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What is the average age group of posters on this forum? (Original Post) Kajun Gal Jan 2018 OP
Sometimes 50; sometimes 12. nt Atticus Jan 2018 #1
Sometimes its 12 even when we're all 50. marble falls Jan 2018 #11
34-41.5. nt LexVegas Jan 2018 #2
Average in age, better than average in wisdom GusBob Jan 2018 #3
collecting data now? Skittles Jan 2018 #4
OK. Now I understand. Young enough to care but not old enough to know history. Kajun Gal Jan 2018 #5
you are replying to yourself Skittles Jan 2018 #12
Wow, after only 4 posts you've got the demographic down.. mountain grammy Jan 2018 #64
Right? So stealthy! No one will ever guess the intent! Squinch Jan 2018 #75
This message was self-deleted by its author Skittles Jan 2018 #88
This would be best done in a poll. smirkymonkey Jan 2018 #6
Not a test. Not a poll. Simple question, little grasshopper. Kajun Gal Jan 2018 #16
Gotta love it when newbs who have been members less than 6 months... A HERETIC I AM Jan 2018 #24
that one is quite the trolling peach Skittles Jan 2018 #33
Then simple answer: not enough data available to non-mods. moriah Jan 2018 #54
That would spoil the fun. yardwork Jan 2018 #42
Four hundred and ninety seven. Why do you ask? hunter Jan 2018 #7
Someone as old as I am! thbobby Jan 2018 #9
16 years older than when I first showed up here... Hekate Jan 2018 #8
I think it's an interesting question for Friday night in The Lounge.... Upthevibe Jan 2018 #10
Me too, soon to be sixty-one. Laffy Kat Jan 2018 #14
Sixty one, white female Freddie Jan 2018 #34
Lol 61 too :) marlakay Jan 2018 #95
Nah, heading out. Friday night, ya know! Y'all talk away! Kajun Gal Jan 2018 #18
You depart and tell us to "talk away" mokawanis Jan 2018 #72
Lots of youngsters in their 60s on the forum. Binkie The Clown Jan 2018 #29
So am I, Binkie. It's a good age to be. Glorfindel Jan 2018 #89
25 or 624 Grassy Knoll Jan 2018 #13
Not sure of average ornotna Jan 2018 #15
Well That Surely Should Be Take-in For At Least A High Honor.. Grassy Knoll Jan 2018 #17
My brother just got me a poster from the Ambassador Theater in Washington, DC, 1967 DFW Jan 2018 #31
You opened for Canned Heat in '67? How cool is that? panader0 Jan 2018 #38
And for the Youngbloods the week after DFW Jan 2018 #40
Very cool ornotna Jan 2018 #47
At the time, we were considered a little odd DFW Jan 2018 #48
Don't leave me hangin'---What book? panader0 Jan 2018 #49
It was called "A Clockwork Orange" DFW Jan 2018 #50
Thank you. Nice memories and poster! mia Jan 2018 #71
That's "OUR" poster! DFW Jan 2018 #73
What a good time that must have been! mia Jan 2018 #81
I took a brief look. I will definitely get back to that page! DFW Jan 2018 #83
Enjoyed the satire! mia Jan 2018 #92
It was my baby. DFW Jan 2018 #93
LOVE Canned Heat..they openned for MeatLoaf at the Columbia River.. samnsara Jan 2018 #80
All of this was a million years ago. DFW Jan 2018 #90
I loved them, too. Saw them at a concert in Chattanooga in (I think) 1969 Glorfindel Jan 2018 #91
