# Anyone else have trouble going from lurker to member? **URL:** \ **Category:** Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share\ **Created:** [May 2, 2006, 12:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/anyone-else-have-trouble-going-from-lurker-to-member/355084 "2006-05-02T12:02:08Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![Mindfield](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mindfield/32/19759_2.png) [@Mindfield](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mindfield)\ **Post date:** [May 2, 2006, 11:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/anyone-else-have-trouble-going-from-lurker-to-member/355084/21 "2006-05-02T23:53:33Z")
I don’t think there’s really any other choice but to just jump in. Both feet or toe doesn’t really matter as long as you get in there at some point. I’ve been around message boards – and prior to that, BBSes – in various capacities for the last 20 years, so I guess I’ve gotten kinda used to it. There’s always still that “there’s-always-someone-more-erudite” syndrome though. Especially around here. 😃 ---
**Author:** ![tomndebb](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/b9e5f3/32.png) [@tomndebb](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/tomndebb)\ **Post date:** [May 2, 2006, 11:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/anyone-else-have-trouble-going-from-lurker-to-member/355084/22 "2006-05-02T23:54:06Z")
> [@](#): > > have a degree in philosophy Then you should wander over to **Great Debates** and act as logic monitor for those who feel the need to confuse emotion for thought. (You don’t have to express _your_ opinion, just make sure that other posters are not waving around fallacies like kites on a gusty day.) ---
**Author:** ![Omegaman](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/e480ec/32.png) [@Omegaman](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Omegaman)\ **Post date:** [May 2, 2006, 11:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/anyone-else-have-trouble-going-from-lurker-to-member/355084/23 "2006-05-02T23:57:23Z")
Just wanted to say I’m with you . 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![FairyChatMom](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/fairychatmom/32/21906_2.png) [@FairyChatMom](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/FairyChatMom)\ **Post date:** [May 3, 2006, 12:02am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/anyone-else-have-trouble-going-from-lurker-to-member/355084/24 "2006-05-03T00:02:58Z")
> [@Tupug Anachi](#): > > **smitty’s** right about the MMP, too. The Cool Kids are all just regular Joes and Josies who cozy up on Monday mornings to see what’s happening in each other’s neck of the woods. And we’re nice, dammit! Just ask **fairychatmom**! Dang - two of you beat me to it! **Renee** , join us! All you shy folks, too! Nothing is off topic and unless you act like a total butthead (which I’m sure you’re not) you’ll be welcomed warmly! And you can tell 'em I said so! 😃 ---
**Author:** ![pendgwen](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/3da27b/32.png) [@pendgwen](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pendgwen)\ **Post date:** [May 3, 2006, 12:42am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/anyone-else-have-trouble-going-from-lurker-to-member/355084/25 "2006-05-03T00:42:45Z")
Yes. I haven’t checked my posting rate but I would guess it’s somewhere around 1 per month. Usually by the time I get to a thread what I would have said has already been said and there doesn’t seem to be much point in posting just to say “Me too.” The pathetic part is that I’ve been a member for years and still haven’t grown out of this newbie shyness. ---
**Author:** ![Sierra\_Indigo](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/f0a364/32.png) [@Sierra\_Indigo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sierra_Indigo)\ **Post date:** [May 3, 2006, 1:25am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/anyone-else-have-trouble-going-from-lurker-to-member/355084/26 "2006-05-03T01:25:16Z")
I post in fits and starts. Sometimes, I’ll go for weeks without posting. Or I’ll start to make a post, and get a case of the shy and go away to read something else. Then a few weeks later, I’ll end up posting to almost every thread I come across. Sometimes people respond to me, sometimes others seem to rehash what I just said two posts before hand. But nobody’s made me feel unwelcome. I get the feeling sometimes that because I’ve paid, I really should post more. But that doesn’t come on too often any more. $15 is not much in the scheme of things, and if it lets me post even as infrequently as I do, then it’s worth it. Take heart, there’s a lot of lurkers who pony up the $15 and then don’t say much at all. ---
**Author:** ![MadPansy64](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/dc4da7/32.png) [@MadPansy64](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MadPansy64)\ **Post date:** [May 3, 2006, 1:35am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/anyone-else-have-trouble-going-from-lurker-to-member/355084/27 "2006-05-03T01:35:44Z")
> [@pendgwen](#): > > Yes. I haven’t checked my posting rate but I would guess it’s somewhere around 1 per month. Usually by the time I get to a thread what I would have said has already been said and there doesn’t seem to be much point in posting just to say “Me too.” The pathetic part is that I’ve been a member for years and still haven’t grown out of this newbie shyness. What \*\*Pendgwen \*\* said! 😉 How 'bout I get drunk, start a weird thread in which everyone can get their feet thoroughly wet, so we can practice a little to get over our shyness without ending up in The Pit? Sort of a boring MMP (not **Monday** , or **Morning** , but still a **Post** in which random sharing & hijacks are encouraged) just for Lurkers, Newbies & the Shy? I promise that the OP will be not articulate, completely without cites and possibly whiny, so y’all will look good by comparison. What say ye? ---
