Keyboard enthusiast age structure

[bocahgundul]

2000 here

Don't trash me cause I'm still a kid pls. Still learning about keyboard

[seebart]

2000 here

Don't trash me cause I'm still a kid pls. Still learning about keyboard

Certianly not. But I can't sell you 5k either.

A total of 59 votes from 9623 total members sofar.

[fohat]

from 9623 total members

And only 3 of us are over 50?

That seems way out of character for an enthusiast forum with a significant vintage component.

[seebart]

And only 3 of us are over 50?

No I'd say this vote is not representative yet. We need more votes if this is going to say anything about our demographics.

[kbdfr]

In the first survey three years ago, 5 out of 106 voters were age 47 and more, so all of these should now be at least 50.
And among the newcomers a few older ones could compensate for the naturally given higher death rate in this category

[Scarpia]

Even if we get a sample of 500, the survey most likely won't be representative.

Forum surveys like this are subject to a significant non-response/participation bias; the question of age carries a social desirability bias on top of that; and one could argue that it will have sampling errors due to language and the potential skew between casual (consuming) members and "interacting" members.

Just saying. No matter how many responses we get, I'd wager that the average age will lie significantly higher than the results would imply.

[fohat]

for the naturally given higher death rate in this category.

Damn, better revise our wills to specify what happens to the keyboards.

[seebart]

for the naturally given higher death rate in this category.

Damn, better revise our wills to specify what happens to the keyboards.

That's a valid point. Mine are going to DT members I guess, but I need to get that worked out first. Hopefully I'l have a many more centuries to enjoy them.

[kbdfr]

My keyboards will be incinerated along with me.
I fear inhumation would entail the risk of someone disturbing my eternal rest

[clickykeyboards]

I have always been interested in web analytics and understanding who the vintage model M keyboard audience is and here is some of my anonymized group data sorted on age, country, city, language.

clickykeyboards demographics February 2016

ckb-stats.tiff (178.97 KiB) Viewed 13597 times

[seebart]

My keyboards will be incinerated along with me.
I fear inhumation would entail the risk of someone disturbing my eternal rest

Quite egoistic. Possibly even slightly "grumpy".

[webwit]

You're impatient. This is how I got one of my M15's.

[seebart]

You're impatient. This is how I got one of my M15's.

You're the "duck of death" then.

killer-duck_o_1086348.jpg (51.54 KiB) Viewed 13547 times

[emdude]

'96 here. I doubt I'll ever find a decent keyboard with my actual, full birthday, but I did manage to find an '87 1390131 with my birthday/month so I am pretty happy about that.

[keycap]

Born in the year 2000. I probably won't be able to find a (mechanical) keyboard that was manufactured on my day of birth... even if I try really hard. Oh well!

[Khers]

I was born in '86, but despite many good keyboards being made in that year, I don't have a single one. I do have multiple made in '87 and '85 though... Great. Yet another keyboard.

[stuplarosa]

Feels very strange to be the only one in my age bracket... <not saying which one>

[fohat]

Feels very strange to be the only one in my age bracket... <not saying which one>

There are 4 of us. You are not alone alone.

[Redmaus]

You're impatient. This is how I got one of my M15's.

that image oh my god

[seebart]

We also have someone that is 15 or younger, I happen to know that's not fohat.

Yeah webwit went a little hardcore there with that image. "The duck of death".

[bricomaz]

Funny. I was thinking about making such a poll 2 days ago anyway I think it will be interesting to understand what brings the younger ones into mechanical keyboards since I'm quite sure for us "differently young" (47 on next march 18th here...) nostalgia plays a significant role...or is it? I mean when I started with computers clacky keyboards were almost the *only* option.

[seebart]

Yeah bricomaz you're a tad older than me but I know what you mean. All the first computer keyboards I used were mechanical, just that no one back then gave any thought to it since that was normal and there was nothing else. Mice on the other hand were still something new to many.

[kbdfr]

Obviously someone felt very funny:

year of birth.jpg (6.56 KiB) Viewed 13437 times

Just for your information: this option was of course not included for use in ~10 years,
but as a trap you couldn't resist falling into

[Redmaus]

DT the keyboard forum for users of all ages!

Including five year olds apparently

[Scarpia]

I have always been interested in web analytics and understanding who the vintage model M keyboard audience is

Me too
I can recommend the free tool UserReport for more analytics/surveying/data mining goodness full disclosure: I am involved in its development

[elecplus]

I learned to program in binary over a 300 baud uplink to the university from our local high school in 1976. Yes, the keyboard weighed at least 10 pounds and did NOT have a backspace key It was an IBM terminal, but I don't recall which one. I guess I am one of the few over 50

[ohaimark]

Poll: how many people under 30 know what baud rate is without Googling it? Other than me, of course.

[kbdfr]

Those were the times when in order to connect to an extern computer you had to dial its phone number and squeeze your telephone handset into an acoustic coupler:

[Halvar]

Were these ever used outside of Germany (where the Bundespost wouldn't allow modems)? I always thought that at least in the US, people could connect modems to the telephone network right from the start.

[Madhias]

My father has such phone tool at home. Also I remember using mail boxes and logging in with a 14,400 baud modem, and also a great 56k modem, downloading shareware!