Page 1 of 3 123 LastLast
Results 1 to 40 of 81

Thread: Average age of people on this forum

  1. #1

    Thread Starter
    Hyperactive Member
    Join Date
    Mar 2019
    Posts
    416

    Average age of people on this forum

    I thought it might be interesting to see the average age of the people using this forum and if they are all old bullets like me. I started with basic at the age of 14 on a pdp11/03 and am now 61 !!
    cheers

  2. #2
    Frenzied Member
    Join Date
    Feb 2003
    Posts
    1,807

    Re: Average age of people on this forum

    I just turned 43. Started at age 12 with QBasic 1.0 on MS-DOS 5.0 running on my parents's Highscreen 80386 SX 25 MHz. (80mb hdd in a removable tray, 3.5" and 5.25" drive, standard VGA card, 2mb RAM, also had Windows 3.0 (urgh))

    Can't remember much else atm. :-)

  3. #3

    Thread Starter
    Hyperactive Member
    Join Date
    Mar 2019
    Posts
    416

    Re: Average age of people on this forum

    Hi Peter, So your a youngster ! Cheers Andrew

  4. #4
    PowerPoster Zvoni's Avatar
    Join Date
    Sep 2012
    Location
    To the moon and then left
    Posts
    4,418

    Re: Average age of people on this forum

    51, with my first Database on a C64 in BASIC sometime Mid-80's
    Last edited by Zvoni; Tomorrow at 31:69 PM.
    ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

    One System to rule them all, One Code to find them,
    One IDE to bring them all, and to the Framework bind them,
    in the Land of Redmond, where the Windows lie
    ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------
    People call me crazy because i'm jumping out of perfectly fine airplanes.
    ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------
    Code is like a joke: If you have to explain it, it's bad

  5. #5

  6. #6
    PowerPoster Zvoni's Avatar
    Join Date
    Sep 2012
    Location
    To the moon and then left
    Posts
    4,418

    Re: Average age of people on this forum

    Quote Originally Posted by The trick View Post
    I'm 31
    young whippersnapper!


    I remember.
    At 31 i was young and attractive.
    Today i'm just "and"..
    Last edited by Zvoni; Tomorrow at 31:69 PM.
    ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

    One System to rule them all, One Code to find them,
    One IDE to bring them all, and to the Framework bind them,
    in the Land of Redmond, where the Windows lie
    ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------
    People call me crazy because i'm jumping out of perfectly fine airplanes.
    ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------
    Code is like a joke: If you have to explain it, it's bad

  7. #7
    Frenzied Member
    Join Date
    Jun 2015
    Posts
    1,056

    Re: Average age of people on this forum

    48, first basic was programming choose your own adventure games on a commodore pet and casset tape storage around 10, but didn’t really start programming again till 27. Just gaming in between

  8. #8

    Thread Starter
    Hyperactive Member
    Join Date
    Mar 2019
    Posts
    416

    Re: Average age of people on this forum

    So I really am an old bullet.

  9. #9
    Frenzied Member
    Join Date
    Jun 2015
    Posts
    1,056

    Re: Average age of people on this forum

    I have occasionally see users post reference to thier age and been surprised by some 80yr olds still at it. My guess is average will be 65 How do we embed one of those visual poll things. Might get more anonymously
    Last edited by dz32; Nov 4th, 2022 at 07:11 AM.

  10. #10
    PowerPoster
    Join Date
    Jul 2010
    Location
    NYC
    Posts
    5,651

    Re: Average age of people on this forum

    39... I expect most people here are those who've been programming in VB6 since it was the brand new sparkling successor to VB5, at a minimum, and that was over 20 years ago. I started with VB4 when I was 14 to modify and soon make my own programs for AOL (chat room games, utilities to automate UI actions, and yes some particularly immature stuff like 'punters' that sent people specially crafted IMs that crashed AOL. Later, I paired it with a leaked debug tool allowing arbitrary code execution of their internal scripting language we had reverse engineered to access and catalog every single form and download library on the service, including normally inaccessible employee tools).

    I had been using TI-BASIC (a version of BASIC on TI calculators) for a couple years before that to make my calculator do all the work for me... it screwed me over eventually when I reached a level of math even a CAS couldn't help with, but my love of programming definitely started there

  11. #11
    PowerPoster
    Join Date
    Feb 2006
    Posts
    24,482

    Re: Average age of people on this forum

    I turned 66 this year. I first used Basic and Fortran in 1973 on a GE timesharing system via Teletype, later that year Fortran and Cobol on an IBM 1620 and an IBM S/370 via punched cards and printouts.

    Prior to that my programming experience was books where you wrote out machine language programs. You "ran" them by executing them by hand one opcode at a time recording changes to registers and memory.

