Ranking Snitz sites - Not really a mod

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https://forum.snitz.com/forumTopic/Posts/58857?pagenum=1
05 November 2025, 08:47

Topic

-gary
Ranking Snitz sites - Not really a mod
13 July 2005, 18:03


But, this would appear to be the best place for this.
I've never seen any sort of ranking site like big-boards.com specifically for Snitz and there's always questions here about what constitutes a "big" Snitz install. So, I threw this together a ranking site that will pull stats from your forum via XML, store and then rank them against other Snitz forums.
I didn't put a lot of time into this since I don't have a lot of time to waste if no one is going to use it, so it is quite bare at this point. If there seems to be some interest, I'll work on an interface and other features.
Each site only gets checked once per day so the processing needed is trivial. Polling runs are once per hour, so if you submit your site it'll show up at the top of the next hour if all is well. There is very little error checking on the submit side, so please make sure you enter the info correctly.
You'll need the get the stats client and register your forum for polling. http://snitzhcd.com/stats/register.asp
Extract the snitzstats.asp file to your forum directory. I would assume it works on any DB unless MySQL uses a different max and count routine, but I didn't bother checking.<

 

Replies ...

muzishun
13 July 2005, 21:00


Sounds like a nice thing to get going. On putting the file up on my site I noticed you're missing an "AS" on line 30.
Code:
strSql = "SELECT MAX(REPLY_ID) AS R_MAX, COUNT(REPLY_ID) AS R_ACTIVE FROM " & strTablePrefix & "REPLY"

I'll be submitting my site within the hour. I'd like to see what sort of interest there could be in this.<
-gary
13 July 2005, 21:19


I saw the missing AS after I posted. Thought I caught it before anyone downloaded.<
sr_erick
13 July 2005, 23:13


Kawiforums will be on top. Wait until this winter though and let the war begin. wink<
Shaggy
14 July 2005, 04:47


Nicely done, Gary smile Will be submitting Woo.ie in short order. An idea for a future addition: You could show the date a forum was started by grabbing the timestamp of the first post made.
<
MarcelG
14 July 2005, 07:20


Nice thought! bigsmile Submitted oxle.com right away!<
-gary
14 July 2005, 08:06


Originally posted by Shaggy
An idea for a future addition: You could show the date a forum was started by grabbing the timestamp of the first post made.

It's already in the XML. If this does work out, I'll make an about page where you can add info about your forum and it will include things like the first post date.<
Shaggy
14 July 2005, 08:32


Ay, spotted that when I cracked open the file. Hopefully, it'll work out so - great idea Gary, man.
<
-gary
14 July 2005, 09:40


I've noticed a few got a version with a missing AS statement. If you replace the stats file with the copy now linked in the first post you should work. The version in the file should be .02 just to be sure. The problem domains are listed below.
oxle.com
parrotlinks.com
ratdaddyvince.com<
Shaggy
14 July 2005, 09:47


Was that the only change to .02? The copy I downloaded this morning was .01 but apparently it's working OK as Woo.ie has been picked up by your script.
<
Davecl
14 July 2005, 09:58


wondered why it hadn't been picked up.
got new version now, thanks<
-gary
14 July 2005, 10:49


The missing as was the only change, but I wanted to make sure someone isn't getting a cached copy since I didn't change the file name.<
-gary
14 July 2005, 10:51


Originally posted by Davecl
wondered why it hadn't been picked up.
got new version now, thanks

Your's has the following at the beginning of the file causing it's parse to fail.
<!--INCLUDE FILE="LangMODS_Ls3kAU4_1030.asp" --><!--INCLUDE FILE="LangMODS_Ls3kAU4_1033.asp" --><!--INCLUDE FILE="LangMODS_Ls3kAU4_1034.asp" --><!--INCLUDE FILE="LangMODS_Ls3kAU4_1036.asp" --><!--INCLUDE FILE="LangMODS_Ls3kAU4_1037.asp" --><!--INCLUDE FILE="LangMODS_Ls3kAU4_1041.asp" --><!--INCLUDE FILE="LangMODS_Ls3kAU4_1043.asp" --><!--INCLUDE FILE="LangMODS_Ls3kAU4_1046.asp" --><!--INCLUDE FILE="LangMODS_Ls3kAU4_1053.asp" --><!--INCLUDE FILE="LangMODS_Ls3kAU4_2070.asp" --><
Shaggy
14 July 2005, 11:11


