OOTS Strips by Final Post Count (update 3-9-2012)

[B. Dandelion]

Link to 842 is currently broken (directs to 843 instead)

Thank you, that should be fixed now.

[Squirrel_Token]

Thank you, that should be fixed now.

Wow, you're fast!

Thanks for all the work you put into this!

[Mr. Pants]

841's the most popular strip? Then again it is the latest one...

[Gift Jeraff]

841's the most popular strip? Then again it is the latest one...

What? There's been 4 strips since #841, and I know you know that since you've commented on those threads.

[MyNameIsSecret]

841's the most popular strip? Then again it is the latest one...

Not the most popular, just the most discussed. There's a difference. 841 contains the revelation of the dead Draketooths and there was much discussion over what caused it. When Xykon killed the Sapphire Guard, there was a lot of discussion on that because a number people thought it was unfunny, anti-cilamtic and sickening (or so I assume from reading the thread). The most discussed threads are usually big cliff-hangers, unexpected discoveries or are just plain controversial, and not technically the most popular. Though popular ones do tend to gain a lot of discussion.

[B. Dandelion]

So strip #857 has been up for almost two weeks and is now threatening to crack it into the top 25. Seems unfair. I've started keeping track of the number of posts every thread got within 24 hours of the posting date. Using that data, we've got a similar but notably different Top 25 (which would put the current strip at the decidedly mediocre rank of 167th most popular). I noted the changes between this list and the original Top 25 so we can see which strips benefited and lost from using a different measurement.

TOP 25 STRIPS MEASURED IN FIRST 24 HOURS

#25
0758 - Spins of the Father (402 posts) New Entry (Rank change: +16)
(Tarquin is a bad bad man... Tarquin's got the master plan...)

#24
0386 - Not How She Pictured It, Certainly (410 posts) New Entry (Rank change: +10)
(Nale-as-Elan's date with Haley officially goes off the rails.)

#23
0611 - None Left Standing (415 posts) New Entry (Rank change: +5)
(In Greysky City, The Sexy Shoeless God of War makes his triumphant return!)

#22
0759 - Yes, Apparently (416 posts) New Entry (Rank change: +22)
(Elan finally realizes the kind of man his father truly is.)

#21
0658 - A Bird in Hand (426 posts) (Rank change: -4)
(After a long absence, Vaarsuvius' companion Blackwing returns to help dispose of Xykon's phylactery.)

#20
0659 - Flight of the Phylactery (445 posts) New Entry (Rank change: +18)
(Blackwing rushes off with the phylactery... with one special spell still embedded...)

#19
0409 - Intercession (454 posts) (Rank change: 0)
(Hinjo attempts to reason with newly-Fallen Miko.)

#18
0655 - With a Critical Eye (455 posts) (Rank change: +2)
(O-Chul puts out Redcloak's eye.)

#17
0449 - Land of the Rising... (466 posts) New Entry (rank change: +15)
(As it turns out, the Paladins of the throne room are not undone by Xykon's brutal massacre.)

#16
0462 - Good Idea, Bad Idea (468 posts) New Entry (Rank change: +23)
(Just as Soon turns the tables on Xykon, Miko destroy's Azure City's Gate.)

#15
0285 - A Moment of Truth (472 posts) (Rank change: +3)
(The Order forestall Miko from killing Belkar, thus earning her eternal enmity)

#14
0496 - Responsible (479 posts) (Rank change: +11)
(Roy is reunited with the younger brother he tragically lost.)

#13
0843 - Lack of Foresight (499 posts) (Rank change: +2)
(Vaarsuvius' grief leads him/her right into a booby trap.)

#12
0661 - The Path of Least Expectation (511 posts) (Rank change: +10)
(The MitD warps O-Chul and Vaarsuvius to safety, enraging Xykon)

#11
0407 - Fading (542 posts) (Rank change: +2)
(Miko is stripped of her Paladin powers by the 12 Gods.)

#10
0443 - The First Step is a Doozy (550 posts) (Rank change: +5)
(On the infinite canvas, Roy falls to his death.)

