Server Statistics in WoW

Ginzburgh · Post by **Ginzburgh** » Mon Jan 03, 2005 3:19 pm

Where can I find server statistics for WOW. Like what Taxx has in his personal gallery.

I already know about maxmeout.com

vonkaar · Post by **vonkaar** » Mon Jan 03, 2005 3:28 pm

wowcensus.com

Tikker · Post by **Tikker** » Mon Jan 03, 2005 4:40 pm

Number of Players: 688,977 Most Popular Realm: Silver Hand
Number of Alliance: 428,241 Number of Horde: 260,736
Most Popular Race: Night Elf Most Popular Class: Hunter

Langston · Post by **Langston** » Tue Jan 04, 2005 7:33 am

Just realize one thing... the data on WowCensus is only as accurate as the dedication of the people taking the counts and sending them in.

In other words - the data is bullshit.

Tacks · Post by **Tacks** » Tue Jan 04, 2005 7:41 am

What the fuck is wrong with you?

The data is NOT bullshit. Do you think 10 people turning in data per day is going to skew the numbers so badly? I'm sick and tired of people using that piss poor excuse. Log on anytime of the day, do a census, the numbers don't fucking lie. The numbers for our server have been pretty much spot-on from my own numbers since this came into existance. Again, explain how the numbers are so badly off. You don't do a census, see 2,000 people online then go to the site and see 500...it just doesn't work like that.

Langston · Post by **Langston** » Tue Jan 04, 2005 7:45 am

Taxx - I am probably the most active census taker on my server. I KNOW what we have in our guild compared to what others have in their guild.... and the Census data is wrong.

Furthermore, I take 4 census runs on the Horde side for every 1 on the Alliance side... that inherently skews the data.

Right now, everyone in my guild is patting themselves on the back thinking we're the highest level guild on the server - because WoWCensus says so... and they're wrong.

I'm sorry you have this little panty wad up your ass about this - but it's a true statement: the website is only as good as the census takers... and they're not very good - myself included. The data on that website is patchy and only mildly reliable.

Tacks · Post by **Tacks** » Tue Jan 04, 2005 8:09 am

I'm tired of arguing about it. It will never be entirely accurate, but if you think it's off by thousands then you're just wrong. I've taken them in the morning before work, at lunch, in the evening, at 3 am. They end up being pretty much the same all the time.

Langston · Post by **Langston** » Tue Jan 04, 2005 8:27 am

What exactly do you mean that they're the "same" each time?

Tikker · Post by **Tikker** » Tue Jan 04, 2005 8:49 am

I don't understand why you refuse to believe that 2/3 of all WoW characters are on the Alliance side of things

The Kizzy · Post by **The Kizzy** » Tue Jan 04, 2005 8:57 am

Ugzugz, what makes the census' credible is the fact that many different people run them. Just think for every Horde player that runs it 3 times a day, there are 3 Alliance players running it 3 timies a day. How can that not be accurate? Or at least close.

Post by **Lyion** » Tue Jan 04, 2005 9:17 am

Completely off topic question, but how does one gather statistics? Aren't the /who commands truncated?

Given WOWs interface, if things are not truncated, it seems any census program could be somewhat accurate, although given playtimes and other variables it wouldn't be perfect.

Langston · Post by **Langston** » Tue Jan 04, 2005 9:20 am

Because, Kizzy, at least on my server, that's not the case.

Before I ran the census tool, my server had NO stats on the site.

When I get done with an upload, the numbers on the website match those on my client within 10%. That means that I, personally, am uploading 90% of the data.

So, there is NOT some ephemeral "3 Alliance players" running it. I am running it. I am gathering the data... and I'm telling you that I know my data is not 100% accurate.

How is this so fucking difficult to understand?

Why do you think there are automatically 3 Alliance people running it? Just because Taxx does?

Now back to my previous question to Taxx:

Ugzugz wrote:What exactly do you mean that they're the "same" each time?

Langston · Post by **Langston** » Tue Jan 04, 2005 9:23 am

Let me illustrate:

About a week ago someone in my guild was talking about how on our server Horde outnumbers Alliance. I told him he was wrong. He told me *I* was wrong - because WoWCensus said he was right.

I logged off, went to my Alliance character and ran a new census. I uploaded the results (1047 new characters)... then told the guy to check the site again.

He was now wrong because WoW Census said he was wrong. He didn't reply to me.