**Author:** ![legalsnugs](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/45deac/32.png) [@legalsnugs](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/legalsnugs)\ **Post date:** [May 3, 2006, 2:29am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/anyone-else-have-trouble-going-from-lurker-to-member/355084/28 "2006-05-03T02:29:41Z")
Aaaahhhh - finally a thread I can really relate to! Lurkers are cool. 🆒 ---
**Author:** ![tomndebb](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/b9e5f3/32.png) [@tomndebb](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/tomndebb)\ **Post date:** [May 3, 2006, 2:29am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/anyone-else-have-trouble-going-from-lurker-to-member/355084/29 "2006-05-03T02:29:57Z")
> [@pendgwen](#): > > The pathetic part is that I’ve been a member for years and still haven’t grown out of this newbie shyness. It’s the tux. Very few people can feel comfortable wearing one of those–it adds to the feeling of strangeness. ---
**Author:** ![roger\_thornhill](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/d9b06d/32.png) [@roger\_thornhill](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/roger_thornhill)\ **Post date:** [May 3, 2006, 2:46am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/anyone-else-have-trouble-going-from-lurker-to-member/355084/30 "2006-05-03T02:46:26Z")
None at all. First time I came here, I opened a thread, read the original post, and thought this place needs my wisdom, insight and understanding, and started posting. I haven’t looked back. Actually, I think that was the last post by someone else I read. ---
**Author:** ![Zachlee](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/z/e9bcb4/32.png) [@Zachlee](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Zachlee)\ **Post date:** [May 3, 2006, 3:05am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/anyone-else-have-trouble-going-from-lurker-to-member/355084/31 "2006-05-03T03:05:11Z")
> [@McNew](#): > > I feel your pain. > > I lurked for a couple years before jumping in and ponying up the 15 beans, and now that I’m here I feel nearly as invisible as when I was a lurker. I wasn’t one of those that announced myself in a big coming out party, because I preferred to just meander my way in. But I find that I kill a lot of threads, or comments I make usually go unrecognized. > > But I’m not that worried. I don’t have too many posts yet, and I’m not entirely unhappy with flying under the radar a bit. > > This may or may not be what you’re referring to when you say you’re having trouble. So in response to the thread title, yes, I’m also having a bit of trouble. But as far as offering advice? Sorry, can’t help ya other than to wish you luck. > > 😃 Oh, it’s like I wrote that myself. And McNew, I bet I could beat you in a thread kill-off contest. I’m a master. Sometimes I just answer myself a few times so it’s like a real conversation! well, I’ll always say hi, anyway. ---
**Author:** ![Arien](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/e0b2c6/32.png) [@Arien](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Arien)\ **Post date:** [May 3, 2006, 3:17am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/anyone-else-have-trouble-going-from-lurker-to-member/355084/32 "2006-05-03T03:17:43Z")
> [@pendgwen](#): > > Yes. I haven’t checked my posting rate but I would guess it’s somewhere around 1 per month. Usually by the time I get to a thread what I would have said has already been said and there doesn’t seem to be much point in posting just to say “Me too.” The pathetic part is that I’ve been a member for years and still haven’t grown out of this newbie shyness. Um, yeah, me too. Maybe I’ll just start more threads, even if I don’t have any interesting stories to share, it can be an opportunity for others to tell their own. ---
**Author:** ![ultrafilter](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/u/3d9bf3/32.png) [@ultrafilter](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ultrafilter)\ **Post date:** [May 3, 2006, 3:51am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/anyone-else-have-trouble-going-from-lurker-to-member/355084/33 "2006-05-03T03:51:13Z")
We were all new here once, and I still read many more threads than I post to. Just keep reading, post when you have something to say, and you’ll be good to go. ---
**Author:** ![corkboard](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/e9bcb4/32.png) [@corkboard](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/corkboard)\ **Post date:** [May 3, 2006, 1:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/anyone-else-have-trouble-going-from-lurker-to-member/355084/34 "2006-05-03T13:00:42Z")
> [@Zachlee](#): > > Oh, it’s like I wrote that myself. > > And McNew, I bet I could beat you in a thread kill-off contest. I’m a master. > > Sometimes I just answer myself a few times so it’s like a real conversation! > > well, I’ll always say hi, anyway. Maybe you and I should just keep responding to each other in this thread, and one of us is bound to kill it. Then the other one can respond “HA!!” ---
