Philosophy
 

Whenever I look at the bottom of the homepage, I am
listed as currently active (or "online").

I wonder whether I still appear there when I switch to another window.
(No closing or logging out of this site)
Does God know the answer?

Bishop Berkeley IIRC

PS I suspect I disappear, on the grounds that the number of folk
"online" would be greater if their names didn't do likewise.

...but incidentally, how can one be sure that the world around them is [I]not[/I] getting darker when one closes eyes? :unsure:

[QUOTE]I wonder whether I still appear there when I switch to another window.
(No closing or logging out of this site)[/QUOTE]That line of "currently active users" is merely a list of users who have visited in the last 15 minutes.

:ouch:

[QUOTE=Xyzzy;265616]That line of "currently active users" is merely a list of users who have visited in the last 15 minutes.

:ouch:[/QUOTE]
Spooky!
I'll see if I can come up with a way of testing this without
invoking the help of a third party.

Does another browser (e.g. firefox, chrome, or opera) count?

[QUOTE=Christenson;265624]Does another browser (e.g. firefox, chrome, or opera) count?[/QUOTE]
I'd guess it wouldn't matter, but I'll watch summat else for 15 min,
then tell me if I was still on the list!

I think we are on the list permanently. I'm certainly on it when I look. And I know for a fact that the fridge light is always on because I've opened the door to check.

[QUOTE=Christenson;265624]Does another browser (e.g. firefox, chrome, or opera) count?[/QUOTE]
Another method that will work is to visit the site in another tab/window of the same browser, but with the URL in a different form: for instance, if you are logged in at [url]http://www.mersenneforum.org/[/url], load [url]http://mersenneforum.org/[/url] in another tab. Note the absence of the "www"--this is enough of a difference for your browser's login cookie for the one to not be recognized for the other, which means that the latter will treat you as a non-logged-in guest user, able to view the currently-logged-in statistics independently.

This calls for Maxwell's Demon
 

[QUOTE=Flatlander;265631]I think we are on the list permanently. I'm certainly on it when I look. And I know for a fact that the fridge light is always on because I've opened the door to check.[/QUOTE]
:rofl:

Now what about Schrodinger's Cat?
:confused:

David

[QUOTE=mdettweiler;265635]Another method that will work is to visit the site in another tab/window of the same browser, but with the URL in a different form: for instance, if you are logged in at [URL]http://www.mersenneforum.org/[/URL], load [URL]http://mersenneforum.org/[/URL] in another tab. Note the absence of the "www"--this is enough of a difference for your browser's login cookie for the one to not be recognized for the other, which means that the latter will treat you as a non-logged-in guest user, able to view the currently-logged-in statistics independently.[/QUOTE]
Well I clicked on each link in turn, and they still know me.
Must have my fingerprints/DNA/identity for some reason I hope
many of you find difficult to believe.

[QUOTE=davieddy;265638]Well I clicked on each link in turn, and they still know me.
Must have my fingerprints/DNA/identity for some reason I hope
many of you find difficult to believe.[/QUOTE]

Or maybe you have used both urls in the past, so it remembers it for both cookies. :wink: