From mboxrd@z Thu Jan 1 00:00:00 1970 Path: main.gmane.org!not-for-mail From: Joe Corneli Newsgroups: gmane.emacs.help Subject: Re: How Many Emacs Users? Date: Sat, 21 Feb 2004 21:25:53 -0600 Sender: help-gnu-emacs-bounces+geh-help-gnu-emacs=m.gmane.org@gnu.org Message-ID: References: <200402220103.i1M13Q105362@dell3.ma.utexas.edu> NNTP-Posting-Host: deer.gmane.org X-Trace: sea.gmane.org 1077420490 10034 80.91.224.253 (22 Feb 2004 03:28:10 GMT) X-Complaints-To: usenet@sea.gmane.org NNTP-Posting-Date: Sun, 22 Feb 2004 03:28:10 +0000 (UTC) Original-X-From: help-gnu-emacs-bounces+geh-help-gnu-emacs=m.gmane.org@gnu.org Sun Feb 22 04:28:02 2004 Return-path: Original-Received: from monty-python.gnu.org ([199.232.76.173]) by deer.gmane.org with esmtp (Exim 3.35 #1 (Debian)) id 1AukHh-0002ku-00 for ; Sun, 22 Feb 2004 04:28:02 +0100 Original-Received: from localhost ([127.0.0.1] helo=monty-python.gnu.org) by monty-python.gnu.org with esmtp (Exim 4.30) id 1AukGd-0004CH-9Z for geh-help-gnu-emacs@m.gmane.org; Sat, 21 Feb 2004 22:26:55 -0500 Original-Received: from list by monty-python.gnu.org with tmda-scanned (Exim 4.30) id 1AukGD-0004C0-6k for help-gnu-emacs@gnu.org; Sat, 21 Feb 2004 22:26:29 -0500 Original-Received: from mail by monty-python.gnu.org with spam-scanned (Exim 4.30) id 1AukFh-0003vK-0b for help-gnu-emacs@gnu.org; Sat, 21 Feb 2004 22:26:28 -0500 Original-Received: from [146.6.139.124] (helo=dell3.ma.utexas.edu) by monty-python.gnu.org with esmtp (Exim 4.30) id 1AukFg-0003uw-Jm for help-gnu-emacs@gnu.org; Sat, 21 Feb 2004 22:25:56 -0500 Original-Received: from linux183.ma.utexas.edu (mail@linux183.ma.utexas.edu [146.6.139.172]) by dell3.ma.utexas.edu (8.11.0.Beta3/8.10.2) with ESMTP id i1M3Pr113799; Sat, 21 Feb 2004 21:25:53 -0600 Original-Received: from jcorneli by linux183.ma.utexas.edu with local (Exim 3.36 #1 (Debian)) id 1AukFd-0003XG-00; Sat, 21 Feb 2004 21:25:53 -0600 Original-To: help-gnu-emacs@gnu.org X-all-your-base-are-belong-to-us: You are on the way to destruction. X-BeenThere: help-gnu-emacs@gnu.org X-Mailman-Version: 2.1.2 Precedence: list List-Id: Users list for the GNU Emacs text editor List-Unsubscribe: , List-Archive: List-Post: List-Help: List-Subscribe: , Errors-To: help-gnu-emacs-bounces+geh-help-gnu-emacs=m.gmane.org@gnu.org Xref: main.gmane.org gmane.emacs.help:17063 X-Report-Spam: http://spam.gmane.org/gmane.emacs.help:17063 Answer: One million, four hundred and fourty three thousand, three hundred and thirty three. Demonstration. 4,330,000 = magnitude of google(emacs). 1. Assume that each page has exactly one author. 2. Note that the pages need not be authored by distinct individuals. 3. Also, not every page will have been authored by an emacs user. 4. However, not every emacs user will have authored a web page that talks about emacs. Weight (3) and (4). Assume that half of the pages were written by non-Emacs users. Furthermore, assume that for every 3 non-users who wrote a webpage, there will be 1 user who didn't write a webpage. Weight (2). Assume every person who has written a webpage has actually written 2 webpages on average. Weight (1). This is too complicated to deal with properly, so the assumption stands. By (2) we have (/ 4330000 2) = 2165000 = number of distinct authors. By (3) we have (/ 2165000 2) = 1082500 = number of pages written by emacs users (or nonusers). By (4) we have (/ 1082500 3) = 360833 = number of emacs users who didn't write pages. Answer is (+ 1082500 360833) = 1443333 Scholium. If you don't like this number, you can adjust the weights according to your own personal value system. I actually think it is likely to overestimate by a factor of about 2.5 to 3 (mostly because of underweighting assumption 3). Numerology aside, my personal view is that the figure should be between half a million and a million.