A lot's gone on this year. The Thinker's seen even more people turn up at the door than ever before, to the point that I suspect we're not just catching stray clicks from Auguste Rodin enthusiasts these days.
Big thanks to all the frequent flyers who turn up each week, and we hope we're helping you maintain some dignity in various workplace tipping comps, or at least sound part-way informed.
Ten most prolific commenters
I know this will surprise a lot of you, but Coach Potato appears to have grabbed the mike more than a handful of times this year.
| Commenter | Number of comments to date in 2015 |
|---|---|
| Coach Potato | 919 |
| a | 607 |
| christine | 238 |
| Johnny Ray | 233 |
| The Thinker | 231 |
| Baggy_Gee | 196 |
| Steel Panther | 108 |
| mark ashford | 78 |
| Declan_S | 61 |
| Tailspin | 60 |
Raw size of comments (in words)
Looking at some of these numbers makes me wonder if I don't need to redesign the site theme a little over Christmas to make life easier on these guys, typing these novels into such a little space.
| Commenter | Total words uttered in comments |
|---|---|
| Coach Potato | 70015 |
| Baggy_Gee | 17972 |
| Johnny Ray | 17543 |
| The Thinker | 11550 |
| a | 9560 |
| christine | 7442 |
| Steel Panther | 6976 |
| mark ashford | 6517 |
| Declan_S | 3244 |
| Tailspin | 2586 |
Punctuation marks per comment
| Commenter | Ratio of alphanumeric to punctuation characters |
|---|---|
| a | 444 : 1 |
| christine | 121 : 1 |
| Declan_S | 70 : 1 |
| Tailspin | 53 : 1 |
| mask ashford | 52 : 1 |
| Baggy_Gee | 48 : 1 |
| Johnny Ray | 41 : 1 |
| Steel Panther | 41 : 1 |
| Coach Potato | 37 : 1 |
| The Thinker | 35 : 1 |
Top five most viewed YouTube links
It seems a few of you are keen on a little audio visual accompaniment from time to time. Ever wondered if anyone ever clicks though? Yep, they do. Here are the top five links to YouTube (as measured by clicks).
- From Johnny Ray in round 4 - "dear lord...baby jesus"
- From Coach Potato in round 20 - "NRL - To Be The Greatest: Shaun Johnson set up Warriors try v Storm in 2011 Prelim Final"
- From Johnny Ray in round 20 - "Focus - Hocus Pocus"
- From Johnny Ray in round 5 - "Arnold Vs Jesus"
- From Johnny Ray in round 2 - (dang, this one's gone!)
Tipsters who never made it
We're all aware that beloved friends Guru Craig, The Joker, and Birdboy each have a "DNF" for this year's tipping. Most won't realise though, that an additional six tippers had a seat at the table before the season kicked off, but they presumably ended up thinking better of it and kept their secrets to themselves. League Talk WA, Cpg, Peta297, carra66, Brad and Smithy -- we hope you had a good lurk this season anyway, and let us know if you want to dip your toe in next year and we'll see how things are looking then.
Site visits from various cities
Sydney overtook Brisbane for the first time as the most popular place to be while visiting this site. As usual there are few surprises, with a handful of presumably expatriate League fans dutifully checking in from weird places a very long way away.
| City | Proportion of visits so far in 2015 |
|---|---|
| Sydney | 35% |
| Brisbane | 33% |
| Melbourne | 5% |
| Auckland | 3% |
| Perth | 2% |
| Gold Coast | 2% |
| Canberra | 2% |
| Adelaide | 1% |
| Christchurch | 1% |
| Sunshine Coast | 0.7% |
| Newcastle | 0.6% |
| Townsville | 0.25% |
| Mumbai | 0.12% |
| Hobart | 0.07% |
Visitor technology
You're all a bunch of Apple fans, there's no denying it.
| Operating system | Proportion of visits |
|---|---|
| Windows | 38.50% |
| Apple iOS | 37.08% |
| Google Android | 18.00% |
| Mac OS | 5.08% |
| Windows phone | 0.50% |
In terms of mobile devices, the gold goes to iPhone, silver to iPad and bronze to the Galaxy S5.
Visitor characteristics
It is a little scary how much Google knows about you. From the info that The Thinker and I have access to we can't quite read your car number plate or see into most of your bedrooms the way Edward Snowden can, but Google is happy enough to hand out the overall picture in broad strokes.
You're mainly men (76.6%), most of you have probably passed your sexual peak already, and (horror of horrors) Google has you pegged as "Sports Fans/Rugby Enthusiasts" with a little "Home Decor" on the side.
Popular tipsters
The Thinker wouldn't be the same without dissenting opinions. Tips by our regulars normally attact a few eyeballs each week, and the spread across different personalities is actually pretty even. If I'm forced to pull out the stats though, the ten most popular guest tips pages belong to these people:
- mark ashford
- scott m
- tigerholic
- Coach Potato
- Declan_S
- Footy chick
- Johnny Ray
- Tailspin
- Wally Lewis
- The Joker
Thanks everyone for playing and good luck picking the rest of the games through to the GF.
