Log Analysis

The Log Analysis tool allows moderators to gather statistics about visitors to their topic areas, both in terms of read accesses ("hits") and posts made. The results returned by the Log Analysis tool are controlled directly by the moderator in the opening configuration screen.

Analysis of Posting Log

To analyze the posting log (count posts by user/moderator account), select the topics you wish to analyze from the topics list. Choose whether you want to have the results sorted by the poster's username, the total number of posts by a user, or the most recent post.

The first "Summary" table summarizes the posting activity on your board, breaking down all posts by user type: unregistered guests, user accounts, and moderator accounts. The total number of posts by each user type is shown, along with the last post by someone of that user type.

The following tables show the number of posts by moderators and users, sorted in the order you chose on the opening configuration screen. For each account, the total number of posts, and date and time of the last post by that account, are shown.

Analysis of Reading Log

This option is available only if the board administrator has set up one or more entries for access logs in the Options Manager - Other tab. Discus Pro supports parsing and subsequent analysis of logs stored in the NCSA standard or extended format. The Apache web server, and most other standard web servers based on Apache or related code, store their logs in this format. Unfortunately, Microsoft web servers store their server's access logs in proprietary format that cannot be analyzed by this tool.

If the board administrator has correctly configured settings in Options Manager, an "Analyze Access Logs" box will appear. Select the topic(s) for which you wish to analyze the server's access logs. Then, check the box(es) next to all access logs you wish to analyze. Because server access logs are typically rotated on a regular basis (e.g., weekly or daily), developing a clear picture of access trends to your web site may require the analysis of multiple logs. Finally, decide whether you want to have the resulting display show pages with 0 hits, and if so, check the "Show pages with 0 hits" box. Usually, this needlessly complicates the display and should be left unchecked. Then click on "Analyze Logs."

BE PATIENT! Analyzing the access log can take up to a few minutes, depending on the size of the log. Select the minimum number of logs necessary to obtain the statistics you desire to cut down on processing time.