Dave, what I did, because I using a highly modified config.asp, was copy the connection string (you'd also need the table prefixes) into snitzstats.asp and remove the config.asp include.
<
Shaggy
14 July 2005, 11:37


Forgot to ask, Gary, how often does your script visit our sites? Also, is there a reason why you're pulling the counts individually from the TOPIC and REPLY tables rather than all at once from the TOTALS table?
<
sr_erick
14 July 2005, 12:06


The totals table may not always be correct. Also here's what gary said about how often the script runs.
Each site only gets checked once per day so the processing needed is trivial. Polling runs are once per hour, so if you submit your site it'll show up at the top of the next hour if all is well.
<
Shaggy
14 July 2005, 12:20


blush Oopsie, brain's switched off now that I have a few days holiday to look forward to! London, beware! tongue
<
dabugster
14 July 2005, 12:28


I redownloaded then uploaded the new version and resubmitted my site.
This is an awesome mod Gary.
A little healthy compitition never hurt nobody! LOL
<
Podge
14 July 2005, 12:30


The date of the first topic need not necessarily be when the forum was created. Wouldn't the date the super admin was created be the correct date to use?<
Shaggy
14 July 2005, 12:41


Not necessarily Podge, the forum and, therefore, the super admin may be created a long time before the forum's doors were opened to the public. Of course, if the super admin leaves the default posting that setup.asp places in the database, those dates are going to be the same, anyway.
<
-gary
14 July 2005, 12:41


Originally posted by Shaggy
Also, is there a reason why you're pulling the counts individually from the TOPIC and REPLY tables rather than all at once from the TOTALS table?

I wanted to get the actual counts without relying on the totals table being updated correctly. I don't even use it on my forum as I write stats out to a dedicated table much like I'm using here. I couldn't exclude myself. bigsmile<
Podge
14 July 2005, 13:20


the super admin may be created a long time before the forum's doors were opened to the public.
That was my reasoning but I guess it a matter of opinion.

[suggestion] -gary, you could also include the average no. of posts per member on each forum & average posts per day [/suggestion]<
Davecl
14 July 2005, 13:26


Originally posted by Shaggy
Dave, what I did, because I using a highly modified config.asp, was copy the connection string (you'd also need the table prefixes) into snitzstats.asp and remove the config.asp include.

well, that seems complicated to me with my limited knowledge but luckily since getting version.02 my forum has been picked up so maybe i dont need to make any changes?<
-gary
14 July 2005, 14:50


Originally posted by Davecl
well, that seems complicated to me with my limited knowledge but luckily since getting version.02 my forum has been picked up so maybe i dont need to make any changes?

I noticed your's was still being dropped so I went ahead and modified the script to trim everything before the first <?xml out before parsing. Prob a good idea anyway in case any of the includes throw out some junk like blank lines or errors before the XML starts.<
sr_erick
14 July 2005, 15:09


A day to day graph print out (line graph) of post totals would be completely awesome. Like compare the top 10 with different colors on the same chart.<
Davecl
14 July 2005, 15:10


thanks gary, i doubt if i would have been capable of the changes shaggy suggested smile<
Shaggy
18 July 2005, 07:25


Gary, just spotted something, it may be by design but I thought I'd point it out, just in case: It appears that the figure for S_TotalPosts is as a reult of adding S_MaxTopics and S_MaxReplies rather than S_ActiveTopics and S_ActiveReplies which could inaccurate results for some sites which may have a lot of deleted (or achived, in this version) posts for whatever reason.
Maybe you could make it a configurable for those who do keep their TOTALS table updated to have the script pull the counts from that table to save a couple of queries?
<
-gary
18 July 2005, 11:34


It's by design. The Total Posts is a measure of how many posts you've gotten and Active of how many are currently in the DB. The same is true for the members queries.
Myself, I could care less about what's current other than 24 hour and 30 day login/posting stats and I don't archive anything, just lock what's older than 6 months. On a large site, it's hard to sell advertising if you keep lowering your post counts every month by archiving and deleting. Advertisers want to see growth, not stagnant numbers or even a decline and your competitiveness with other larger sites.
As for saving a couple of queries, I don't see a need to produce different versions for a few quick DB hits that occur once every 24 hours.<
MarkJH
18 July 2005, 16:29