# 9
0464 - Not for Everyone (603 posts) (Rank change: 0)
(Redemption is a rare and special thing, and so Miko dies without achieving it.)

# 8
0830 - Tidying Up (606 posts) (Rank change: 0)
(Redcloak kills Tsukiko.)

# 7
0842 - All in the Family (649 posts) (Rank change: -2)
(The mural on the wall reveals a Draketooth ancestor was a black dragon... meaning Vaarsuvius was their killer.)

# 6
0707 - That's Probably Why There Are, Like, 17 Types (658 posts) (Rank change: +5)
(The Peregrine commander coldly executes a prisoner because "the only good goblins are dead goblins".)

# 5
0408 - Fallsville, Population: 1 (699 posts) (Rank change: +1)
(Roy vs. Miko in the immediate aftermath of her Fall.)

# 4
0595 - Trial of the Century (714 posts) (Rank change: 0)
(Vaarsuvius dispassionately executes Kubota.)

# 3
0406 - A Moment of Truth (769 posts) (Rank change: 0)
(Leaping to conclusions, Miko executes Shojo.)

# 2
0448 - Just Crazy Enough to Work (873 posts (Rank change: 0)
(Xykon executes the Sapphire Guard.)

# 1
0841 - Lunchtime (886 posts) (Rank change: 0)
(The Order, looking for the Draketooth guardians, find a mess hall full of their corpses.)

Dropped from list:
652: No Respect for the Wicked (Rank change: -29)
629: One Chance (Rank change: -19)
316: The Moment of Truth (Rank change: -39)
695: Paranoia Will Destroy Ya (rank change: -13)
284: Shattered Expectations (rank change: -35)
270: Dueling Egos (rank change -51)
639: If They Pull a Knife... (rank change: -19)

[B. Dandelion]

All right, we have an update to the main page. 857 - The Pit of Despair charts at number 23 for most discussed.

Since I know some of you must be curious, no, 858 is NOT the strip we've waited for the longest... it's the third most awaited. 794 - We Recommend Tsukiko and 672 - A Familiar Conclusion, which was a scheduled break, were both up longer than 857.

[B. Dandelion]

'Nother main page update.

With 635 posts, 860 - Wasn't Going to Listen to Orders Anyway is charting at #22 on the all-time list. Like 857 - The Pit of Despair, length of time posted is probably working in its favor, since it only ranks at #82 on the 24-hour-chart.

This bumps the former #25, 652 - No Respect for the Wicked, off the all-time chart.

[B. Dandelion]

I did a top ten for 2012 -- which kinda got knocked out in that final quarter due to the Giant's unfortunate injury, yeah, but as far as popular strips went, 2012 was still a good year.

TOP TEN OF 2012 (#824-#864)
#10: 0845 - The Last Laugh (512 posts)
(Via Speak With Dead, Roy questions one of the Draketooth corpses as to the location of Girard's rift.) (1 page)

# 9: 0826 - Minimal Resistance (530 posts)
(Redcloak curbstomps the Resistance, reveals he's gotten to level 17, and his spy retrieves the phylactery.) (1 page)

# 8: 0859 - Smoked (539 posts)
(The Linear Guild flail around in the smoke after step one of the Order's ambush. Step two begins when Durkon comes out of hiding...) (1 page)

# 7: 0850 - not-thog (554 posts)
(Tarquin leaps down to attack the Order, disguising himself as Thog and clearly enjoying the challenge.) (1 page)

# 6: 0857 - The Pit of Despair (619 posts)
(Wracked with guilt over the unintended consequences of Familicide, Vaarsuvius is in the pits both literally and metaphorically, while Blackwing tries to talk some sense into him/her.) (1 page)

# 5: 0860 - Wasn't Going to Listen to Orders Anyway (636 posts)
(The Linear Guild is in total disarray after Holy Word. The spell deafened Belkar too, but that actually works to the Order's advantage.) (1 page)