Comments
Submitted by a on
Great post I am happy to be at the top of the pun cation marks.
Submitted by Johnny Ray on
Ah what do you mean passed my sexual peak ? I'll have you guys know at my age I almost have sex seven times a week ! Yeah, I almost have sex on Monday, I almost have sex on Tuesday, I almost have sex on Wednesday, I almost have sex on Thursday and yeah ... the fact that I still actually find this joke funny I guess is proof guys that I really am old. Godamnit. Guess there's nothing else left for me to do but to wait around for news paperboy in my underwear ... https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jWWsxqdsNzQ ;-D
Submitted by The Thinker on
Thank you Little Helper...interesting stuff - those figures for Mumbai are less than I expected. I might try and focus on that next season.
I don't have a pretty chart but I can tell you all that the number of people visiting the site in 2015 (thus far) is up 61% on the same period in 2014. Not too shabby at all - any NRL club would love to have membership numbers growing like that.
Thanks for being here.
Submitted by a on
You should do another on after the grand final
Submitted by Baggy_Gee on
Well it is all proof of what you (Thinker) and you little helper have achieved with a great site. I enjoy it here and the conversation is always stimulating. Glad to have been part of the tipping season and am very appreciative of what you two have done, and continue to do. Thank you very much!
Submitted by Baggy_Gee on
And does Toowoomba track as Brisbane? I would have thought that even if it was just me accessing from Toowoomba, I'd beat Mumbai.
Submitted by Thinker's Little Helper on
Hey Baggy_Gee, you're too kind.
Toowoomba is tracked separately to Brisbane, but I thought it was too darn cold for me to put it in the list. For the record, it came in with 0.49% which is slightly more than London (U.K.) at 0.46%.
Submitted by Tailspin on
Great spread sheet thinkers little helper, I know the season isn't over for us and we still have a few more tips to put in, even though I am going backwards at a great rate of knots, but I hope I am invited back next year Thinker as I have had a lot of laughs on your site, keep it going coach.
P.S. I know where you are coming from Johhny Ray :) piss funny.
Go the Cowboys.
Submitted by Coach Potato on
If I got to push your buttons this year then I'll say, job done. Footy Chick, I didn't seem to ever ... err doesn't matter.
Anyway, nothing beats the passion of an angry fan and I know I brought that out in many regulars, and the odd one-timer.
And funny how force-feeding of stats has evolved into others producing their own, like here, and no doubt lots still intrigued to know in a month if it's all just a load of crap or not.
Enjoy the finals everyone. Hope you've got a comfy seat.
PS - Wally, would love to hear your thoughts on the big one this Saturday night?
Submitted by a on
Well Wallys team will not win
Submitted by Shanghai on
Well folks, its 9:20pm on Tuesday night and I'm having a Jamesons and watching the third ODI between AUS and ENG , while checking the Thinkers website.
Can I just say that it has been a real pleasure being a part of this tipping comp for the last 20 weeks or so. I have loved reading everyone's comments/opinions each and every week and in particular, Coaches stats and analysis .... absolute gold.
Well done to Tigerholic on a fantastic effort over the full season. Well done to everyone else who put their kahunas on the line (and to the ladies who put theirs on the line too).
Despite missing a couple of Thursday night starts, this site was the highlight of my tipping week and hopefully, I get an invite back next year.
Good luck to all teams in the final series but especially to my beloved Roosters.
Good luck also to the mighty, fighting Fremantle Roosters, who take on the South Perth Lions (St George Dragons outfit) in the WARL Grand Final on Saturday 12th Sept. The Roosters have lost the last three GF's on the trot and are overdue for a win (please, please, please ...... it is our destiny surely). Come what may, we are always proud of our boys and the effort that they put in.
As an aside, wish me luck in my Fremantle Districts A Grade darts Grand Final tomorrow night .... a tough ask but you never know your luck in a big city!
Looking forward to a great final series .....
Submitted by Coach Potato on
http://m.couriermail.com.au/sport/nrl/johnathan-thurston-one-of-four-sta...
I knew it. It's all out there now. They weren't just having fun with a kicking tee round 26. The article reveals the secret truth by Thurston revealing it "flared up". Only old injuries flare up, not new ones.
Thurston is in doubt and the Bennett's Broncos know it. If he makes it onto the park, he'll get an onslaught.
If I was coach, I would have rested 8 players last week.
Submitted by a on
Hat will play for God sakes
Submitted by a on
I meant JT will play for God sakes
Submitted by Steel Panther on
Love this post Thinker and Thinker's Little Helper. If nothing more it gave me a good laugh!!
Injuries mean nothing Coach. Your own team were decimated even further last weekend losing Soward and Cartwright but still did the business on Newcastle. I've lost count the number of times I'd picked a team based on who's out from their opposition and come up empty. Penrith v Newcastle on the weekend was a classic example where I picked the Knights.
Submitted by Coach Potato on
Your right again Panther. Cowboys finishing up the top or their chances in the finals has nothing to do with Thurston playing. Geez I'm an idiot. What was I thinking?