Originally posted by sr_erick
Kawiforums will be on top. Wait until this winter though and let the war begin. wink
You were saying? tongue
Great idea this, Gary. I look forward to seeing what you'll do with it if things take off.<
MarkJH
25 July 2005, 14:11


Just bumping this up to help the project. smile<
MarkJH
12 August 2005, 11:32


Any more advances on this project, Gary?<
MarkJH
28 August 2005, 21:15


Hello, Gary?<
MarcelG
29 August 2005, 02:03


Gary on holiday ? bigsmile<
masterao
29 August 2005, 08:26


I've decided to sign up, just to support this project. smile<
-gary
29 August 2005, 10:35


I've been on vacation. Got tons of projects to work on and I'll try to throw some time at this one.<
Astralis
30 August 2005, 02:56


I have no idea where this error is coming from:

The XML page cannot be displayed
Cannot view XML input using style sheet. Please correct the error and then click the Refresh button, or try again later.

-------

The character '>' was expected. Error processing resource 'http://www.w3.org/TR/html4/loose.dtd'. Line 31, Position 3

-- Typical usage:
--^

<
-gary
30 August 2005, 11:14


What is the URL to the file?
The pickup process doesn't care if it validates or not, as long as it's in the format that it shipped in.<
-gary
09 September 2005, 15:21


Trying out a graphing object and have created graphs for all the data tracked. Click on the forum's name on the front page.
Any suggestions about what to graph are welcome. I'm going to get into other formats and multi plots this weekend and see if I like how the component works.<
muzishun
09 September 2005, 22:40


That's starting to look really good, -gary!<
masterao
10 September 2005, 19:30


I agree, the graphic display looks really good.<
MarkJH
12 September 2005, 20:35


Looking great, Gary. smile
According to the graphs, Kawiforums is catching up worryingly fast...<
-gary
13 September 2005, 18:16


We do about 500-800 posts and 30-50 new members a day, but it'll slow down a bit in the winter since we're a seasonal forum.
Working on biggest mover algorithms now to try and bold out which forum has had the most posts in the last 24 hours and so forth.
Anyone here want to help out with a forum side part of this mod? I was thinking it would be nice to have this all driven from the submitters forum instead of trying to store logins on my side and get someone to sign-up.
My idea is a stats page in the admin control panel that has fields for things like "about this forum" and "hardware used" along with a form submittal button that would register the forum with the stats server without any other intervention by the forum admin. All it would need to post is the forum url and a unique hash. The hash could be easily done using the sha256 function (or something shorter like MD5) and it would serve the purpose of keeping a unique id for the forum to keep from having duplicates if the forum moved to a different URL. Store the hash in the DB and whenever the forum moves you just hit the submit button and the stats server will update your info as long as you kept your current DB.
It could also have a tab for showing the graphs available on the server directly in the admin pages so you wouldn't even have to visit the stats site to see your own graphs. There could also be other controls like whether or not to share the link to the forum publicly.
Besides the stats, it could easily be turned into a Snitz directory with the simple addition of some category pull-downs and make an effective tool for promoting Snitz based forums. I think this mod would be something that would be great for the next official release and will register and donate a domain name and code along with the hosting of the site as long as I can to whoever/whatever owns the Snitz name if need be.<
dayve
15 September 2005, 18:08


You should make the snitzstats.asp file available at http://snitzhcd.com/stats/default.asp

Update: link to file doesn't seem to work.<
-gary
16 September 2005, 00:57


I'm going to put out a new version in the next day or so with instructions on how to place it, so the old one is down.<
MarkJH
16 September 2005, 02:04


Do you mind me having a link to the project in my sig, Gary? Just trying to get it out there, so to speak.<
weeweeslap
17 September 2005, 04:39


anyone have the http://snitzhcd.com/stats/snitzstats.txt file? link is dead and I'd like to join this smile<
OneWayMule
17 September 2005, 07:29


Originally posted by -gary
I'm going to put out a new version in the next day or so with instructions on how to place it, so the old one is down.
<
-gary
17 September 2005, 13:53