Fact of the matter is that I shouldn't be able to login at some arbitrary time, take a census of the Alliance and find 1047 new characters (which, btw, increased the total Alliance count on the website by 800 - so only 247 had ever been reported by anyone else... where are those 3 Alliance census takers? Slack bastards...).

The data is NOT accurate... stop pretending that it is. I'm not arguing that there aren't more Alliance people overall... I'm quite sure there is. But to quote WoWCensus as an authoritative resources is just plain fucking laughable.

Tacks · Post by **Tacks** » Tue Jan 04, 2005 9:26 am

What I mean is my numbers are close to the same each day when I run a census. There are no glaring descrepencies between what the website tells me and what my census tells me. If it's 3 AM and 38% of the players are Horde the next day it might be 39%. What I'm saying is that as long as I've run the program it has never had HUGE differences from what I'm seeing. There are many more people using the program than what you think there are. There's 4 that I know of just in our guild running it.

Lyion wrote:Completely off topic question, but how does one gather statistics? Aren't the /who commands truncated?

Given WOWs interface, if things are not truncated, it seems any census program could be somewhat accurate, although given playtimes and other variables it wouldn't be perfect.

It is programmed to, for example, do a /who 1-10. If more than 49 (max) show up then it does /who 1-5. It will search the whole way down to /who 1 Tauren if it has to. The only way the program can be "broken" and "inaccurate" is that if there happens to be more than 49 of the same race of the same class of the same level online at one time.

Langston · Post by **Langston** » Tue Jan 04, 2005 9:28 am

Taxx - do you purge your data before each run?

Otherwise, OF COURSE IT'S THE SAME... you're looking at the agregate data of all of your census runs.

Tacks · Post by **Tacks** » Tue Jan 04, 2005 9:30 am

Do you think I'm stupid?

The Kizzy · Post by **The Kizzy** » Tue Jan 04, 2005 9:30 am

Well, maybe that is so on your server, Ugzugz, but on our server both sides run the census. So maybe on your server the numbers are off by a great deal, but on our server they are very close.

Langston · Post by **Langston** » Tue Jan 04, 2005 9:31 am

Taxx wrote:Do you think I'm stupid?

I didn't used to.

Tacks · Post by **Tacks** » Tue Jan 04, 2005 9:37 am

Ok.

I walked across the street today and saw 4 parked cars.

10 minutes later Kizzy and Minida (good, evil!) walk across the street and both see 4 parked cars.

An hour later I walk by and see 4 parked cars.

I don't then go and tell Kizzy that I saw 1 parked car.

Every night at 5PM I walk by and see 1 parked car.

Every night at 5PM Kizzy and Mindia see 1 parked car.

We don't tell each other that we saw 4 parked cars.

Post by **Lyion** » Tue Jan 04, 2005 9:39 am

Except you missed the cars in the garages, the ones at work, and the ones driving on vacation. I think that's the whole point, it's not verifiable or accurate.

Tacks · Post by **Tacks** » Tue Jan 04, 2005 9:43 am

Right! But we know a lot of other people cross that street everyday at different times, even the ones who are parked in the garage eventually.

Menlaan · Post by **Menlaan** » Tue Jan 04, 2005 9:52 am

Ugzugz wrote:When I get done with an upload, the numbers on the website match those on my client within 10%. That means that I, personally, am uploading 90% of the data.

Does it mean you're uploading 90% of the data or that other samplers are uploading data that are close to the data you're uploading?

As a side-point, I think they're really misusing the term "census". A census means that they are including every character from the entire population of each server. A sample that is not of the entire population is not a census.

Menlaan

Langston · Post by **Langston** » Tue Jan 04, 2005 9:52 am

Taxx... listen... please.

If you have a very accurate reporting on your server due to a large number of people taking a large number of census reports... great. Your server data might be more accurate - but it is still NOT accurate.

On my server, the data is DEFINITELY not accurate.

If you're quoting realms-wide data saying "horde is outnumbered 3 to 1 by Alliance".. that is not an accurate assertion because at least the data from my server, and likely many many others, is NOT correct and those numbers are rolled up into what you're quoting.

It's really not that difficult of a concept to comprehend....

Tacks · Post by **Tacks** » Tue Jan 04, 2005 9:57 am

What I'm saying is this:

If I log on right now and look who is online on Horde, then do the exact same for Alliance it is going to be what I expect it to be.

The Kizzy · Post by **The Kizzy** » Tue Jan 04, 2005 10:21 am

wait who is the good and who is the evil in your equation?