  12. #12
    PowerPoster Arnoutdv's Avatar
    Join Date
    Oct 2013
    Posts
    5,872

    Re: Average age of people on this forum

    55, started with TurboBasic on the Atari 800XL

  13. #13
    Addicted Member jg.sa's Avatar
    Join Date
    Nov 2017
    Location
    South Australia ( SA )
    Posts
    198

    Re: Average age of people on this forum

    0b111101 - started at 0xE with punch cards DEC PDP 11/23 - Assembler Basic & C !++ ( ABC )

  14. #14
    PowerPoster SamOscarBrown's Avatar
    Join Date
    Aug 2012
    Location
    NC, USA
    Posts
    9,145

    Re: Average age of people on this forum

    Code:
    Option Explicit
    
    
    
    Private Sub Command1_Click()
        Dim dYob As Date
        Dim dMob
        Dim iMonthsOfLife As Integer
        Dim iYearsOfLife As Integer
        dYob = 1950
        dMob = Month(#1/1/1950#)
        iYearsOfLife = DateDiff("y", dYob, Year(Now))
        iMonthsOfLife = Month(Now) - dMob
        Debug.Print iYearsOfLife & ", " & iMonthsOfLife & " (less a few days!)"
    End Sub
    Started with a TRS-80 CoCo
    Sam I am (as well as Confused at times).

  15. #15

    Thread Starter
    Hyperactive Member
    Join Date
    Mar 2019
    Posts
    416

    Re: Average age of people on this forum

    I expect most of us older guys are self taught. My first basic program at school was to calculate the speed of my control line model airplane in MPH. I started work as a computer operator and night shifts were so long and boring I used the time to learn Cobol (yuck) , fortran, VAX Assembler and of course VAX basic. My first lifestyle program was written to read the listing file for a very large print job which a balance we had to check right at the end so we knew if the job had worked without waiting for the print to finish. I have to admit we used that one to go home early on more than one occasion.

  16. #16
    PowerPoster SamOscarBrown's Avatar
    Join Date
    Aug 2012
    Location
    NC, USA
    Posts
    9,145

    Re: Average age of people on this forum

    Quote Originally Posted by jg.sa View Post
    0b111101 - started at 0xE with punch cards DEC PDP 11/23 - Assembler Basic & C !++ ( ABC )
    Young'n (comparatively)!

    Sammi
    Sam I am (as well as Confused at times).

  17. #17

    Thread Starter
    Hyperactive Member
    Join Date
    Mar 2019
    Posts
    416

    Re: Average age of people on this forum

    SamOscarBrown is winning "the oldest VB programmer in the world" at the moment. Respect.

  18. #18
    Frenzied Member
    Join Date
    Feb 2003
    Posts
    1,807

    Re: Average age of people on this forum

    hi vbwins, relatively speaking, yes! ;-)

    btw, I am mostly a self-taught programmer

  19. #19
    Fanatic Member Delaney's Avatar
    Join Date
    Nov 2019
    Location
    Paris, France
    Posts
    845

    Re: Average age of people on this forum

    I am 50 and I started with Basic on the sanyo PHC 25 then on the sanyo MSX PHC 28 (I still have it !), I was around 12 ±1 (don't remember exactly)

    Name:  sanyo_phc_25-8566-1024x519.jpg
Views: 401
Size:  24.7 KBName:  Sanyo_PHC-28S.jpg
Views: 297
Size:  36.3 KB
    The best friend of any programmer is a search engine
    "Don't wish it was easier, wish you were better. Don't wish for less problems, wish for more skills. Don't wish for less challenges, wish for more wisdom" (J. Rohn)
    “They did not know it was impossible so they did it” (Mark Twain)

  20. #20

    Thread Starter
    Hyperactive Member
    Join Date
    Mar 2019
    Posts
    416

    Re: Average age of people on this forum

    Quote Originally Posted by Peter Swinkels View Post
    hi vbwins, relatively speaking, yes! ;-)

    btw, I am mostly a self-taught programmer
    I think a lot of here are. Cheers Andrew

  21. #21
    Smooth Moperator techgnome's Avatar
    Join Date
    May 2002
    Posts
    34,532

    Re: Average age of people on this forum

    Quote Originally Posted by Delaney View Post
    I am 50 and I started with Basic on the sanyo PHC 25 then on the sanyo MSX PHC 28 (I still have it !), I was around 12 ±1 (don't remember exactly)

    Name:  sanyo_phc_25-8566-1024x519.jpg
Views: 401
Size:  24.7 KBName:  Sanyo_PHC-28S.jpg
Views: 297
Size:  36.3 KB
    Nice ... somewhere in storage I have a Timex Sinclare 1000 ... with a whopping 1k memory!

    won't reveal exact age, but I'm in the range between fafone and zvoni ...