Awesome! MineralMan Jan 2018 #58
Those were the days, eh? DFW Jan 2018 #60
Yes. Half a century ago. MineralMan Jan 2018 #61
In the summer of 1968, I was the only band member left in the DC area DFW Jan 2018 #68
Iam jealous, DFW. What I would of given to see that show............... Old Vet Jan 2018 #82
It was thrill to be a part of it DFW Jan 2018 #87
My guess, based on what I've seen, is 55-65 (n/t) Spider Jerusalem Jan 2018 #19
I'd say you're about right True Dough Jan 2018 #22
Sounds about right crazycatlady Jan 2018 #45
Id guess baby boomers captain queeg Jan 2018 #20
around 60 based on polls throughout the years JI7 Jan 2018 #21
Why? cwydro Jan 2018 #23
Yes. My first thought was, "Is this a set up so you can insult us some more?" Squinch Jan 2018 #39
Yes indeed. cwydro Jan 2018 #74
Message auto-removed Name removed Jan 2018 #25
In human years, animal years, or A-Schwarzenegger Jan 2018 #26
And there are Aspie years also. Don't leave us out.. LiberalArkie Jan 2018 #55
... A-Schwarzenegger Jan 2018 #94
I suspect it is a lot older than most of us realize. PoindexterOglethorpe Jan 2018 #27
I started here when Dean was running. Binkie The Clown Jan 2018 #30
I'm in my 30's and based on references and remembrances, most of DU my parents' age Amishman Jan 2018 #37
Hello fellow 30 something crazycatlady Jan 2018 #46
A good clue might be the songs posted in the Lounge. moriah Jan 2018 #56
... FirstLight Jan 2018 #28
The place has evolved, practically gone through a few incarnations DFW Jan 2018 #32
I was wondering why my trilobites stopped moving... A HERETIC I AM Jan 2018 #35
I vaguely remember the last one DFW Jan 2018 #36
Older then dirt, but younger then the big bang. kydo Jan 2018 #41
Old enough to know Cajun isn't spelled with a k. bluedigger Jan 2018 #43
We did a survey/poll a few years back. aikoaiko Jan 2018 #44
If you average my age since I started posting here Cary Jan 2018 #51
Like Trumps wealth gibraltar72 Jan 2018 #52
Old. nt raccoon Jan 2018 #53
There have been several age polls on DU. MineralMan Jan 2018 #57
A lot of people saying they are 70 treestar Jan 2018 #59
We're a forum of geezers lillypaddle Jan 2018 #62
How old are you? Enquiring minds want to know. Tipperary Jan 2018 #63
Around 60 MFM008 Jan 2018 #65
75% of internet statistics are made up on the spot... Wounded Bear Jan 2018 #66
Probably roughly similar to the average age Codeine Jan 2018 #67
I'm 83 next week. Anyone older? I'd guess most of you are 50s, 60s. Thirties Child Jan 2018 #69
This message was self-deleted by its author mokawanis Jan 2018 #70
I'm in my 30s. That's all I know. IluvPitties Jan 2018 #76
I just turned 41. dewsgirl Jan 2018 #77
I was 41 once DFW Jan 2018 #84
Not young. Too progressive and hungry rainy Jan 2018 #78
My standard response/euphemism Golden Raisin Jan 2018 #79
Between 0 and 1200... pbmus Jan 2018 #85
We're all in junior high school. blogslut Jan 2018 #86
Do a poll left-of-center2012 Jan 2018 #96
Everyone on DU is now in the Age of Trump. eom Raine1967 Jan 2018 #97