# 4: 0843 - Lack of Foresight (698 posts)
(Vaarsuvius spells out exactly how extensive the ramifications of Familicide were, and while feeling bad about not thinking that out well falls headlong into a trap.) (2 pages)

# 3: 0830 - Tidying Up (854 posts)
(Redcloak spells out the real motive of the Plan and his decades-long deception of Xykon, while cold-bloodedly murdering Tsukiko.) (3 pages)

# 2: 0842 - All in the Family (904 posts)
(Vaarsuvius finds the Draketooth family mural, which spells out that they were descended from a black dragon and thus all likely taken out by Vaarsuvius' casting of Familicide.) (2 pages)

# 1: 0841 - Lunchtime (1447 posts)
(The Order finds the Draketooth clan, or rather a room full of Draketooth corpses who've clearly been dead for weeks.) (1.75 pages)

[B. Dandelion]

We're gonna have a new champion in a few hours if "Death in the Family"'s posting rate keeps up.

"Lunchtime" had 886 posts in 24 hours. "Death in the Family" is up to 400 in 6.5.

[LadyEowyn]

Well, this one's already made it into the top 25.

[LadyEowyn]

Strip #870 is now in the top three of all time.

Can we get a sticky on this thread to keep it at the top of the page? It would be handy for keeping track of it - since there aren't generally posts on it it tends to disappear. A sticky on the post that keeps a list of links to the discussions of each strip would also be nice.

[B. Dandelion]

Strip #870 is now in the top three of all time.

Can we get a sticky on this thread to keep it at the top of the page? It would be handy for keeping track of it - since there aren't generally posts on it it tends to disappear. A sticky on the post that keeps a list of links to the discussions of each strip would also be nice.

Gotta say, I feel flattered somebody'd want a sticky for my thread here, I was kinda thinking everybody'd lost interest entirely.

I really agree about sticky-ing Lira's index to the discussion pages too, especially since that thread contributed to the ease of making this one. It doesn't seem like we get stickies for fan-run threads though? ThePhantasm's Index of the Giant's comments is another one that that's super-useful and could do with a sticky. Me, I love my crazy spreadsheet but I have to admit it seems less essential then those two, it's fun but a little more on the trivia side. If you were sticky-ing all the fun fandom threads like this one, we'd probably have a front page full of stickies.

You can use bookmarks, and/or set email notifications to when threads get replies. When strips chart here, I usually update pretty quickly.

...Oh hey, looks like 870's pulled into a tie for the #2 spot. C'mon guys, you can do it!

[B. Dandelion]

Y'all tried, but 870 didn't quite -- and it was a squeaker -- make it to #1. Though really, "Lunchtime" really did turn out to be the product of Familicide, whereas "Death in the Family" was a red herring, so in retrospect isn't that the preferable outcome? Though if people would like to keep replying to the post after my update now, it can still make it to #1, it is indeed that close. Of course for obvious reasons I'd ask you not to do that.

By 24-hour count, "Death in the Family" scores at #8 rather than #2, suggesting it was a greater beneficiary of having been a week on the front page than the strips that scored above it, which racked up higher numbers sooner. By the way, enjoy that being a new index on the front page.

[Mike Havran]

In that 24-hour count, is the note for #13 correct? Strip 661 says nothing about Belkar ot his prophecy.

[B. Dandelion]

In that 24-hour count, is the note for #13 correct? Strip 661 says nothing about Belkar ot his prophecy.

Uh, no. No it doesn't. And no it's not. ::facepalm::

Thank you. (edits)

[B. Dandelion]

As 0871 - Just a Couple of Blooddrinkers only had a single day to rack up posts as the most recent strip under discussion, it's unlikely to crack it into the 25 of all time because ongoing discussions usually route themselves into the newest thread.

But wouldn't you know it, it charts #23 on the 25-in-24 list, which is nice. 1-day strips are something everyone actually loves because they're the product of a rapid update schedule, but they do tend to wind up getting a bit penalized in overall post count.