New version is up at http://snitzhcd.com/stats/register.asp

.03 adds tracking for number of topic views, member logins in the previous 24 hours and pulls your adjusted display time.
The ADT is used so the service will be able to determine what timezone you are located in and adjust the polling to just after midnight local time. This will give you more accurate reports by being able to view them on a day-by-day basis instead of just the last 24 hours. Currently all polling is done at 12AM -7. This feature isn't in place yet on the stats server, but will be shortly.<
dayve
17 September 2005, 22:03


Thanks -gary... just added mine. Should be interesting to watch.<
sr_erick
17 September 2005, 23:09


The updated version looks nice. I love the graphs. Good work -gary!<
dayve
21 September 2005, 20:57


-gary, can I suggest putting a link to the forums on the stats page so we can easily navigate to the respective sites? I'm interested in some of the sites there, but unless I google the name of the forum, I can't easily find them.<
-gary
21 September 2005, 22:56


Done.<
dayve
21 September 2005, 23:45


Originally posted by -gary
Done.
cool...thank you sir. cool<
sr_erick
22 September 2005, 03:49


Thanks for the links. I was just going to post about that. Also...I'm enjoying that graph creation software. I took the liberty of downloading the free version and I've been messing around. It's some very interesting stuff. I've been testing it on a page views table I have been keeping on my site for the past few years.
All data points.
http://www.snowmobilefanatics.com/chart.asp

Last 365 days

http://www.snowmobilefanatics.com/chart.asp?limit=365<
dayve
24 September 2005, 23:22


-gary, just noticed the comprehensive stats/charts. very cool... keep up the good work.
Question for you though. I noticed you're only accounting for actual moderators in your totals. What about forums that actually have more than 1 administrator such as mine? Is an admin not really a moderator as well?<
-gary
25 September 2005, 11:13


I thought about adding admin count after the last release was already out just for that reason.<
Bassman
26 September 2005, 05:46


Gary, the stats look very nice....good job<
OneWayMule
26 September 2005, 05:55


Agree, nicely done! And I love stats... bigsmile<
-gary
27 September 2005, 23:07


New version is up. I think we're out of the beta phase so this is 1.0. This version is able to track new posts, replies and members on the forum instead of by computing them on the server. Much more accurate. It also pulls the previous day's stats using your forum's time string instead of at the moment the poll is done. This will make the stats more accurate for day-to-day mapping. It can also pull most stats from any point in the past allowing the server to pull missing data when needed.
You might see a hit every hour for up to the first 24 hours after upgrading to this version until the server figures out when your day rolls over.
Detailed stats are up, but they may not be accurate unless you're using 1.0. I'm still refining the metrics and working on the time frame selection.
http://www.snitzhcd.com/stats/releases/SnitzStats_1.0.zip<
-gary
28 September 2005, 16:00


You can show your current rank with an image like you see in my signature. Use the first code below to display the image in Snitz posts and signatures and the second on any website. Get your Forum ID by going to the stats site, click on your forum name and look for the number after f_id= in the address bar. Replace the your_forum_id_here entries with this number.
[url="http://www.snitzhcd.com/stats/"][img]http://www.snitzhcd.com/stats/rank.asp?your_forum_id_here[/img][/url]
<a href="http://www.snitzhcd.com/stats/"><img src="http://www.snitzhcd.com/stats/rank.asp?your_forum_id_here" border=0></a><
MarkJH
28 September 2005, 16:06


Cool. cool<
sr_erick
28 September 2005, 17:07


Nice! Strange though, mine says #4 sad even though throughout each sorting I have one 2, three 3's and one 5. How does that get 4? question<
MarkJH
28 September 2005, 18:17


Says #3 now, Erick. question<
dayve
28 September 2005, 19:51


-gary, off subject, but how did you create the image showing the rank using ASP? I had to use ASP.NET with the GDI to create the one presently in my signature which shows what I am listening too.<
SiSL
28 September 2005, 20:01


I believe it is direction.<
dayve
28 September 2005, 20:04


Originally posted by SiSL
I believe it is direction.
oh, so you don't think it is a single dynamic image but multiple images with a redirect? that wouldn't sound like something -gary would do, though I could be wrong.<
SiSL
28 September 2005, 20:11


