Is there an increase in new forum members?

[Toadmund]

Just wondering if Linux use is starting to accelerate, with Vista coming along and all.
Just wondering if you more established Ubuntu forum members have noticed any increase of new forum members lately?
Please post your thoughts on this.

[maniacmusician]

there definitely is an increase in forum members, though I'm not sure that it's because of Vista (I'd like to think so :) ) The fact is, the rate of new members has been rising for a long time now, so I'm not sure. I guess it's just starting to get more popular.

[ubuntu-geek]

there definitely is an increase in forum members, though I'm not sure that it's because of Vista (I'd like to think so :) ) The fact is, the rate of new members has been rising for a long time now, so I'm not sure. I guess it's just starting to get more popular.
About a month ago we ran some numbers and we average about 14,000 new accounts per month.

[Toadmund]

How would 14,000 new members compare with previous times?
Linux could only become better with more warm bodies.

I put a Ubuntu link in my signature here:
http://www.abovetopsecret.com/
I figured it was a good place to get Linux on peoples computers.
Promote, Promote, PROMOTE!

(I am Toadmund there too.)

[dspari1]

For me the ubuntu movement is reminiscent to the firefox movement that has been very successful. People are switching and finding out that Linux is no longer hard; thus it's no longer only for geeks.

As for the question: Of course Windows Vista has a lot to do with it.

People are finding out that Vista is a pain to pirate because most of the illegal copies are malware to begin with. Even if you do find a pirated version that is not malware, you can't update your computer with security patches because you'll get your computer infested with "Windows Geniune Advantage". I'm sure there are a lot of other things that goes wrong when you try to pirate Vista, but I think my point is made.

With that said, are people who have never paid a dime for Windows in their life going to start to do so now? Microsoft thinks so, but I doubt it. Most of these people will ride their pirated version of Windows XP until it is no longer supported by software, and others will switch to Linux instead. With DX10 being Vista exclusive, it's going to be interesting to see if developers avoid making DX10 exclusive games and switch to OpenGL.

Personally, WoW is the only game that I play right now, and It works great in wine. As long as this is the case, I no longer need Windows. If more people take this route, direct linux ports will happen.

[bonzodog]

Something got me wondering the other day though - how many inactive members do we have?

Would it maybe be a good idea to cull unused accounts, say after a prolonged time period?
Of course, first, you send a warning email to the users address warning them that they have not used the account in X number of months and as such, if they don't log in to the site within the next 30 days, their account will be killed off.

[Bigbluecat]

Inactivity on the forums does not indicate that someone is not using Ubuntu. They may happily be using Ubuntu with no problems (that is what we want - right?).

You could try sending mails to the inactive user accounts but it seems to go against the freedom ethos if Linux. Just kind of smacks of a "we're watching you" attitude.