. So you'll get two posts about it, this one and the actual anniversary next month.
I found myself this morning typing out this post in my head and thought Just Put It Down on Paper, so here it is.
Thanks to all helpers
Background: helpers are a small percent of users here, by far the minority. You know who you are, but I'll add some numbers for perspective.
Of all users, helpers are much less than 1:100 of actual human interactions with this forum. Helpers' posts might even be 1:1000. What you see written here on the MVS Forums is a tiny fraction of the number of people who come in, find the info they need (or not), and leave without registering or posting. It's always been that way. The great silent masses.
Of the users who actually post, helpers are around 1:5. You can see this simply in the familiar names answering questions.
My point is helpers are rare and provide answers FAR in excess of their numbers. Without helpers MVS would be me adding stuff and having little feedback, which is awkward. I know because that's what I did for a year in the beginning, before the first MVS forum in 2002. It's like talking to a first date in person at a table, except she's not actually present for 55 out of every 60 seconds.
It's a good thing I was young back then and in Just Throw The Info Over The Wall mode, otherwise I'd have had doubts like "Is this info correct?" and "Is anybody reading this?"
I'd also like to thank users who are not statistically helpers but who do add still valuable info like "Yes that fixed the problem" and don't ever post again. That closed loop is so simple and so important.
