ArtfulDodger: Lol 1. If we have the number of words posted for the week then I also want to know the typing rate. If we can get the average heart rate while they're doing it, that would be most informative! ;-)

Lol 2. I originally put "would be useful" but thought I'd weaken the assertion in case someone thought otherwise. Saw ya coming, me fine fella! ;-))

I agree that the other statistics you mentioned are pretty much meaningless, but knowing who the active posters are, especially if you know their posts from elsewhere, gives you part of the picture about what a fellowship is like.

Let's say you're invited to a fellowship (as all new paying members are ... a deluge of impersonal form-letters invitating them to join). They go to the page and read the fellowship's intro (which may be sparse). Being able to see that the fellowship has 100+ members but that only 3 people post a lot and maybe 5 post a sprinkle .. that tells a different story from the 50-member fellowship where 20-30 are active posters.

Given that "big bosses" don't tend to weed their garden and remove pawns who stopped playing a few months or years previously (lapsed subscriptions followed by leaving the site), the member tally is not a reliable figure for evaluating a fellowship. I think the posting activity would be.

When you join up for real**, perhaps find this request will make more sense.

(** Lol, you know you're going to, eh? ;-) - if only to see the smileys! )