Obsessive Statistics: Redux

[swirlythingy]

Some months ago, inspired by having recently examined two issues of the Beano very closely indeed and discovering, much to my horror, that only 16 of 32 pages were actually occupied by comics (Ratz was then absent, but later returned, making it today's 17), including the cover, I vowed to keep a very close eye on the situation and note how it developed, as well as how it had developed in the year to date. For comparison purposes, I also did something very similar for the Dandy.

My little project, which has been not-quite-religiously updated more or less once a week ever since, consisted of counting the pages in each issue of both comics which contained certain categories of content: comics, reprints, filler, adverts, and other stuff. It was quite an eye-opener, even if it did seem tedious at times, and I've found myself paying considerably closer attention to the comics as a result. I've also come to spot some of the tricks used (sometimes two pages which are nominally part of the same feature will in fact have quite different content, such as a notable two-page Gimme! Gimme! which was rigidly divided into one page of promotions and one of Beano merchandise) and some of the last-minute cover-ups which would otherwise have passed me by.

However, from an early stage, I realised my categorisation was too restrictive. There was only one catch-all non-comic category, into which a large pointless clip-art picture of a dustbin and a lovingly crafted Professor Popalop page were both dumped, and 'reprints' included accidental and last-minute reprints, distorting the true comic figures.

I forumlated vague plans for doing something about this weeks, if not months, ago, but time went by and I kept putting it off. But when I heard that the Beano was due for an October scrub-up, I realised I had the perfect opportunity to have a little bit of a revamp of my own.

Here, therefore, is Mark 2. It's more interesting (which isn't saying much) and more accurate (than a very broad brush indeed), and I hope it offers some kind of unofficial insight into the respective states of the Beano and Dandy in 2011. I've often thought that taking a really long-term view and going way back to my earliest consecutive issues of the Beano in 2005 may be even more rewarding, as well as fascinating, but it's taken quite long enough to redo ten months, so I think it can wait a while longer.

Don't forget, I'm still updating these charts every week, so keep checking back. Next stop, the Christmas specials!

The Beano Obsessive Statistics Thread

The Dandy Obsessive Statistics Thread

[Jonny Whizz]

Just thought I'd say I've been really enjoying the Obsessive Statistics threads you've been running on the Beano and Dandy forums. I think they've been very interesting to follow.

When I was little I used to try and record a list of the contents of every single page of the Beano each week, but it mainly recorded the actual comic strips. However, it existed purely as raw data tables rather than as a graph.

I was considering signing up for the Beano forum myself, but the confirmation code in the registration process shows up as a cross, which would seem to make registration impossible. Could anyone help me with this?

[swirlythingy]

Thanks for your kind comments. It's quite unusual for people to enjoy reading things I've written!

I was considering signing up for the Beano forum myself, but the confirmation code in the registration process shows up as a cross, which would seem to make registration impossible. Could anyone help me with this?

I'm sorry, but all I can offer is a more than usually unhelpful 'works for me'. The captcha (somewhat unusually) is compatible with non-Javascript browsers such as mine, and I just completed one as an experiment. I didn't have any problems. If all else fails, perhaps you could turn off Javascript in your browser and sign up using the alternative option? Otherwise, are you using a filtered Internet connection of any kind (e.g. library) which might be blocking it?

I've alerted WizzKid97 to this post in case he has any ideas.

[Digifiend]

I was considering signing up for the Beano forum myself, but the confirmation code in the registration process shows up as a cross, which would seem to make registration impossible. Could anyone help me with this?

Can you show us a screenshot? What happens if you right click on the cross and select "open image in new tab"?

[Jonny Whizz]

Unfortunately, I'm not sure how to take a screenshot of the registration screen. I tried pressing 'Print Screen', but I couldn't do anything with it.

If I right click the cross, I can select an option to refresh the confirmation code, but it continues to show as a cross. I've also tried reopening the screen in a new tab, but again this has brought no luck.

Thanks in advance for any help you can give me.

[swirlythingy]

Unfortunately, I'm not sure how to take a screenshot of the registration screen. I tried pressing 'Print Screen', but I couldn't do anything with it.

Assuming you're using Windows, it's a bit counterintuitive, at least on XP (which is the only version I have relevant recent experience of). When you press 'Print Screen', it takes a screenshot, but doesn't immediately put it anywhere - instead, it is stored in the clipboard. You can retrieve it by pressing Ctrl-V in any program which accepts images as input (MS Paint will do). From there, you can save it to disc, and thus upload it here.

Failing that, I'll create an account for you and PM you its password (on this forum). From memory, the Beano Forum doesn't insist on email confirmation, but it might require an address anyway, so if you can PM me your email I'll do that for you.

[Jonny Whizz]

Thanks for offering to do that. I'm thinking of going for the latter option, but it raises another question - is it possible to change a password or other details after you've registered? I'm wary about entering my full name and DOB, and I would want to change my password after registration to something of my own choice.

[swirlythingy]

Thanks for offering to do that. I'm thinking of going for the latter option, but it raises another question - is it possible to change a password or other details after you've registered? I'm wary about entering my full name and DOB, and I would want to change my password after registration to something of my own choice.

Yes, it's definitely possible - there's an entire section of the User Control Panel devoted to it. In Comics UK, the link to change your password and/or email address is here, and your DOB is here - the layout of the Beano Forum is identical. I don't think there is a 'full name' field anywhere. And, yes, changing your password afterwards would definitely be a good idea!

[AndyB]

A tip from work: paste your screenshots to a Word document, they're a fraction of the size you would get from an MS Paint pic. We do it all the time for raising technical problems.

[Jonny Whizz]

Aargh!

Those of you on the Beano forum may have been expecting to see more of me since I joined, however I just can't seem to type my password correctly! I have an idea of what I entered, but I fear I may have mispelled it, and as a result it's been impossible for me to access my account. I've tried on multiple computers too.

What makes it even worse is that I typed in my old e-mail address (which doesn't work now) so I can't use the 'forgot my password' option.

[swirlythingy]

Ouch!

I think admins can force a password reset, but I really have no idea how to get hold of jonnie12 these days. I've created a thread in Forum Stuff to draw attention to it, but can't guarantee anything.

Failing that, you could always do what several members here have done lately and create a new account...

[Digifiend]

After the trouble he had the first time he tried to register?

[Jonny Whizz]

Yes, it's really annoying. Thanks for flagging that up Swirly. I hope something can be done about this issue.

I suppose the alternative would be to create a new profile, but after the recent incidents with sockpuppets I really don't want to go down that route!

[Digifiend]

Harry's passing a message onto Jonathan, so you should hear about it soon, hopefully.

[swirlythingy]

Obsessive Statistics: 2012 is now live! Please update any bookmarks you may by some miracle have consciously made in the past.

Beano thread

Dandy thread