Response to Squinch (Reply #75)

A HERETIC I AM

(24,320 posts)
24. Gotta love it when newbs who have been members less than 6 months...
Sat Jan 27, 2018, 02:37 AM
Jan 2018

Use a condescending term toward someone who has been here almost 15 years

moriah

(8,311 posts)
54. Then simple answer: not enough data available to non-mods.
Sat Jan 27, 2018, 11:21 AM
Jan 2018

Ask your "simple question" in "Ask The Administrators", and they may answer.

And welcome to DU!

Upthevibe

(7,879 posts)
10. I think it's an interesting question for Friday night in The Lounge....
Sat Jan 27, 2018, 12:22 AM
Jan 2018

If I had to guess....I'd say 45 1/2 years old...... I'm a 60 year old Caucasian Female....

mokawanis

(4,434 posts)
72. You depart and tell us to "talk away"
Sat Jan 27, 2018, 01:50 PM
Jan 2018

Why did you ask the question if you weren't planning to be part of the discussion?

Binkie The Clown

(7,911 posts)
29. Lots of youngsters in their 60s on the forum.
Sat Jan 27, 2018, 04:50 AM
Jan 2018

I can hardly remember what it was like to be that young!

72 here.

Glorfindel

(9,706 posts)
89. So am I, Binkie. It's a good age to be.
Sat Jan 27, 2018, 04:21 PM
Jan 2018

I was born a few days after WWII ended but before 1946 began, so I'm not a "boomer."

ornotna

(10,763 posts)
15. Not sure of average
Sat Jan 27, 2018, 12:32 AM
Jan 2018

But my oldest poster is a "Phi Zappa Krappa" from 1970. It ain't a van Gogh but it's pretty cool.

DFW

(54,050 posts)
31. My brother just got me a poster from the Ambassador Theater in Washington, DC, 1967
Sat Jan 27, 2018, 06:18 AM
Jan 2018

It was announcing Canned Heat for the upcoming weekend and the Youngbloods for the week after, warm-up band "To Be Announced."

That "To Be Announced" was me and my band!

DFW

(54,050 posts)
40. And for the Youngbloods the week after
Sat Jan 27, 2018, 10:07 AM
Jan 2018

Canned Heat were mostly stoned, but their bassist, Larry Taylor, offered me some helpful tips. Of the Youngbloods, Joe Bauer and Banana were kind of nasty, Perry Miller ("Jesse Colin Young" ) wasn't very communicative at all, and Jerry Corbitt was just the nicest guy you could want to meet.

I had to hide out in the dressing room, or was ushered out into the audience, as I was underage, and not eligible to be in the musicians' union.

[URL=.html][IMG][/IMG][/URL]

DFW

(54,050 posts)
48. At the time, we were considered a little odd
Sat Jan 27, 2018, 10:41 AM
Jan 2018

Most of the local bands in the DC area wanted to be The Little Rascals, and we were playing stuff by the Doors and the Grateful Dead. Very weird by local standards. We were lucky to get the chance to play at the Ambassador and open for these guys. To give you an idea, we missed opening for Jimi Hendrix, who had played that venue a few weeks before, and his first night, there were 40 people. By the third and last night, the place was packed. Word spread quickly, needless to day.

We took our name from a book we had all read. Our classmates thought we were being overly obscure with a "crazy" name like that. Three years later, when Stanley Kubrik made a film from our "obscure" book, suddenly the whole world knew our band's name, but by then, we had scattered to the four winds.

DFW

(54,050 posts)
50. It was called "A Clockwork Orange"
Sat Jan 27, 2018, 11:09 AM
Jan 2018

Apparently a few other bands using the name were active at the time, but we were using it in 1967, way before the film came out. If only we had stuck around, right?

But things happen at that age. The drummer graduated high school and went off to RISD (Rhode Island School of Design). The first rhythm guitarist went back to Canada (his dad was their Ambassador to the USA), and the second went off into his dad's business, whatever that was. The lead guitarist (and lead singer) got into LSD and went off to seek his fortune in San Francisco (I heard he's now back in the DC area and into CW, of all things). I (bass and keyboards) went off to live in Spain, so that was pretty much the end of The Clockwork Orange, Washington D.C. version.

mia

(8,356 posts)
71. Thank you. Nice memories and poster!
Sat Jan 27, 2018, 01:40 PM
Jan 2018

Was living in the DC area in the 60s too and remember going to many a dance where local bands played. Missed going to the Ambassador Theater. It must have been wonderful! I still keep up with people and nostalgia from those days and enjoyed reading your story very much.

The Ambassador Theater and How It Rocked DC

The Ambassador was an enormous space. All 1500 seats had been removed. The Psychedelic Power and Light Company took over the balcony and used multiple projectors and black lights to fill the room and cover the walls with colors and images- a stand alone show of its own. Tickets were $1.50 on week nights, $2.50 on weekends....

A young guy named Jimi Hendrix had been touring with The Monkees that same summer, but his style didn't quite fit that double bill. His manager begged The Ambassador folks to let him play there for 5 nights that August, and Pete Townsend of The Who came to see him. (I'm not making this stuff up- ask Nils Lofgren) This all happened here.

