I have a question about lurkdome and the lurking lurkers that, er, lurk.
I was about to start this with a "confession"as to how long I’ve been reading these boards before finally joining in. But, it occurs to me that “confession” denotes guilt, and while it’s clear that lurkers are not looked upon kindly, I’m not exactly sure why.
Please don’t misunderstand; I’m not trying to get defensive or challenge the consensus of the community. I just want to understand the reasons behind that consensus.
As a rehabilitated lurker, let me say how much I have enjoyed you all for the last six years. I have learned, laughed and pondered with you, albeit anonymously. I never seem to meet clever, quirky people like the lot of you in real life.
So, someone please’splain…why the stigma surrounding lurkage?
There’s a stigma about lurking? I think most people here have lurked for at least a little while before starting in with the serious posting. I lurked for about 6-7 months before I posted.
Hmmmmmm… All this time I could swear I’ve picked up an antilurk vibe… Mayhaps I imagined it. Come to think of it, it’s been some time since I’ve encountered any lurk-related comments, so maybe there was a clique back in the days of yore that found me and my ilk undesirable. Anyway, thanks for the input!
There isn’t an anti-lurker sentiment as much as a desire to meet as many interesting people as possible. Lukers don’t contribute and therefore don’t become interesting parts of the conversation.
On the other hand, lurkers don’t begin their posting career by taking a big shit in GQ or Comments on Cecil’s Columns. (Those two must be the most visible to the twits on the outside. They attract all kinds of new refuse, whereas the old refuse drag their suckpuppets to The Pit.) They don’t spend their time convincing the regulars that there’s no hope for the rest of the connected world. Instead, they soak up a bit of culture and put their best foot forwards instead of into their mouth.
(Of course, the people who never post are a different breed altogether. They’re the Invisible Pink Unicorns of the message board universe. We might have many hundreds of them but we’d never know. Sneaky SOBs, aren’t they? :dubious: )
If anything, I think there’s a preference for having people lurk for awhile before they post. Just read some of the tirades in the pit about the newbies (er, I mean “guests”) who just blunder about, posting in the wrong forums, trampling all over board culture (not that we couldn’t use the occasional shakeup from routine) and generally taking a dump in some of the threads.
I don’t know how many people here blindly joined up without lurking at all. Anyone? Yes granted I’ve just converted into a paying member, but it took a special discount to get me here.
What? 15 bucks for the ability to chat with the best people cruisin’ the net?? 15 bucks?!?!
I agree MisterThyristor. I personally get more annoyed with people who DON’T lurk first and get a feel for what’s appropriate (and in which forum) before posting. I’ve seen that sentiment echoed a lot.
Major snarkiness is reserved for those who sign up as a guest without the benefit of a good lurk, then spend their 30 days making posts about how we’re doing it all wrong, and what’s wrong with us and why would anyone pay for membership and [insert leet here, 'cause I can’t do it], and o-O…
Yeah. Those folks can just go back to lurking, thankyouverymuch!
I lurked for quite a long time before joining. There is nothing wrong with lurking.
We have a small repast laid on for you just down the hall. It’s through the door marked “Initiation Room Four”.
(Please ignore the sign, and the giant flying insects carrying plastic bags, and the noises from further down the hall. We’re borrowing the facilities from Hal Briston, who has been conducting some “interesting” experiments of late.)
Ditto. I actively avoid getting into any arguments here, but that isn’t to say they aren’t fun to read on occasion. Also, I keep thinking that one of these days I’m going to have the definitive answer for someone in GQ, but dammit, someone always beats me to it!
I lurked for about a year before I joined, so don’t feel bad. The majority of posters here are very good at this and it was a bit intimidating jumping in.
