Nevertheless, I am very pleased with the level of reader interaction brought up through the commentary section of each post. As always, comments provide encouragement, a show of support, advance the discussion with personal insights and critiques, and help in creating a bond and sense of camaraderie through these correspondences. I am happy to receive each comment whether positive, negative, or somewhere in between. I learn a lot from reader commentary.
One other facet of tracking comment statistics is the Top 10 Commentators widget that adorns the right sidebar.
As one example, Stew attained #1 Ranking late last year and then slowly drifted down and out of the Top 10 only to re-engage after the first of the year to make a steady march back to currently sit at #2. Impressive comeback, my friend!
Anyway, I want to mark this occasion to thank everyone who has mustered the courage to leave a comment or two over these first 50,000 comments.
Thank you and keep those comments coming!
Well, since I made the milestone but dropped out of the top ten, let me be the first to comment with a "well done" and Excelsior! to you, Jonathan, for the community you've created and fostered here.
ReplyDeleteThank you, Ed! Perhaps we will see you work your way back into the top 10?
DeleteCongratulations on reaching another milestone!
ReplyDeleteI wonder is it due to you generosity in commenting on other people's blogs?
Neil
Thanks! I am convinced that commenting has reciprocity.
DeleteCongratulations sir!
ReplyDeleteMy blogger show me 33,100 comments :)
Thank you! Your count is impressive.
DeleteA great milestone and a much better indicator of interest in your Blog than those bots stats that drive mine and many others. Who knew I was so popular in Hong Kong😉! Here's to the next 50k of comments Jon😊.
ReplyDeleteThanks, Steve! I reckon many of us are popular in HK!
DeleteIt was Russia before that IIRC. Maybe we should do a straw poll on what country is likely to be next on the list...
DeleteI have no guess...
DeleteThere are many good things, apart from the content and excluding spam which slips through, it also does reassure that some of the numbers of viewers actually read the posts and had a reaction. Congratulations!
ReplyDeleteThanks, Ross! A comment now and then shows we are not talking to ourselves.
DeleteQuite impressive. Kudos. As a math/stats fellow, you might like thinking of how much time is dedicated to the cumulative comments, if, being generous, one says that 2 minutes - on average - were taken to type and send each comment. Let's see . . . 50,000 times 120 seconds, divided by 60 gives me minutes; then divided by 60 again gives me hours, and then divided by 24 results in . . . oh dear, I feel a headache coming on. Anyway and again, congratulations on this benchmark. One wonders how you might compare to other long-standing blogs.
ReplyDeleteOne also wonders if you think it will take as long, longer, or not as long to reach the 100,000 comments marker.
Thank you, Anon! Yeah, i wonder how PWJ fits in with other wargaming blogs. On your last question, it depends. If viewership and commentary maintains its current pace, 100,000 will not take as long as the first 50,000.
Delete(Since I seem to be lurking in your 'top 10', I feel obliged to comment...) Congratulations, most impressive! I suspect that part of the reason for your success is your own generosity in commenting supportively on many, many other blogs. That, and the high quality of your blog, of course!
ReplyDeleteI think the number of friendly and positive comments received has been the best thing about doing my own blog, and certainly a strong incentive and encouragement to continue with it. Counts of numbers of viewers may be heavily inflated by 'bots', but comments are all by 'real people' who have made the effort to reach out and start a conversation, which is rather humbling.
Given your obvious enjoyment of statistic etc, have you been able to compile the chart of All Time Top 10 Commenters?
David, by definition, you cannot be a lurker if you make it into the Top 10! I agree that receiving positive comments is a great encouragement to keep forging on, full steam ahead. On your last question, I can the widget to account for all time, top 10 commenters. I will undertake that exercise and see who rises to the top. I suspect the list will remain very similar to the current listing showing results for the last six months.
DeleteCongratulations Jon, that's a great achievement. Your blog is a staple for many wargamers. Long may it continue. I need to comment on your blog more. I don't think I've been in your top 10 for many moons!
ReplyDeleteThanks, Ray! Comment more and get yourself back into the Top 10!
DeleteI see that Ray has done exactly that!
DeleteIt was short-lived.
DeleteCongratulations Jonathan, well-deserved. I see Keith is ahead of me again.
ReplyDeleteThanks, Lawrence! You missed commenting on the Bassignana report in the previous post. tired of Bassignana?
DeleteI definitely remember reading and enjoying it. Perhaps I had commented on Richard's post and thought I had written something on both. I always enjoy your AARs and am halfway through writing another up myself, and by doing so can really appreciate the effort involved.
DeleteLooking forward to your next battle report! Writing battle reports is a time consuming business.
DeleteI must do something about that.
ReplyDeleteThis is good start and an excellent tactic to catch up!
DeleteNice try Lawrence!
DeleteLawrence must really pick up the pace if he expects to compete with you, Keith!
DeleteJonathan. Congratulations. I am sure the variety of subjects is part of that but additionally your posts which might not, at first blush be something i would be super interesting. What do I know about the Italian theatre of the War of the Austrian Succession? well a bit but certainly a lot more now.
ReplyDeleteThank you, Andrew! I am glad you find something of interest even in the posts that initially hold no interest. Yours is a terrific compliment!
DeleteCongratulations Jonathan. You produce much of interest that is worthy of comment. Plus, your writing style is accessible and entertaining. Well done.
