# Lurkers creep me out... **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [January 24, 2013, 11:50am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lurkers-creep-me-out/648211 "2013-01-24T11:50:10Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 11\ **Page:** 4
**Author:** ![Biggirl](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/biggirl/32/3294_2.png) [@Biggirl](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Biggirl)\ **Post date:** [January 30, 2013, 5:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lurkers-creep-me-out/648211/61 "2013-01-30T17:27:41Z")
> [@Zeldar](#): > > This has occurred to me in many forms: > > 1. Celebrities checking for what “fans” really think about them > 2. TV show producers wanting genuine feedback > 3. government agency types who just have to check everywhere for civil unrest and plotting > 4. CEO’s and other executives finding dirt on their underlings > 5. parents snooping on their kids > 6. aliens Not that long ago I posted a pan of a Science Channel or Discover Channel show (which I have totally forgotten the name of at the moment). Other dopers came to defend it. And then the star of the show showed up to defend it. Boy, was there egg on my face! ---
**Author:** ![Zeldar](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/z/b77776/32.png) [@Zeldar](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Zeldar)\ **Post date:** [January 30, 2013, 5:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lurkers-creep-me-out/648211/62 "2013-01-30T17:40:46Z")
**Biggirl** , I will concede that it could just be wishful thinking about such things, and that it may apply to many other message boards than just this one, but I have observed quite a few cases where the direction of the plot or a character or maybe even something as incidental as the music or the lighting will change noticeably and suddenly after complaints (or praise) have been registered by fans of a show. Your case is just at the extreme of how a show’s people regard such comments, I guess. ---
**Author:** ![AncientHumanoid](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ancienthumanoid/32/278_2.png) [@AncientHumanoid](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/AncientHumanoid)\ **Post date:** [January 30, 2013, 6:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lurkers-creep-me-out/648211/63 "2013-01-30T18:24:54Z")
> [@Biggirl](#): > > Not that long ago I posted a pan of a Science Channel or Discover Channel show […] Boy, was there egg on my face! A cooking show? ---
**Author:** ![Red\_Wiggler](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/red_wiggler/32/13190_2.png) [@Red\_Wiggler](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Red_Wiggler)\ **Post date:** [January 30, 2013, 6:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lurkers-creep-me-out/648211/64 "2013-01-30T18:57:06Z")
Remember the fairly recent “Why are people slow” thread? By the time I process the content that makes a thread interesting and chew over a suitable response, the thread has been dead for a week. ---
**Author:** ![Trinopus](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/2bfe46/32.png) [@Trinopus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Trinopus)\ **Post date:** [January 30, 2013, 10:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lurkers-creep-me-out/648211/65 "2013-01-30T22:24:41Z")
> [@Krouget](#): > > I spent quite a bit of time lurking on this board, as well as others, before joining. . . . Heck, I spent several years lurkingafter joining! I made a few very experimental early posts, got my head handed to me (quite properly!) and decided to watch and learn how it ought to be done. ---
**Author:** ![Courk](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/91b2a8/32.png) [@Courk](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Courk)\ **Post date:** [January 31, 2013, 1:19am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lurkers-creep-me-out/648211/66 "2013-01-31T01:19:37Z")
Normally I wouldn’t respond to a thread like this with a post like this – I’m not actually adding any content. But the topic made me feel like I should, to avoid being creepy. 40th post in almost 12 years. 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![Ambivalid](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/a5b964/32.png) [@Ambivalid](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ambivalid)\ **Post date:** [January 31, 2013, 1:26am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lurkers-creep-me-out/648211/67 "2013-01-31T01:26:30Z")
I bet it’s only the ugly lurkers who creep you out, huh? ---
**Author:** ![Nzinga\_Seated](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/b5ac83/32.png) [@Nzinga\_Seated](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Nzinga_Seated)\ **Post date:** [January 31, 2013, 9:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lurkers-creep-me-out/648211/68 "2013-01-31T21:32:44Z")
Man, I love lurkers. They are the epitome of cool, to me. Like the silent type at a party, you know? All of us big mouths are drunkenly shouting over each other and doing tequila shots and James Dean is leaning against the wall, sipping a scotch, neat. When a lurker delurks to respond to something I have posted, I always get a little thrill. I think, “Wow…10 years silent, and then to break that for me. Cool.” Doesn’t happen often, but I seem to remember once or twice. Anyway, I mostly lurk in Great Debates, but that is only because I go there to learn, not to spout off about stuff that I’m not educated on. ---
**Author:** ![MeanOldLady](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/meanoldlady/32/10737_2.png) [@MeanOldLady](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MeanOldLady)\ **Post date:** [January 31, 2013, 9:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lurkers-creep-me-out/648211/69 "2013-01-31T21:46:26Z")
> [@Nzinga\_Seated](#): > > When a lurker delurks to respond to something I have posted, I always get a little thrill. I think, “Wow…10 years silent, and then to break that for me. Cool.” _squeal_ Me too! If I see a post by a name I don’t recognize, and the join date was from years back, I look at their profile. If they only have a handful of posts, I think it’s kind of cool. Of course, it’s possible that they just don’t come here very often, but I like to assume that they do but only seldom feel provoked to post. Because it makes me feel better. ---
**Author:** ![genuinejon](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/b3f665/32.png) [@genuinejon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/genuinejon)\ **Post date:** [January 31, 2013, 10:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lurkers-creep-me-out/648211/70 "2013-01-31T22:10:24Z")
First! ---
**Author:** ![Layla01](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/layla01/32/15552_2.png) [@Layla01](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Layla01)\ **Post date:** [February 2, 2013, 5:58am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lurkers-creep-me-out/648211/71 "2013-02-02T05:58:10Z")
Darn it **Courk** - you beat me. Under 150 posts in nearly 10 years… I lurk every day, just the quiet type I guess. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lurkers-creep-me-out/648211.md?page=3)