[B. Dandelion]

Another one-day strip (whoo, Kickstarter rewards week?!) and another charter to the 25-in-24. 0872 - Concession Stand charts at a very respectable #11, just beating out Roy's death (and coming just short of Miko's).

We knocked the old #25, 0611 - None Left Standing off the 24-hour chart. (Previous comic killed off 0386 - Not How She Pictured It, Certainly.)

One of these days I may do the 25-in-24 chart for the individual books and maybe years, although probably not this week.

[B. Dandelion]

0873 - Spell Check, with 531 posts in 24 hours, charts on the 24-hour chart at #14.

This bumps the old #25, 0759 - Yes, Apparently, off the 25-in-24 chart.

Incidentally it also bumps another in this 1-day-posting streak (specfically, 0871 - Just a Couple of Blooddrinkers) to #25, so if another in the sequence charts (as 875 is already guaranteed to do, so really that's not an "if,") they'll start cannibalizing themselves! But note that 0874 - Allies like This, does not chart on either list, and not for having been locked prematurely when it comes to the 24-hour count.

Nonetheless "Allies like This" did garner a pretty respectable amount of posts within 24 hours without quite reaching the heights of the chart. On an extended chart we'd see it rank at #37 out of all the strips whose totals I keep. So it seems safe to say we're seeing a lot of increased rapid posting as a result of the rapid update schedule.

[LadyEowyn]

It's interesting to see which characters provoke the most discussion. Of the top ten strips for total post count, 8 deal primarily with either Miko or Vaarsuvius, and so do a lot of the others in the top 25.

[Porthos]

I suspect we might have a new contender for Most in 24 hours.

Nearly 400 posts in just under two hours so far.

[Gift Jeraff]

In top 25 total, it skips from #14 to #12. Perhaps you meant to skip from #16 to #14, due to the tie?

[Procyonpi]

I suspect we might have a new contender for Most in 24 hours.

Nearly 400 posts in just under two hours so far.

Considering it's already darn close to number 3...

[B. Dandelion]

In top 25 total, it skips from #14 to #12. Perhaps you meant to skip from #16 to #14, due to the tie?

Yes, that's it exactly.

Sorry I keep making mistakes. I just went through that list and tried to make sure there weren't any more, but I missed that numbering error. Thanks for pointing them out so I can correct them.

[B. Dandelion]

In any case, on the 24-hour chart:

0875 - Calm, Orderly, and Efficient racked it up to #15,

while 0876 - Ensnared shot all the way up to #5.

(Kicking 0871 - Just a Couple of Blooddrinkers and 0658 - A Bird in Hand off the chart.)

We are looking at our new #3 at least in 0877 - The Bright Side, but it hasn't been 24 hours just yet. Quite conceivably it is destined as the new #1.

Incidentally, Ensnared is going to chart on the all-time as well, so by extension so will The Bright Side, but people are still commenting on that thread so I can't get a total count yet.

[Mordae]

Given there's 5-ish hours left and only 7 posts to go, it's a foregone conclusion that #877 will be the new leader in the 24-hour count. The only question is, will it be eclipsed by #878?

[Procyonpi]

Well, #877 is officially the most posted in the first 24 hours, as of a few minute ago.

[Porthos]

Well, #877 is officially the most posted in the first 24 hours, as of a few minute ago.

The real question is, does it crack 1000 by the 24 hour mark?

Given that it is starting to pick up the pace a little in the last couple of hours, I'd say it is very possible.

[Procyonpi]

The real question is, does it crack 1000 by the 24 hour mark?

Given that it is starting to pick up the pace a little in the last couple of hours, I'd say it is very possible.

It depends on when Rich posts the next strip. If it keeps pace, it will make it with room to spare, but I'd imagine things will slow down quite a bit when the next strip goes up. Although Rich's current pace has been one strip every 25-30ish hours, so that might not be an issue.

[Mordae]

Looks like 1000 in 24 hours is fait accompli. If the next two strips are equally stunning/revealing, this 9-in-9-days series will have a huge chunk of the top 10.