I was wondering why BitcoinTalk was lagging so much today, until I took a look at the bottom. Most online today: 1426! And the day isn't even over.
This is the highest value since February 18th, 2012, and the second-highest since July 5th, 2011. What could be the cause of today's explosion?
DDoS attack using authenticated accounts? Or perhaps someone knowing that investors watch this metric and gunning it in order to sell at a higher price?
But there has been a steady rise in the metrics:
Here's a chart showing growth in new topis per day.
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https://docs.google.com/spreadsheet/ccc?key=0AmcTCtjBoRWUdHJuUE1mUkFxa3A0eHBDQkxZLVVFZmc#gid=5The BBC article on Bitcoinica was about the only widely read media that might have had an influence.