C. VIDIMUSDOMINUM.ORG SITE "STATEMENT OF ACCOUNTS"

9.Communication results

What do Internet site statistics mean?

Page and Server

An Internet site is a collection of documents (pages) located on a computer (server) connected to Internet.
When you consult an Internet site, your own computer asks the server for the pages as and when you look at them.
The server has a program which registers all the requests for pages. As it does this, the server memorizes the identification number of the computer asking for the pages (IP) and the time when the request is made.

Users and Hits

Using the data registered by the server, it is possible, with an appropriate program, to trace the origin of the request (continent, country) and carry out various types of statistical analysis. The most important statistics are the number of hits (times access is made) and the number of users: the number of hits is the total number of pages requested.
The number of users is the number of different users who have read one or more pages in the site. For example, if a user reads 10 different pages, and reads one page twice, the total will be one user and 11 hits.
Thanks to the site statistics it is possible to check the real success of the site itself and analyze reader behavior in detail.

The Vidimusdominum Statistics

We began registering hits on the Vidimusdominum server on 16 September 97.

We made a statistical analysis of the period 16 September - 27 November 97, subdivided in turn into two shorter periods: from 16 September to the end of the Congress and from the end of the Congress to 27 November. Here is a summary of the most significant results:

Statistics for the whole period (16 September - 27 November)

Number of users + hits

The most significant data are without doubt the number of hits and the number of users.
The number of Vidimusdominum users is very high: 10,577, and is very positive considering that it refers to only 65 days.
The number of hits is extremely high: 407,180. As mentioned, it is less significant, but it must be taken into consideration because the majority of Internet sites, for publicity reasons, declare the number of hits and not the number of users. Vidimusdominum falls into the group of most-used sites.

Distribution

The distribution of hits over the period shows a great increase during the Congress, followed by a gradual reduction from the end of the Congress onward. Such behavior is typical in Internet when no important updates are offered by the site.

Geographical distribution of users provides useful information. Over 27% were in the USA, 33% from other countries, and 39% from countries not recognized by the statistical program (many of them developing countries).

Of prime significance is the fact that almost 40% of users come from countries other than the richest nations; the fact that a great numbers of users are from the USA is also interesting.

The geographical distribution of users generally shows that they are fairly widespread.
Access on different days of the week is equally distributed, indicating that users visited the site regularly.
Access by time of day is also fairly uniform, which ties in with the geographical distribution, confirming that users are scattered all over the world.
Other statistics are available which allow for more detailed analysis. However, those reported above provide an adequate picture.

Statistics from 16 September to 9 October

The data reflect what has been said about statistics for the whole period.

It is remarkable that most users visited the site during this period (18 days), although the remainder of the period (47 days) is much longer.
It is also noticeable that after 4 October, the day when updates ceased, the number of users declined rapidly.

Statistics from 10 October to 27 November

The period in question is the period after the end of the Congress. The progress of hits lacks dynamics and gives evidence of far fewer operations than those in the period before and during the Congress itself.

The other factors remain similar to those set out above.

Users’ opinions

The opinions of the users can be seen in the messages they sent directly to the participation sections of the site or to the General Secretariat of the Congress. They are full of praise and enthusiasm. However, a careful analysis would not go amiss. I haven’t made one. But without such an analysis it would not be right to present the users’ opinions (more independent and spontaneous) alongside the statistical data (numerical, precise, cold).