Ofcourse it may be dynamic image, however, passing this code to many places (to our signatures here for example) may load server cpu more than expected, well at least my image API does. If not, I would like to learn the secret as well :)
<
dayve
28 September 2005, 20:20


Originally posted by SiSL
Ofcourse it may be dynamic image, however, passing this code to many places (to our signatures here for example) may load server cpu more than expected, well at least my image API does. If not, I would like to learn the secret as well :)

the signature that I use here is something I created using .NET/GDI. It is part of a feature on my forum that 40+ other members actively use and the hit against my database to read the tables and create the image is not that bad. the only reason I asked how he did it is because I noticed the .asp extension and unless he is using a component to do this with, I just doubt that he has individual images for the individual rankings.
PS. Just noticed, you're the guy that bumped me down from position #5 to #6 evil tongue<
SiSL
28 September 2005, 20:31


I don't actually have courage to get into .NET world even I work for another magazine Windows & .NET Mag :)

However I basically use componenent to convert my images in basically in all content administration pages (and sometimes loading of images in main sites) and when single server with 5-6 sites using the component making a load actually. However, page impressions are heavy since I need to take precautions. What I would like to know if there is more "easier" on CPU way to do this.
And Yes, thats me bigsmile<
dayve
28 September 2005, 21:49


Originally posted by SiSL
What I would like to know if there is more "easier" on CPU way to do this.
Yes there is. It is why I use .NET with the GDI over any server component.<
Shaggy
29 September 2005, 06:25


Thanks for all your work on this, Gary, it's looking great bigsmile
<
Riccardo
29 September 2005, 06:52


Microsoft JET Database Engine error '80004005'

The changes you requested to the table were not successful because they would create duplicate values in the index, primary key, or relationship. Change the data in the field or fields that contain duplicate data, remove the index, or redefine the index to permit duplicate entries and try again.
/stats/register.asp, line 33

this is the error i get after inserting the url to Snitzstats.asp on my forum..and submitted..
?????<
OneWayMule
29 September 2005, 07:33


One suggestion: What about adding the database used to the info?<
Riccardo
29 September 2005, 10:36


I use Access DB..but isn't requested anywhere..
http://www.snitzhcd.com/stats/register.asp<
Riccardo
29 September 2005, 10:44


well it seems to work! i'm on the rankings..at 35th position!!<
-gary
29 September 2005, 10:45


Rank images are static files. The rank.asp file checks for your current rank and redirects to the appropriate image. I could do dynamic images, but without some kind of caching in place this page alone would've required 16 DB hits and 16 image generations. I'm all for taking 15 minutes of Photoshop time to save an unknown number of CPU requests on a production server along with the expense of creating an object to draw the image and tearing it down again for each request. This was a 10 minute hack, so it will get a bit more sophisticated in the future.
The rank images are based solely on number of total posts and fall in line with the default sort on the main page.
The register error is because that URL has already been registered. If the forum isn't showing up on the stats page, it's because the server has had a problem retrieving the page. Timeout, 404 or a problem with the client script. It will keep trying until it gets it. Registration management and error checking is non-existent at this point.
DB type is being pulled in 1.0. I'm still working on the individual stats and that will be one of the things reported. I'm also working on cumulative stats for all forums and DB's will be represented by some sort of percentage graph.<
OneWayMule
29 September 2005, 12:23


Originally posted by -gary
DB type is being pulled in 1.0. I'm still working on the individual stats and that will be one of the things reported. I'm also working on cumulative stats for all forums and DB's will be represented by some sort of percentage graph.
Excellent! smile<
CarKnee
30 September 2005, 17:51


Very cool!
<
dabugster
02 October 2005, 14:53


Just added my new forum.
I like the ranking image in my sig ... good idea! <
modifichicci
02 October 2005, 17:25


I have noticed that the numbers aren't right, for my forum
I have 331 members, but in the stats they are displayed as 343 and the same for topics and reply. The file counts also deleted members, topics and replyes? <
Shaggy
03 October 2005, 08:25


Modifichicci, the figures displayed on the main statistics page include deleted members, topics and replies which Gary gives his reasons for elsewhere in this topic. The individual statistcs pages for each forum, however, include the counts of actual members, topics & replies.
<
modifichicci
03 October 2005, 12:56


