I've noticed that some members of the forum log in every now and then, but have never posted in the forum. In forum-speak, that is known as lurking and, while it may sound ominous, a lot of people like reading what others are saying but, for various reasons, may wait quite a while before participating in forum discussions, if at all. That's okay. If you truly prefer to lurk in the forum, you are welcome to do so. Some forum administrators remove members who haven't posted in a set period of time because they want to keep their participation percentage up, or for other reasons that I can't think of at the moment. I will not remove someone simply because they haven't posted. Of course, there are others who will create an account one day, then never come back to the forum. Those who haven't posted or logged into their account for a long period of time are periodically culled from the member list, not on any set schedule but whenever I think of it. When I said earlier that it is fine with me if you prefer lurking to participating in forum discussions, that's not exactly true. I won't remove you for not posting but I would very much rather see you become a true part of this forum. The forum would be better off, and I think you'd enjoy it a lot more if you were a part of it. There's no real trick to participating in the forum. No one here is going to yell at you if you post something in the wrong place, if you say something that someone has already said at some point, or if your spelling and grammar ain't perfect. While proper spelling and grammar is nice, don't let that keep you from participating. We're more interested in what you have to say than in how you say it, or where you say it. If you were to start a thread in the wrong part of the forum and it bothered me enough to notice, I'd simply move it. It's not that big of a deal. There are some potential hot-button issues, but that part of the forum is clearly marked as such and, even so, I think we do a pretty good job of being nice even when we may disagree. Someone once said that it's one thing to disagree, and quite another to be disagreeable. Disagreement can encourage further conversation, while being disagreeable can put an end to it. I'm not perfect in that respect, nor do I expect you to be. Some good rules to follow were used in Usenet groups, for those who may remember them. They were as follows: Try not to be too offensive. Try not to be too easily offended So please, feel free to jump in on any conversation that interests you. If you don't see anything that interests you, you're probably not looking closely enough. But, you can also start a new thread. New threads are nice, but replies to ongoing threads are equally nice. Welcome to the forum. It will be even better if you participate.
Lurkers is one of those awful Forum words that summons up something ugly or untoward. I joined SoC mainly because I enjoy sharing items of interest that I find on the internet with others. It obviously does not always work. You test the water on a forum, then when you find out what is liked or not liked you or what is allowed or not allowed you can then adjust your input accordingly. As there are few British members, that slightly restricts me with items of interest or humour. Now knowing I have to check each item I may want to put on here for copyright, size etc is again restrictive and time consuming so not worth it. even though it may add to a posts interest. With respect there are many reasons why people don't post in Forums. I have given you a few Ken, but I would say there a many more genuine whys .
I am a lurker, I don't mean to be a lurker but it happens more then I care to admit. Why does this happen? Sometimes I get a few moments of time and I just want to see whats up, I work a job with long hours and way to much alone time and occasionally it is nice to read something from someone that is familiar. If I can I may reply or start a conversation but you know ole Murphy and his law, that is when the phone will ring and someone will come in and want to chew my ear on something ridiculous. Next thing I know time has passed and I have lurked. I may have gone idle mid post for an hour. I seldom worry what people like or don't like when I do actually get to posting, I may proof read my post one hundred times because I have a serious bad habit of never making my I's capital. I may start a conversation wander away and not even remember that I started a conversation for weeks. Imagine my surprise when I return and have pages to read I really like that a lot. Lurking for me came mostly from the years I spent in Mirc chat rooms, You might be there in name, but it could be very long periods in-between bursts of chatting. No one was ever offended, it was a given that was a way it was on certain channels. I suppose in my mind I feel that way about here too. Even just idle it let's new people know that there are folks that like this forum enough they will stay, for hours. I haven't played with the settings enough to know whether or not there is a tone for when someone messages you. Either way I figure by now most regular users know I am like mist, I roll in and move around, and sometimes I leave a little wet spots here or there.
I am not a lurker. If anything, sometimes I should put tape over my mouth or rather over my fingers to stop myself from giving ANOTHER opinion! To each his own, I guess.
I actually wasn't aware of lurking. I pop in, read and pop out a lot. Think about what I've read and then come back and add my thoughts to the discussion. I'm glad that I found this out though.
Lurking refers more to those who never post, and not to those who don't feel the need to post every time they read the forum. Under that definition, I'd be a lurker too.
I know I am not a lurker although a few times I will log in and then read some post and can not find anything within me to say so I make no post for that day.
That's not my case by the way. I'm here since very short time but if I know what the topic is talking about I always try to participate in the discussion bringin new and fresh ideas if I can.
This post was actually very refreshing. I'm looking for somewhere I can relax and not have to print out the rules so I don't screw up. Not to mention I'm too damn old to have to deal with drama, or try to decipher "wut dem is says cause dey done make no since". And I am particularly looking for someplace that isn't intended for people my daughter's age.
Being a voyeur isn't necessarily a bad thing. I think of it more as settling in slowly, and getting to know a place before becoming active. I always look around and read at least a few threads before I even join a site, and even once I've joined, I often go at a slow pace. This site is one I have always felt comfortable on, though, so I am a little more active here than on some others.
Well, it's not like lurking is a bad thing... There are many types of people. There are those who lurk on websites, only enjoying content others wrote. There are those who genuinely enjoy writing and communicating with others (I consider myself as being in this category). Then again, there are the balanced folks: those who do a fair amount of both lurking and writing. I think that it's great that this forum has all of these types - it means that this forum is very active and alive!
There's also one more category. I don't know if there are any here or not. But there are the lurkers who made a fake name and account to spy on someone. It couldn't be the NSA , homeland security, someone's secret admirer who just happens to carry an axe around (if you know what I mean . ) the possibilities are endless.