**Author:** ![jali](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/ecae2f/32.png) [@jali](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jali)\ **Post date:** [May 3, 2006, 1:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/anyone-else-have-trouble-going-from-lurker-to-member/355084/35 "2006-05-03T13:44:50Z")
There are some areas that I’m still a bit hesitant to post, based on the grammar and spelling Nazis usually lurking nearby, waiting to pounce. The point of the post may have been lost as the “scholars” debate my use of a certain word. ---
**Author:** ![Least\_Original\_User\_Name\_Ever](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/e480ec/32.png) [@Least\_Original\_User\_Name\_Ever](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Least_Original_User_Name_Ever)\ **Post date:** [May 3, 2006, 1:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/anyone-else-have-trouble-going-from-lurker-to-member/355084/36 "2006-05-03T13:55:37Z")
To anyone who’s afraid of posting, just post away. We’re all just average Joes and Janes (who, if you go by some threads, are all certified geniusessesses and started reading and complex math a day before breast feeding) around here. Take me, for example. I’m just your average 24 year old college student. I’m just typing this thread out while wearing a \*suit because I _like_ it. \*read: tube sock, a sombrero, and a giant foam finger, which makes typing VERY difficult. On a serious note, something will pique your curiousity. Some thread will be there that you’re interested in and that you feel you can provide something to. I encourage you to post, because if you don’t, we’re not learning from you, dammit. Don’t let **Great Debates** intimidate you. They’re kittens and there’s lots of verbal jousting, but sometimes topics veer so far from the original statement, it ends up being almost funny. You SHOULD, however beware the MMP. I sware, they’re all hydras in there that suck the meat out of any passerby. They want some fresh meat, that’s why they’re trying to push you to their lair. Oh, they talk about mundane things and banter about seemingly useless, trivial things that happen during their day, but don’t let it fool you. Believe it or not, that thread is the NSA’s number 1 most wiretapped place on the internets.\*\* \*\*with this being said, how can you NOT go and visit? ---
**Author:** ![dnooman](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/839c29/32.png) [@dnooman](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dnooman)\ **Post date:** [May 3, 2006, 2:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/anyone-else-have-trouble-going-from-lurker-to-member/355084/37 "2006-05-03T14:23:26Z")
just because you don’t get quoted, doesn’t mean that your post went unnoticed. I laugh at things other people write here, and seldom post that it made me laugh. That’s not my style. I’m sure any and all newbies like music of some sort, have favorite movies, and maybe even watch a little TV. Cafe Society is great for that. If you have an interest in anything specific, there’s either a thread already going on the subject, or you should start one. ---
**Author:** ![Cluricaun](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/bb73d2/32.png) [@Cluricaun](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cluricaun)\ **Post date:** [May 3, 2006, 2:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/anyone-else-have-trouble-going-from-lurker-to-member/355084/38 "2006-05-03T14:24:55Z")
> [@jali](#): > > There are some areas that I’m still a bit hesitant to post, based on the grammar and spelling Nazis usually lurking nearby, waiting to pounce. The point of the post may have been lost as the “scholars” debate my use of a certain word. Don’t sweat the word police. As one of my favorite and most quotable humans of all time, H.L. Mencken said: Such esoteric knowledge is the exclusive possession of grammarians, whose pride in it runs in direct ratio to its inaccuracy, unimportance and imbecility. English grammar as a science thus takes its place with phrenology and the New Thought: the more a grammarian knows of it, the less he is worth listening to. ---
**Author:** ![Zuzu\_s\_Petals](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/z/e19b73/32.png) [@Zuzu\_s\_Petals](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Zuzu_s_Petals)\ **Post date:** [May 3, 2006, 2:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/anyone-else-have-trouble-going-from-lurker-to-member/355084/39 "2006-05-03T14:47:04Z")
I think I’m probably the newest newbie here, with a grand old post count of ‘2’ so far. I’ve lurked for ages, but only paid the sign-up fee yesterday. And…um. Hello. Nice to be here. I’m too scared to _talk_ to any of you, but it’s nice to be here! 😃 ---
**Author:** ![Mindfield](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mindfield/32/19759_2.png) [@Mindfield](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mindfield)\ **Post date:** [May 3, 2006, 3:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/anyone-else-have-trouble-going-from-lurker-to-member/355084/40 "2006-05-03T15:51:52Z")
> [@Zuzu's Petals](#): > > I’m too scared to _talk_ to any of you, but it’s nice to be here! 😃 Should we just deliver a food dish under the couch until such time as you’ve acclimated to the surroundings and determined that we’re not actually going to eat you? Well, not yet anyway. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/anyone-else-have-trouble-going-from-lurker-to-member/355084.md?page=1) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/anyone-else-have-trouble-going-from-lurker-to-member/355084.md?page=3)