ReplyDeleteThanks, Richard! You are almost embarrassingly kind.
DeleteWell done Jon a sign of the quality of the output you put out 👍
ReplyDeleteMuch appreciated, Matt!
DeleteWell done Jonathan...I only have 39000 to go to catch you!
ReplyDeleteThanks, Mark!
DeleteCongratulations on reaching 50,000 comments. It should not be forgotten that you also write comments and provide encouragement for many other blogs.
ReplyDeleteThanks, Peter! We should offer encouragement so that keep a steady stream of content flows.
Delete50,000 comments over 15 years is a testament to the consistency, quality of writing, and subject matter on your blog Jonathan. A fantastic effort and I am sure it is very much appreciated by all your readers.
ReplyDeleteMeanwhile I only have 40,600 views & 382 comments over 12 years- no doubt also a reflection of the quality and subject matter 😂
Thank you, Ben! It’s not been quite twelve years. The twelfth anniversary is coming up in September.
DeleteI looked back to September 2012 and saw you transferred your website to a blog. I was going off the dates of the posts.
DeleteSo even a worse reflection on my blog 😂
Anyway, an excellent blog and thanks again for all the effort you put into it.
Is anyone keeping score?
DeleteWell done on reaching a very impressive milestone, well deserved.
ReplyDeleteThank you, Donnie!
DeleteCongratulations on achieving that august score, excellent
ReplyDeleteAlan Tradgardland
Thanks, Alan!
Delete50k comments! Well done indeed Jonathan.
ReplyDeleteThanks, MJT!
DeleteJonathan, congratulations on reaching the response of 50,000 comments. Not by accident do you deserve to enjoy your success in the blog. I can appreciate the efforts you make in setting up battles and then making great AAR coverage; data entries on the survey each year and the lovely work painting.
ReplyDeleteSure that some of the interest is from your efforts to comment on others blogs.
Not to mention that you have a great group of friends following your blog who have some interesting ideas to share.
Joe, regular encouragement like yours keep me motivated to press on. Thanks!
DeleteHere's to another 50,000 comments to be answered.
ReplyDeleteHear! Hear!
DeleteNice one Jonathan…
ReplyDeleteThe quality of the content clearly encourages lively conversations…
All the best. Aly
Much appreciated, Aly. Lively conversations are the best part.
DeleteI don't comment very often anymore due to lack of time but it's always a pleasure to wander around here...
ReplyDeleteI appreciate your comments whenever you find time, Phil.
DeleteGee - I am glad you took the image of the leader board when you did Jon - Stew is now No 1 - even though he has not commented yet!
ReplyDeleteYou know, I thought the same! You are back at the top now, however.
DeleteNot that it is a competition of course - that would be rather childish.....
ReplyDelete
DeleteOf course not but competition is not childish. We will see if Stew picks up the gauntlet you presented.
lol. It’s not a competition but I am childish. Also not very competitive. In fact, I’m the BEST at not being competitive. Crush it all the time.
DeleteBesides, Kieth only has the top spot because I vacated it back when I took my annual bye-iates. All I have to do is wait in the weeds for Jonathan to wander into a genre that is my expertise and then I’ll have tons of things to say and BLAM. top spot is mine again. I’m like a sniper…
Waiting.
😀😝
Stew, you always make me laugh whether with your comments here or posts on your blog.
DeleteOh, and congratulations on hitting the REALLY big 50!
ReplyDeleteThanks!
DeleteOver 50,000 comments - that is an insane amount Jonathan - and the sign of a very engaging blog!
ReplyDeleteIs it an insane amount of comments? I don't know...
DeleteCongratulations on your milestone Jonathan. As has been said before, it's a testament to the breadth of topics, how entertaining the reports are, the effort you put in, and not least your indefatigable efforts in commenting on other folks efforts.
ReplyDeleteThank you, Doug! You are very kind.
DeleteI’m late to the party again. I hate that, especially when I have the favorable mention.
ReplyDeleteCongratulations on 50000 comments. That’s an impressive number. I think there’s a lot that contributed to that big statistic; your endless support of our blogs with your comments that like minded folks return the favor. The frequency in which you post annd the longevity of the blog. And your all around friendly ways.
Have you ever gotten a negative comment? I’ve only ever gotten one that I can think of out of the 4800ish comments my blog says it has.
You got a secret on how you get so many comments per post? I always thought the secret was to write comments on others blogs but often that doesn’t pan out.
Never too late for the party, Stew! Not really negative comments that I recall but corrections to some uniform painting choices and scenario details. I learn from those comments.
DeleteYou get quite few comments per post too but my posting rotation is more frequent. That makes the difference.
Clearly the result of the excellent content and thought provoking posts. You also have a great group of followers who put thought into their comments and make reading them worthwhile. Congratulations!
ReplyDeleteThank you, Dan!
DeleteCongratulations on the outstanding level of reader engagement. I am far behind in my blog reading the past 3 months, as we lost three providers in a single month, making the office crazy busy. Help is on the way in a few months.
ReplyDeleteThanks! I hope Real Life slows down for you, Peter.
DeleteCongratulations Jon. That's a great level of engagement. Much better indicator than hits.
ReplyDeleteI think David-in-Suffolk's explanation sums it up nicely for me. More power to your elbow sir!
Quick bit of maths on mine (4200 comments over 5 years, x 12 years) would only produce 10,000. Puts it in perspective.
Thanks, Chris!
Delete