More From Nils Lofgren:
"The room was humming, not only with the expectation of seeing the Jimi Hendrix Experience, but that Pete Townshend was in the audience, and it was just an extraordinary pivotal night for me. Hendrix came out and said he was going to dedicate the first song to Pete Townshend and he was going to do a rendition of 'Sgt. Pepper.' Now being naive, and being a huge Beatles lover, a lot of us thought 'well, you're only a three piece band, how can you play 'Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band,' there's all these other guitars and strings.' We just didn't have a clue of what Hendrix was really about. He counted off the song and I remember he kind of disappeared, he just did one of those things where he fell to the floor, sitting on the floor rocking with the guitar between his legs kind of doing a 'Purple Haze/ Sgt. Peppers' riff, then he sort of bounces back up and does an insane version of 'Sgt. Peppers Lonely Hearts Club Band.' And when he dropped to the floor everyone just jumped up to try to see him, and from that moment on everyone was standing and mesmerized by obviously the greatest rock and roll guitar player that ever lived... There were just a lot of inspired moments like that at the Ambassador; it was this dark, beautiful, haunted, inspired room that you could go to and get lost in the light show and friends and the camradarie and the excitement of being in the audience discovering all this great new music; it was this real pivotal place in Washington, DC for all of the music scene, young and old."

Canned Heat, Moby Grape, John Lee Hooker, Vanilla Fudge, The Fugs, The Paul Butterfield Blues Band and more all appeared at The Ambassador. Our own Joe Dolan of The Beatnik Flies mopped the floors there. His cousin, Patty made this hoe-down poster.





http://cokinosgirl.blogspot.com/2007/11/ambassador-theater-and-how-it-rocked-dc.html

DFW

(54,050 posts)
73. That's "OUR" poster!
Sat Jan 27, 2018, 02:44 PM
Jan 2018

As a local obscure band, we never got name billing, of course.

The story of how we got the gig at all is a typical sixties story. The guy who did their sound system was the son of a friend of my mom's. He also had built a few things for my band as well. One day we were out at his place, and he was driving us back to my house in Virginia (I wasn't even 16 yet!), and he asked if we were in a hurry. We said no, we weren't. He said he needed to do a sound check at the Ambassador before their show that night. It was just me, the drummer and the lead guitarist, and it was about 1 in the afternoon. He warned us it would be better if we brought our equipment inside with him, as the Ambassador was a raunchy part of town. So we did. He told us to set up and play a few things so he could get his sound check right. We said "SURE!!" Hey we could tell people we had played at the Ambassador! This was like having a high school band in San Francisco and being able to say you played at the Fillmore!

Anyway, we set up in the big empty theater, and he turned on the sound system. Of course, we sounded our best with that kind of hall and acoustics. I was on organ and bass organ (same set-up as Ray Manzarek of the Doors), and there was our lead guitarist and drummer. After a few numbers, this guy materializes and asks who we are. We said we were friends of Van (the sound engineer), helping him set up for that night, and who was he? "He" turned out to be Court Rodgers, and he was the owner of the place.

OOPS. We started apologizing for the "noise" and said we were only there helping Van out, didn't mean to disturb anyone. He said, no, no, it was alright, and by the way, were we by any chance free that night? WERE WE?! As of that second, we sure as hell were free. We spent the afternoon calling ALL our friends, and had a decent turnout. We played four weekends there. The place was already financially shaky, and closed soon after, but we DID get to play The Ambassador, quite a feather in the cap of any local DC band that was more into progressive rock than top 40.

mia

(8,356 posts)
81. What a good time that must have been!
Sat Jan 27, 2018, 03:39 PM
Jan 2018

I'll bet others from the DC area would enjoy reading about your experiences. The facebook page, Ghosts of DC, has posts from others who participated in the music scene back then. https://www.facebook.com/GhostsofDC/

DFW

(54,050 posts)
83. I took a brief look. I will definitely get back to that page!
Sat Jan 27, 2018, 03:55 PM
Jan 2018

In the meantime, here is our new Trump musical satire video, called "In D.C."

See if you like it: https://www.democraticunderground.com/100210151018

samnsara

(17,570 posts)
80. LOVE Canned Heat..they openned for MeatLoaf at the Columbia River..
Sat Jan 27, 2018, 03:39 PM
Jan 2018

...Amphitheater a million years ago..

