three years even more.

    Like

  3. Coppertopper

    Grats man. It seems like not an easy thing to open yourself to the critical masses. You have a quality blog though and one I always check out.

    Also – awesome title to this thread. Made me go all thoughtful just reading it.

    Like

  6. Rainmyst

    Thank heavens. I thought this was a preface to your announcement that you were quitting the blog. There has been quite a bit of that going around lately.

    Keep writing. I love reading.

    Like

  9. syncaine

    Seems I don’t send you as much traffic as you send me huh? Well a few Friday blog war links will fix that right quick!

    Congrats on three years, you’re on a short list of ‘everyday visits’ for me.

    Like

  10. Pingback: Community Service: Go help the old folks « Hardcore Casual

  11. Ethic

    There are very few blogs I read every time I get online, just too many good ones and not enough time. Yours is one of the few I do check every time. Congrats on all the hard work and your consistent high level of interesting posts.

    Like

  13. Wilhelm2451 Post author

    @WFS – Comparing blog stats is like comparing penis size. My stats will look big to some people, and then a porn-star like Tobold will come along and make us all cry.

    Okay, do I get a prize or something for comparing Tobold to a porn-star? Is that a first?

    Like

  18. Professor Beej

    I’m really curious where my numbers will end up next May (1 year from the start). I’ve been doing okay, broke 10k page views in 4 months, so I’m happy about that. It’s nowhere near the “porn stars” like Tobold, but it’s okay for an upstart.

    And as far as keeping up with ancient gaming, I don’t think that particularly matters. You’ve got people like us who read consistently, and as long as you’re enjoying what you’re writing, you’re headed in the right direction.

    Here’s to another 3 years of growth!

    Like

  20. Wilhelm2451 Post author

    Only 3 more years?

    Last week I said to my wife, on our 10th anniversary, something like “Here’s to 10 more years!” and her response was, “What do you mean only 10?”

    Learn from my errors.

    Like

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