Metabunk is Five Years Old

Mick West

Administrator
Staff member
(A continuation of https://www.metabunk.org/metabunk-is-four-years-old.t5430/ )

Metabunk started in December 2010, just over five years ago.

2011: Threads 361 Posts: 3,264, Active Members 67
2012: Threads: 833, Posts: 21,700, Active Members: 141
2013: Threads: 2,214, Posts: 78,219, Active Members: 216
2014: Thread 3,640, Posts 132,683, Active Members: 319
2015: Thread 4,576, Posts 164,804, Active Members: 340

Traffic has leveled off somewhat from 2014. While this is partly due to the randomness of the big stories that go viral a few times a year (like the Burning Snow, or the Pillar of Light), it's mostly because I've not been able to devote as much time to the site as I would have liked. This has been for a number of reasons: I moved house, which was quite a distraction, and there were various other life events that got in the way. Overall though I simply spent less time on the site in 2015 than I did in 2014.

20160106-132733-6pb26.jpg

The above graph is of new threads in 2014 and 2015. It shows a sharp drop after I moved house in December 2014, and then continuing at a lower level, with a large drop in September-October 2015, when I had to deal with some unexpected personal events. On the brighter side, there was distinct uptick in December.

Metabunk is often seen as a site that just debunks chemtrails, and it's true that a lot of the material is related to the chemtrail conspiracy theory. However "chemtrails" does not really account for that much of our traffic. If we rank pages by popularity the first chemtrail related page (Rosalind Peterson at the UN Conference) only comes in at #17, with just 34,000 views, then the ballast barrels post is at #28, with 21,000 views (figures just for 2015).

Metabunk has a long tail. There are only a handful of pages that get over 100,000 views, but then there are 5,000 pages that get over 50 views.

In 2016 I hope to reverse the trend, devoting more time to creating and promoting high quality debunking content to help hold back the tide of bunk that's sweeping the world.

I'd like to thank everyone who has helped Metabunk be what it is. With specific thanks to those who created or helped create high quality debunking articles. I'd also like to thank our mods @Pete Tar, @Landru, and @George B , for helping keep things running smoothly. Special thanks also to our latest mod @deirdre , who has brought some valuable perspective to the site, perhaps by being the opposite of me in many ways. :)

I continue to make no money from Metabunk. There's no advertising on the site, and nobody pays me. It's going to continue that way. I do this because I enjoy it, and because I think it's a worthwhile way of helping lots of people.

Here's to a bright new 2016!
 
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Special thanks also to our latest mod @deirdre , who has brought some valuable perspective to the site, perhaps by being the opposite of me in many ways
is that a short joke? :mad:

But seriously, i dont think number of threads is as important as good threads. And you guys have had some awesome threads this year! Some great members here for sure.

More monsters and ghosts, less PLANES!!! :)
 
I like that MB is advert free and does not ask for money, but would it be possible for online 'hangouts', or debates? Im not sure how the technology works, but is that something worth looking at?
 
I like that MB is advert free and does not ask for money, but would it be possible for online 'hangouts', or debates? Im not sure how the technology works, but is that something worth looking at?

Yes, certainly something I'm looking into. I'd like to do more interviews and discussions with people. I think it's important to get a good understanding of the issue at a personal individual level. Why do people have these misconceptions, can some people be shown the light? For people who got out of the rabbit hole, it would be good to talk to them to see what their journey was. And oftentimes a video or audio recording can be more accessible than a wall of text.
 
Doing something along the lines of Virtual Skeptics might also be interesting. They have been dong a live show every week or so which is just a Google Hangout.

It's live and unedited (as to get the free recording you have to broadcast live on YouTube, so they tend to be a bit stop and go, and the discussion is often a little mocking. I've met Bob at TAM
https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCZtlWz4S2ApS7a8IdC7rSfA

They have one in 30 minutes, at 5PM PST. I'll check out how it works live, there's some kind of chat feature.
 
Then I guess I stumbled on it while it was still fairly new. I broke into debunking on the BP oil spill
 
The fourth anniversary is barium, isn't it?
No, it is linen. Or, perhaps, silk. One word - fibres. Metals will be later: iron - 6th; copper - 7th (or 9th); tin - 10th; silver - 25th; gold - 50th; platinum - 70th… Of other elements, carbon - 60th (or 75th):rolleyes:
 
No, it is linen. Or, perhaps, silk. One word - fibres. Metals will be later: iron - 6th; copper - 7th (or 9th); tin - 10th; silver - 25th; gold - 50th; platinum - 70th… Of other elements, carbon - 60th (or 75th):rolleyes:

Morgellons Birthday Cake for all!

But seriously, well done and happy anniversary to all users :)
 
Happy Birthday in that case! I have certainly come to appreciate the site in my short tenure here. Many thanks to the patient members here who gently guided me on my initial research into the chem trail issue and to all the posters who have taken the time to provide valuable links and personal analysis on a broad range of issues. Some really impressive work by Mick and many others.

I will second the nod to @deirdre as one who has come to value her comments and perspective.

My only hope for the site is that people can refrain from sarcasm and contempt when it comes to discussing the people who are involved with and perpetuate these hoaxes and conspiracies. I know it is difficult but it really isn't constructive and tends to alienate people who might otherwise come to the site to contribute and learn. I am amazed at how much flac I have recently received from people who have labeled this site unfairly as something it is not and I find myself defending the place based on the factual data and analysis contained here. Metabunk deserves a much better reputation and sticking to subject matter at hand is, imho, the best way to truly raise awareness. This place should be receiving at least the same number of hits as the geoengineering and other similar sites!
 
Yes, happy birthday MB, a fantastic resource

In fact I am about to email my son the link to the Rabit Hole thread. He announced (to both my and my wife's surprise) during his school parents evening last night that the "speaking" section of his English GCSE exam will be on Conspiracy Theories

His English teacher was quite impressed, I might have mentioned I have some relevant information to hand!!!
 
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