In it I mentioned that we're currently at the peak of the six month moving average for reviews. But, that's not as impressive as seeing it:
The first point is April 2005. The last point is August 2010.
Okay, so more appropriately, I should say the peak occurred in June, but the difference between June and August is 4% so it's not a big difference.
So why a six month moving average? As I've said before, activity on YWS is highly volatile making it difficult to do any comparisons month to month. A six month moving average smooths out volatility. This makes it a lot easier to spot trends and to see where YWS is going.
In the graph above, you can see three peaks. The first one occurred in 2008, but that dropped once summer started having its effect. Then you see the peak that began in early 2009. That dropped initially due to the summer effect, but then it went into a HUGE decline. Why? The mandatory review ratio; it nearly destroyed the site and you can see that pretty plainly here.
The point where it begins to tick up again is January 2010, and then we reach the peak of June 2010.
For some reason though, there was almost no decline in the moving average unlike 2008 and 2009. Instead, it's more like 2007, when it just continually went up.
So, we're currently sitting at a peak when we really shouldn't be. Indeed, September is set to be either the highest or second highest reviewing month ever. And then there's October, which is usually bigger than September (except in 2009 due to the mandatory review ratio).
The point of all this? It's to show what an incredible job the mods, the JMs, and you all are doing. As I wrote recently in another post, all I can do as the admin is to provide the location. You all provide the content, and you all are the ones fueling the growth in the chart above. If this keeps up, four thousand reviews a month will soon become the new normal, much like three thousand reviews a month become the new normal this year.
So keep up this growth, and keep reviewing! And most of all, thank each other for a job well done