DFW

(54,050 posts)
90. All of this was a million years ago.
Sat Jan 27, 2018, 04:22 PM
Jan 2018

Canned Heat went through a LOT of personnel changes, although Bob "the Bear" Hite was a steady for most of their time. Henri Vestine was soon gone after we opened for them. Al "owl" who sang the vocal on "On The Road Again" ended up committing suicide, and Larry Taylor, the one I got friendly with (both bass players, and I was only too eager to learn), went off to do who-knows-what? I saw he was doing some studio work in the 1970s, even did a track or two on Leo Kottke's "Mudlark."

I DID remember to follow the Bear's advice, and I did NOT forget to Boogie!

Glorfindel

(9,706 posts)
91. I loved them, too. Saw them at a concert in Chattanooga in (I think) 1969
Sat Jan 27, 2018, 04:29 PM
Jan 2018

On the same bill: Kenny Rogers and the First Edition, The Grass Roots, and Ray Stephens. There was also a female solo performer, but I can't for the life of me remember who she was.

MineralMan

(146,192 posts)
61. Yes. Half a century ago.
Sat Jan 27, 2018, 11:53 AM
Jan 2018

Lots of good memories from those days, but time marches on. I'm still trying to make good memories.

I was in the DC area in 1968 and 69. While in the USAF, I got all involved in the anti-war movement in DC. I met many very interesting people during that time, some whose names became household words. Mine did not. Then, after my discharge, I moved back to California.

DFW

(54,050 posts)
68. In the summer of 1968, I was the only band member left in the DC area
Sat Jan 27, 2018, 12:20 PM
Jan 2018

I was offered a chance to go live in Spain for a year starting in the fall, and I hated my school, which was becoming more and more reactionary, so off I went. I knew Spain was still run by the fascist government of Franco, but I figured there had to be a healthy resistance, especially in the part I was headed for (Catalunya), and I wasn't disappointed. I learned to speak Catalan, and came close to being accepted as one of them. Catalan is close to a version of Medieval French, and isn't too hard to figure out if you speak Spanish and French, and I had a rudimentary handle of both by that time. I was then offered a chance to spend my senior year of high school in New England, which I did, although I HATED the school I landed at. Of course, the school I had been at in DC was pretty awful, too, so I stuck it out. Ironically, both schools are now reputed to have a progressive outlook, especially the one in D.C., where the Clintons and Obamas sent their children. In my day, I would have recommended both places as institutions to which one sent juvenile offenders.

DFW

(54,050 posts)
87. It was thrill to be a part of it
Sat Jan 27, 2018, 04:17 PM
Jan 2018

As a 15 year old going to a (at the time) very conservative school, it was very heady stuff, indeed. We were hanging around with idols and hearing them up close. It ended far too quickly.

captain queeg

(10,035 posts)
20. Id guess baby boomers
Sat Jan 27, 2018, 02:25 AM
Jan 2018

Whatever that range is. I’m never sure, but I know I classify as one and many references that come up here tend to verify as much.

Response to Kajun Gal (Original post)

LiberalArkie

(15,686 posts)
55. And there are Aspie years also. Don't leave us out..
Sat Jan 27, 2018, 11:26 AM
Jan 2018

70 years old, but generally look to be between 45 and 55 and behave like a 35 year old.

PoindexterOglethorpe

(25,746 posts)
27. I suspect it is a lot older than most of us realize.
Sat Jan 27, 2018, 03:23 AM
Jan 2018

I'm 69. I originally signed up not long after DU came on line, then left and came back.

I can recall in the early years that there seemed to be a fair amount of young people, under age 30 or even age 20, and they seem to have disappeared, not stayed here and grown old along with the rest of us.

That's a genuine shame.

Binkie The Clown

(7,911 posts)
30. I started here when Dean was running.
Sat Jan 27, 2018, 04:52 AM
Jan 2018

Drifted away, forgot my username and password; email address had changed so I couldn't recover them. Came back recently with a new, improved identity.

Amishman

(5,540 posts)
37. I'm in my 30's and based on references and remembrances, most of DU my parents' age
Sat Jan 27, 2018, 07:57 AM
Jan 2018

I'd put the median at easily 60+

moriah

(8,311 posts)
56. A good clue might be the songs posted in the Lounge.
Sat Jan 27, 2018, 11:27 AM
Jan 2018

There's quite an application for rock, though since I regularly listen to music released in the two decades before my birth in 1980 that might be just a sign of good taste.