    Learned on the Apple][e ... Including the summer camp learning Apple Basic & Logo ... I have taken exactly 4 technical courses ... the two summer camps, C++, and databases .... the rest is all self taught/learned on the job.

    -tg
    * I don't respond to private (PM) requests for help. It's not conducive to the general learning of others.*
    * I also don't respond to friend requests. Save a few bits and don't bother. I'll just end up rejecting anyways.*
    * How to get EFFECTIVE help: The Hitchhiker's Guide to Getting Help at VBF - Removing eels from your hovercraft *
    * How to Use Parameters * Create Disconnected ADO Recordset Clones * Set your VB6 ActiveX Compatibility * Get rid of those pesky VB Line Numbers * I swear I saved my data, where'd it run off to??? *

  22. #22
    Frenzied Member
    Join Date
    Feb 2003
    Posts
    1,807

    Re: Average age of people on this forum

    This one looks like the one my parents owned except theirs had beige disk drives.

    Attachment 186150

    Attachment doesn't work. Here's a url:
    http://www.classiccomputer.de/pc/high386sx1.jpg

    They didn't have proper ict education at my high school back then. They taught the rudiments of how to use a pc. Useful to most perhaps, but it bored me. The closest they ever got to teaching programming was unsuccessfully introducing BASIC. And Logo, which might be nice for the absolute basics but hardly is a true programming language imho. They finally allowed me to explore programming myself on school computers. Yes, a few class mates were into programming too and I learned a little from them.

    EDIT:
    Why fafalone, you pulled immature pranks? I never did that! (ahem)
    Last edited by Peter Swinkels; Nov 7th, 2022 at 04:20 PM.

  23. #23
    Super Moderator FunkyDexter's Avatar
    Join Date
    Apr 2005
    Location
    An obscure body in the SK system. The inhabitants call it Earth
    Posts
    7,900

    Re: Average age of people on this forum

    50

    young whippersnapper!
    We should chase him with walking sticks. But I'm tired.
    The best argument against democracy is a five minute conversation with the average voter - Winston Churchill

    Hadoop actually sounds more like the way they greet each other in Yorkshire - Inferrd

  24. #24
    Frenzied Member
    Join Date
    Feb 2003
    Posts
    1,807

    Re: Average age of people on this forum

    Quote Originally Posted by FunkyDexter View Post
    50

    We should chase him with walking sticks. But I'm tired.
    LOL

    So am I. Darn daylight saving time nonsense.

  25. #25
    Super Moderator Shaggy Hiker's Avatar
    Join Date
    Aug 2002
    Location
    Idaho
    Posts
    38,989

    Re: Average age of people on this forum

    55. Started on a TRS-80 Level 1, with 4K RAM and a tape drive. Self taught. Wearing out.
    My usual boring signature: Nothing

  26. #26
    Frenzied Member
    Join Date
    Dec 2012
    Posts
    1,470

    Re: Average age of people on this forum

    Gee, all these youngsters. The first computer I ever worked on was as big as a desk and ran on tubes. And all it did was multiple and divide. The first Basic I ever used was on a main frame, and the first computer I ever owned was the Radio Shack TRS-80, which I connected to an old teletype as a printer. That would make me about 76, and still kicking.

    J.A. Coutts

  27. #27
    Frenzied Member
    Join Date
    Feb 2003
    Posts
    1,807

    Re: Average age of people on this forum

    @couttsj: now I am waiting for a 90-100 yo to post here and talk about mechanical computing devices... :-)

  28. #28
    Lively Member saturnian's Avatar
    Join Date
    Dec 2017
    Location
    France
    Posts
    75

    Re: Average age of people on this forum

    I am 64 years old.
    I assembled my ZX 81 as a kit and started using Basic. I continued on ZX Spectrum, then on ATARI ST (GFA Basic). On the ST, I programmed several of my first professional medical software. Then I switched to PC in VB3, VB4, VB5 then VB6, and a little in VB.net.

  29. #29
    PowerPoster
    Join Date
    Sep 2005
    Location
    Modesto, Ca.
    Posts
    5,196

    Re: Average age of people on this forum

    Yeah, I started on a Abacus.

    Not really, I'm a youngster, just 69. I didn't write my first program till I was 25. It was Fortran, using punch cards on a mainframe. I actually took a VB3 night class at the local college, @ '94. So technically I'm not self taught. But that class was very basic BASIC. How to use the IDE, which controls did what and "Hello World". Unfortunately not many businesses wanted a program that said "Hello World". lol

    I wonder if their is a lot of self taught younger programmer. The internet would easily make that possible but how would the job market be without a degree.

