http://www.perlmonks.org?node_id=461469


in reply to OT: MySQL - rows or tables

Using separate tables with equivalent functionality is considered a bad idea, and also stands against one of the Relational Database Modules Normalization Rules. I suggest you put everything in one table, with different rows for different members.

Separate tables also make the queries more complex if not downright impossible. Plus, it may not be necessary that the database user of the connection has a table creation ability. Tables also often clutter the filesystem.