DFW

(54,050 posts)
32. The place has evolved, practically gone through a few incarnations
Sat Jan 27, 2018, 06:27 AM
Jan 2018

Last edited Sat Jan 27, 2018, 07:11 AM - Edit history (1)

I joined around 2005 or 2006, I think. Things got really nasty during the primaries of 2008, calmed down a little after that, went really crazy during the primaries of 2016. Some of the extreme cases went off and formed their own board, and things calmed down somewhat. From the maturity (or lack of it) of the posts of the present-day cast of characters, I'd say there is a broad spectrum, but tending to be weighted toward the older edge of the scale, where I am to be found. I own fossils of animals that used to be my house pets. Those trilobites were cute, but just no staying power.

As for staying power, there have always been a few one-trick ponies that stuck around to promote one certain issue, and then disappeared when the horse they were kicking was declared clinically dead. There was one poster that rose to defend GM food, and then went dormant when GM food was not the subject of a thread. Monsanto's little rep at DU. There aren't too many of those left, either, thank goodness.

A HERETIC I AM

(24,320 posts)
35. I was wondering why my trilobites stopped moving...
Sat Jan 27, 2018, 06:52 AM
Jan 2018

And didn’t seem to eat as much.

Remember ‘Asher Heimermann’?

“CONFERENCE CALL IN FIVE MINUTES!”

Or ‘OPERATION MINDCRIME’? One of the finest trolls to ever troll us.


Ahhhh.....good times

DFW

(54,050 posts)
36. I vaguely remember the last one
Sat Jan 27, 2018, 07:15 AM
Jan 2018

The first two don't ring a bell. I remember during the 2008 primary, there was some character calling himself "Draft Mario Cuomo" or some such.

Trilobites are more finicky than cats. Mine haven't eaten a thing I put in front of them for millenia.

aikoaiko

(34,127 posts)
44. We did a survey/poll a few years back.
Sat Jan 27, 2018, 10:13 AM
Jan 2018

If I recall the question was asked in 10-year bins, and I was surprised to see that 50-59 and 60-69 were the most frequent responses, but then quickly dropped off. The younger bins were the least frequent responses, but there were more bins. I'd say 50ish on average.

MineralMan

(146,192 posts)
57. There have been several age polls on DU.
Sat Jan 27, 2018, 11:36 AM
Jan 2018

The site trends older than the average population. I don't remember the exact numbers, though.

Of course, those polls may not accurately sample DUers, so they're not probably all that accurate.

We have DUers of all ages, though. Unless an individual DUer discloses his or her age, it's difficult to know the age of any particular person.

 

Codeine

(25,586 posts)
67. Probably roughly similar to the average age
Sat Jan 27, 2018, 12:16 PM
Jan 2018

of the population of one of your cities; say St. Petersburg, for example.

Thirties Child

(543 posts)
69. I'm 83 next week. Anyone older? I'd guess most of you are 50s, 60s.
Sat Jan 27, 2018, 12:50 PM
Jan 2018

I joined in February 2004 when Wes Clark dropped out of the primary. I lost membership in 2012 when we moved. New computer, new ISP, forgotten password. Had to rejoin.

Response to Kajun Gal (Original post)

rainy

(6,083 posts)
78. Not young. Too progressive and hungry
Sat Jan 27, 2018, 03:31 PM
Jan 2018

for change for DU old farts🤣😃💙 I still love you. But, I’m 59

Golden Raisin

(4,599 posts)
79. My standard response/euphemism
Sat Jan 27, 2018, 03:34 PM
Jan 2018

is, "Somewhere between 40 and Death." Let's just say Harry Truman was President when I was born.

blogslut

(37,955 posts)
86. We're all in junior high school.
Sat Jan 27, 2018, 04:12 PM
Jan 2018

In fact, there's really about five actual posters on DU. We have a couple of laptops set up in our clubhouse and we use automation scripts we bought off Craigslist to register and post here 24/7.

Shh. Don't tell.

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