  30. #30
    Super Moderator Shaggy Hiker's Avatar
    Join Date
    Aug 2002
    Location
    Idaho
    Posts
    38,989

    Re: Average age of people on this forum

    I have done some calculations using a slide rule, which I still have, but I've forgotten how to do math on one since then. The UI wasn't the best, especially on the more complicated ones.
    My usual boring signature: Nothing

  31. #31
    PowerPoster
    Join Date
    Sep 2005
    Location
    Modesto, Ca.
    Posts
    5,196

    Re: Average age of people on this forum

    Quote Originally Posted by Shaggy Hiker View Post
    I have done some calculations using a slide rule, which I still have, but I've forgotten how to do math on one since then. The UI wasn't the best, especially on the more complicated ones.
    Was this something you did on your own or was it part of a class? Because the hand held calculators killed off slide rules a long time ago.

  32. #32
    PowerPoster
    Join Date
    Feb 2006
    Posts
    24,482

    Re: Average age of people on this forum

    We used slide rules in Trig, calculators weren't really "a thing" yet. Sure, there were a few around with nixie tube displays but fairly large. I think in Senior year the Physics lab got a TI SR-70 "Doorstop" handheld LED unit and I think the "SR" series moniker meant "slide rule."

    I'm positive I still have a 1970s slide rule in a box here somewhere.

  33. #33
    PowerPoster
    Join Date
    Sep 2005
    Location
    Modesto, Ca.
    Posts
    5,196

    Re: Average age of people on this forum

    Quote Originally Posted by dilettante View Post
    We used slide rules in Trig, calculators weren't really "a thing" yet. Sure, there were a few around with nixie tube displays but fairly large. I think in Senior year the Physics lab got a TI SR-70 "Doorstop" handheld LED unit and I think the "SR" series moniker meant "slide rule."

    I'm positive I still have a 1970s slide rule in a box here somewhere.
    I started college later in life. @ 25, 1978. I might not have taken trig till @ 80. No slide rules.

  34. #34
    PowerPoster
    Join Date
    Feb 2006
    Posts
    24,482

    Re: Average age of people on this forum

    That was still high school here.

  35. #35
    PowerPoster ChrisE's Avatar
    Join Date
    Jun 2017
    Location
    Frankfurt
    Posts
    3,046

    Re: Average age of people on this forum

    I'm 59, self taught, since Aug. of this year retired, my wife (age 61 retired Vet) and I will get into the Garden-Work (Veggies etc...)
    bought a nice Property with a big Pond that need's a lot of work done, there's not one Plant in it.
    to hunt a species to extinction is not logical !
    since 2010 the number of Tigers are rising again in 2016 - 3900 were counted. with Baby Callas it's 3901, my wife and I had 2-3 months the privilege of raising a Baby Tiger.

  36. #36
    Frenzied Member
    Join Date
    Jun 2012
    Location
    Australia
    Posts
    1,162

    Re: Average age of people on this forum

    Quote Originally Posted by vbwins View Post
    SamOscarBrown is winning "the oldest VB programmer in the world" at the moment. Respect.
    I am 82, but I don't qualify as a programmer these days. Just a Vb6 and MMBasic tinkerer!
    Thanks all !

  37. #37
    Frenzied Member
    Join Date
    Jun 2012
    Location
    Australia
    Posts
    1,162

    Re: Average age of people on this forum

    Quote Originally Posted by couttsj View Post
    ... the first computer I ever owned was the Radio Shack TRS-80, which I connected to an old teletype as a printer...
    Me too, exactly. God Bless David Lien (Tandy model 1 guide plus own BASIC reference book)
    Thanks all !

  38. #38
    Super Moderator Shaggy Hiker's Avatar
    Join Date
    Aug 2002
    Location
    Idaho
    Posts
    38,989

    Re: Average age of people on this forum

    Quote Originally Posted by wes4dbt View Post
    Was this something you did on your own or was it part of a class? Because the hand held calculators killed off slide rules a long time ago.
    On my own.
    My usual boring signature: Nothing

  39. #39
    Addicted Member jg.sa's Avatar
    Join Date
    Nov 2017
    Location
    South Australia ( SA )
    Posts
    198

    Re: Average age of people on this forum

    G'Day vbwins

    Quote Originally Posted by vbwins View Post
    VAX Assembler and of course VAX basic
    Now that takes me back, do you know that the original Google Maps was built on VMS for "birds on a rail' using these languages ?

    The ye olde

    mc sys$system:CREATE_SPECIAL_ACCOUNTS.COM

  40. #40
    PowerPoster
    Join Date
    Sep 2005
    Location
    Modesto, Ca.
    Posts
    5,196

    Re: Average age of people on this forum

    Quote Originally Posted by Shaggy Hiker View Post
    On my own.
    it figures. lol

Page 1 of 3 123 LastLast

Posting Permissions

  • You may not post new threads
  • You may not post replies
  • You may not post attachments
  • You may not edit your posts
  •  



Click Here to Expand Forum to Full Width