Posts by Melissa Martin32

Hey guys!

I’m trying to keep this thread as serious as possible, especially if we actually decide to talk about privacy. So, please keep it real when you share your experiences. If you're just here to troll, grab your keyboard and go spam some other thread instead.

The previous thread with a similar title was getting totally cluttered with everyone's random issues, so I figured it’s better to just start fresh here. I want to focus specifically on user privacy on this forum. Honestly, what sparked this for me was seeing people post links to photos of girls—just regular users like Melissa Martin32—who are just here to have fun and show off a bit. From what I can tell, a few subforums are pretty much dedicated to that kind of stuff. Sorry in advance if I'm overthinking this, and feel free to tell me to shut up if you think I'm making a big deal out of nothing.

My stance on this is pretty set in stone. I've talked about it in other threads before, and some of my favorite regulars have given me great advice. I've taken some of it to heart and ignored the rest.
At the end of the day, it's up to you how much you care about privacy. Some people are super guarded, others don't care at all. Some people just want to make the community laugh, while others want to stay totally under the radar. Different strokes for different folks.

So, how much do you guys actually value your privacy? What do you do to protect yourself while still being active in a public space like this forum?

I remember an admin saying once that user privacy is a huge deal, so hopefully this thread finds its place here. Back in the day, discussions on this subforum didn't get so bogged down, and looking through the older archives, I'm hoping we can keep it that way.
If the newer members aren't up to speed on how things used to work, feel free to teach them the ropes.

Also, please don't come at me with attitude if you don't care about privacy. If you can't be civil, just ignore me. It's much easier.

I saw someone over on a lifestyle blog complaining that they can hear seagulls whenever they're hanging out on this forum.
Maybe you guys are dealing with something similar because your adblocker isn't running.

Personally, I haven't heard a single thing yet.

I’ve noticed pretty much every other forum has a dedicated spot where people drop links to their favorite tracks, and honestly, I think that’s exactly what we’re missing here.

Since this place tends to attract a lot of grumpy folks, I figured listening to some good tunes while waiting on a ruling or just having a quick chat with a moderator might actually help everyone chill out.

If you’re dealing with a potential ban, feeling like things are unfair, or just need a distraction, feel free to share your go-to song with the rest of us. 🙂

Daniel P. - I was naive once
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oJwZYxjkBJY

Just a quick reminder that I already linked the Excel Formula for STDEV back on the last page.
As for columns B and C, I used them just like in the examples I posted here and over here. I could have skipped them, sure. But then I wouldn't have known exactly which part was actually part of the formula. It's kind of like how you use your "i."

I get that you could have answered the question using just the STDEV itself. Honestly, I think we finally settled this formula once and for all. 😍

Betty Hayes10 said:

Just use STDEV in Excel.

So, in that first screenshot, you just listed numbers from 1 to 15, which is why I used Count. 😁

We ended up with the same result, we just use Excel a little differently.

Betty Hayes10 said:Test data:

x1 = 5
x2 = 4
x3 = 8

i = 1, 2, 3
n = 3

Result: 2.08

Just plug it into the Formula and you're good. Double-check everything in Excel.

Here’s the Formula I'm using:



Can you drop the actual Formula here or at least show how you ran the numbers in Excel?

Dana Diaz8 said:Sorry to jump into this thread, but maybe I can clear things up. From what I know about stats and testing, you can just use an Excel Formula STDEV if you're dealing with ungrouped data. But if the values are grouped, you have to work through it step-by-step, kind of like how someone else laid it out in their screenshot.

Don't even worry about apologizing. Honestly, the whole point is that we all learn something, right? Since the result ends up being the exact same whether I use STDEV or do the manual math, I’m actually more confused now than when I was trying to find the error in my last screenshot.

Betty Hayes10 and I were the ones who posted the images, so I'm not really sure which one you're talking about.

Lozimka said:Did you double-check your math on paper instead of just relying on Excel?

Check out this YouTube link. It breaks down how to calculate deviation super simply, so you can see who’s actually right here.

Definitely let me know if you still think I'm off base. I tested these Formula setups against four different examples, including two straight from a stats textbook.

So, how did you run your deviation numbers?

First off, my bad to Dobrota—I totally messed up the Standard Deviation formulas earlier. I botched the N-1 part by forgetting to subtract 1, which you can actually see in cells B14 and B35 in the screenshot. This time, I’m sticking to a Microsoft example and that other one Betty Hayes10 shared with us.

Everything's fixed now, and here are the actual formulas:

Betty Hayes10 said:You don't need SUM or POWER or whatever; just grab the test results and use the STDEV function.LINK

Betty Hayes10, what you posted is way off. If you use the STDEV formula, you should be getting 4.47. And if you follow the step-by-step method like I did, the result has to match.

Just a heads up, we square things during the calculation specifically to get rid of those negative signs in the deviations.

I'm sure you get why I went through the whole step-by-step process—just trying to make sure I actually learned how this works. 😉

Eric Ross59 said:Hey, I could use some help with this formula.



Can someone explain how to actually run this formula in Excel?

Look, I'm definitely no math whiz, but I used the STDEV formula to figure out that S value. I checked both the version in Microsoft Office and the one from my old intro to stats textbook.
I get that S15 is just the number of repetitions, but you might want to wait for someone smarter to weigh in on what to do with it.
Hope that helps.

Click here for the hidden image. 🤷

My bad, that just popped up in my signature. I didn't see it when I was typing.

You didn't answer my question about how this confuses newbies. Are you actually okay with this kind of thing?
It’s pretty obvious that typing in passwords doesn't accomplish anything, and for people like me, it honestly feels like straight-up phishing.

Hey, can you explain why it’s such a big deal to have those nose links in your signature? I can't seem to get mine to work without people clicking them, and honestly, what's even the point if nobody's actually doing anything?

Basically, the password keeps getting rejected. Why all the confusion for the newbies?

I didn't want to start a whole new thread just because of a random deleted post, but honestly, we really need a dedicated mega-thread for stuff like this. It would save everyone from constantly opening new topics for the exact same reason.

Thanks for looking into it.

I’m wondering why my post got nuked. I was just telling everyone not to try logging in using those links Uvjek keeps dropping in his signature.

I tried logging into the moderator lounge with this handle and it didn't work. Honestly, I bet there are plenty of other users out there who feel the same way—once they read that crappy text, they're gonna want to do exactly what I did.

Also, can someone tell me where the password I entered actually went? 🙂