Thanks, now I see.<
Shaggy
03 October 2005, 12:57


No probs. smile
<
Ranko
05 October 2005, 05:56


This is sweet. Wish I noticed it earlier smile<
sr_erick
05 October 2005, 11:12


Gary, can you add a "last 30 days or samples" option to the detailed statistics page? Also, any chance you could offer it in bar graph form or line graph? smile<
MarkJH
05 October 2005, 11:20


Ditto on the above.<
MarkJH
05 October 2005, 12:20


You know what else would be cool? Stats that ran across all the forums on the list. So for instance, you'd be able to see which forums performed best over a period of time, which gained the most members, etc.<
sr_erick
05 October 2005, 12:49


That would be interesting...like a combined line graph for these different things comparing say, the top 10 on the list or something.
Also, a set of graphs for the combined totals of all forums in all areas.<
-gary
05 October 2005, 15:46


Like I said before, I'm still working on time frame selection and cumulative stats.
The problem with graphing all forums together is that some get 20 posts per day and others get 700. The huge difference in numbers makes the changes almost imperceptible to where you wouldn't be able to tell that they were moving except over large amounts of time. I think the answer is the big mover algorithm I mentioned before to graph like sized changes together, but I haven't spent much time with that yet.
The code is already there for doing line and stacked bar graphs. Look at the source of each graph and change the type=bar to line. You can also change the start and end dates to view any point in time but, again, I haven't yet added support for the selection. The move to what it is now is, when the last 30 days was dropped, was to facilitate things like "show me all login stats for Tuesdays in the last 6 months" along with any random date selections. When I have time, the individual stats page will change to bring more things like those into use along with better averages, graphs that make sense instead of just showing everything and more charting options.<
taropatch
06 October 2005, 20:51


I'm late reading this post. This is really cool. Thanks Gary.<
dayve
07 October 2005, 22:44


hmmmm, something is either wrong or one of the forums jumped up 20,000+ posts in one day. shock<
MarkJH
08 October 2005, 08:58


Yep, BT3 has really shot up. shock
I'm trying to figure out what the mysterious 'O' forum is. question
What is it with men and stats?<
AnonJr
08 October 2005, 09:23


Either they got spammed, or someone posted in a Mac forum, "Why don't you guys switch to Windows? Steve is." wink<
dabugster
08 October 2005, 11:06


Originally posted by MarkJH
Yep, BT3 has really shot up. shock
I'm trying to figure out what the mysterious 'O' forum is. question
What is it with men and stats?

There is a new one there today:
Herbal Debat - whoes is this anyway? I think you have something misspelled in it.

There is ho home page link to either of those sites.<
Shaggy
10 October 2005, 06:23


Originally posted by dabugster There is ho home page link to either of those sites.
Herbal Debat forums - nothing misspelled, it's a Danish site.
<
dabugster
23 October 2005, 01:05


Originally posted by dabugster There is ho home page link to either of those sites.
Herbal Debat forums - nothing misspelled, it's a Danish site.

Stoopid American that i am ... LOL
Sorry if i offended anyone with that statement. <
lory_wm
24 November 2005, 15:53


i'm sorry... but i've tried to register my snitz forum here: http://www.snitzhcd.com/stats/ (the snitz's stats) but i've had this mistake:

Microsoft JET Database Engine error '80004005'

The changes you requested to the table were not successful because they would create duplicate values in the index, primary key, or relationship. Change the data in the field or fields that contain duplicate data, remove the index, or redefine the index to permit duplicate entries and try again.
/stats/register.asp, line 33

how can i to resolve this problem?!
i'm sorry for my english... i'm a italian person and i don't know very well the english... so i hope that you can understand me...
thanks to all wink<
MarkJH
24 November 2005, 18:58


Hmm, I wonder if that's anything to do with there being 99 sites listed? It's been at that figure for a while now...<
laser
24 November 2005, 19:56


Oops tongue<
MarkJH
25 November 2005, 02:08


And as he says that, #100 pops up! bigsmile<
Shaggy
25 November 2005, 05:38


Lory, you're getting that error because you have already added your forum; it's currently ranked number 69.
<
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