In Community Analytics, what does "(-1)" mean in the member tab?

[CarolineS]

Hi ya'll!

I wanted to confirm what "(-1)" means when viewing a member-based content report in Community Analytics (where you can see per-member page views, visits , etc - see screenshot). My suspicion is that the "(-1)" is views from anonymous users. But I suppose it could also be members who have cancelled their accounts?

Anyone know for sure?

[Drew_C]

I'm pretty sure that's a deleted user.

[CarolineS]

That's what I would have thought too, but in this particular case, I can't imagine who this deleted user would be.

Users have to request deletion / account closure from us, and we haven't deleted anyone recently. This report is only for the past 7 days.

So I'm a bit baffled! I'll check with support. 

[mhock]

@CarolineS 

If you find out, I would love to know. Perhaps these -1 are the reason my Analytics is generally 15 to 20 % higher than my actual members when it comes to registration.

[CarolineS · Accepted solution]

Update from support!

With reference to your query about -1 in the user report, I would like to inform you that this refers to khoros internal users(Technical Support), who access the site for testing purposes.

The analytics have been recorded when we view different parts of the community for our research in the cases. You might have noticed the -1 users in the studio-> versions where changes were done by -1, that happens when we change the admin or community plugins when we work on support cases.

[Drew_C · Accepted solution]

Dang! I actually thought that if it wasn't a deleted account, that maybe it was Khoros Support in their ghost/support accounts. I should have replied back with it so I could get the solution credit! 😎

Now we know! Thanks for coming back with the proper answer.

[CarolineS]

Good thing Atlas allows for multiple solutions. Now you get solution credit too! 😄

[Drew_C]

Yaay! Thanks for that- it led to me earning a new badge!

[mhock]

@CarolineS 

Thanks for the follow-up.

If I have this correct, the entrance of a Khoros employee adds a +1 thus the need for a -1.  Am I correct?  If so, how would anyone every see -1?  Shouldn't it just be 0 if this -1 is a corrective action to ensure numbers are not inflated.

[Drew_C]

The -1 seems to be a "non" user. Support can login to a community as an admin without actually having an account (i.e. "god-mode"). The only way to log that in our own communities is with a number since there is no username or ID.

I would liken it to the rules for user bans:

I hope this helps 🙂

-Drew

[mhock]

@Drew_C 

Thanks for the quick reply. If I understand, you are saying the -1 doesn't really reduce a count by 1. It is essentially just a code to indicate a non-user. Am I correct?

Do we trust that Khoros's code actually knows to not count it? 

I am just frustrated because again on July 29th, Analytics shows me 105 people registered for my Community and when I pull a user activity report for members with a registration date of July 29th, I get 83 named users.  

This is not a one time occurrence.  It is DAILY and on big days the percentage can be as much as 30% (the 29th it is 26.5%). You can imagine needing to tell my boss, remember these numbers are 20 to 30% off really makes him confident in my ability and the Community.

I have submitted a case with support and basically they can never find a cause.  My TAM says he sees it other places but I am NOT hearing it from other Community members. 

We are a private Community so you have to be a partner to become a member. This is not a troll creating and deleting a bunch of members.

Ok, rant over.  Thanks, I do feel better now. 🙂

[Drew_C]

Correct, the -1 isn't performing a mathematical operation. Consider it a placeholder.

Can I suggest starting a new topic for the registration questions? @ me and I'll chime in there. I think I know what's happening and want to keep the topics separate.