Re: Stats

[Jock Dempsey <guru@anvilfire.com>]

Bill Willson asked,
Until the stats are added to the Ringlink program, is there another way 
to gather at least some rudimentary data?
Bill,
I have a page counter on my list page.  Added the code to mainhtml.pm.
That doesn't tell you a lot but it does show how often LIST is being used.
You can also use server records if you have access to the raw server logs.
I had a seperate third level domain setup with seperate server logs so I
could study them.  Just the size of the log can be a clue to traffic.
I down load my server logs and then run a program called Analog
http://www.statslab.cam.ac.uk/~sret1/analog/
It can tell you where hits are coming from and which files are accessed.
Reports can have hourly or monthly traffic graphs.  They can also be
customized and I have yet to explore that possibility in depth.  I HAVE
customized reports but the config files are tricky to write.
Here is a sample report from anvilfire (not my ring server)
http://www.anvilfire.com/adverts/rates/1stqtr20.html
I know it can generate seperate reports for virtual DNS addresses out of
one log file.  I hope to further customize the ring server report to
indicate more details relative to sites on the ring.  I have complicated
things as I am serving jsNAVBAR's like Yahoo so my stats include everytime
a member site is accessed.  
Here is a part of recent report on my ring server.  Note that I need to
modify it to show all sites.  It is also indicating that not many sites
have switched to the new ring. .  :(
-------------------------------------
Listing referring sites with at least 30 requests, sorted by the number of
requests. 
reqs: site
----: ----
2630: http://rings.anvilfire.com/
1138: http://www.anvilfire.com/
 167: http://www.blksmth.com/
  99: http://www.greenberryhouse.com/
  91: http://www.forginghammers.com/
  88: http://www.theblacksmith.com/
  56: http://www.paw-paws-forge.com/
  52: http://anvilfire.com/
  42: http://www.angelfire.com/
  40: http://www.starsticker.com/
  37: http://afc.abana-chapter.com/
  33: http://cheapeats.homestead.com/
  32: http://www.geocities.com/
 282: [not listed: 38 sites]
----------------------------------------------
On a standard Ringlink setup (without serving navbars or logos) the above
would be the actual ring traffic.  As you can see it is broken down by URL.
If you don't have seperate server logs and you have a busy site then
sorting out the applicable traffic would be difficult without custom
software.  If you are on a virtual hosting service where your logs are
mixed with others then only your ISP has access to the logs.  If you don't
know, ask.
Jock D.