Lois & Clark Forums Forums General Discussion Fun with Polls Why Lurk?

This is a follow-up to the other one -- I'm curious as to why people stay quiet (obviously I have absolutely *no* skill in that area ).

Don't worry, voting is anonymous, so that doesn't count as posting

You don't have to vote to see the results -- but I'd really like to see some votes from lurkers

PJ

Uh, Pam, clearly I also have little experience as a lurker... :rolleyes: ...but I understand some people just have nothing to say.

Really? Hmm... I never even considered that <g> How very odd...

PJ

I'm not going to vote, since I'm clearly not a lurker. But I started as a luker two years ago, so I still remember some of it.

I think I was reluctant to post because I didn't know anyone and it's always scary to jump in, whether it's in real life or on the mbs. I had tried posting at a couple of other places, and I'd never really connected with the groups, so I was hesitant to post. And I figured there wasn't really anything I *had* to say, because someone else always said something similar to what I had to say.

Ironically it was one of your stories that brought me out of lurkerdom. You were posting Hearts Divided, which I absolutely loved, and about halfway through, there was a discussion about concubines. I was dying to post because it reminded me so much of a line from the book, Dune, that I'd read years earlier, but I was really scared to start posting after having lurked for months.

Finally I couldn't resist, and I posted. You were nice to me, and I continued posting. So now, see, you have yourself to thank for delurking me. And I remember how excited I was to find out that you only lived minutes away. Stunning coincidence, really.

Annie

I am not and wasn`t ever a lurker but I think that they want to `test` the boards maybe.
You know what I mean?? See what kind of things the other people write and what their opinions are.
It could be possible, couldn`t it??

sunshine

Yeah, Sunshine, I expect that's probably a factor, too... it's actually pretty smart to get a sense of how things work before you jump in

Annie... cool! I love de-lurkers <g> And I try to be nice to everyone, but you were never in any danger -- hey, how could I have been mean to you when you thought I was a genius?

PJ

I only lurked for a few hours I think (lol) but I do know I was VERY nervous when I first posted... you all seemed like such a tight group where everyone knew everyone. There hadn't been any "Hi, I'm new" posts recently, so I didn't know how a newbie would/should act...

Thankfully, I got over that really quickly because you all are so great

And that was years ago...there are twice the amount of people now than there were when I joined!

-Breanna

I've lurked on boards elsewhere, and I find the most inhibiting factor when it comes to posting - or thinking about posting - is when everyone who does post seems to know everyone else very well. The atmosphere is like a club - or, to be less polite, it can be cliqueish. That kind of environment can really make a newbie feel like an outsider, especially when you get those three-word posts which mean nothing to you but clearly make all the regulars laugh hysterically.

I really hope we're not like that here on these boards...

there are a couple boards that i check regularly where i don't post too often. that's mostly because i find it interesting to read some things, but i don't have anything to say about them. either that, or i know that something i'm interested in will pop up every once in a while, but i'm not interested in the majority of what goes on. then there are the archive boards, which i check daily, but which collects posts pretty slowly.

in general, if i have something to say, i'll say it. if not, i'll keep quiet. so, i don't often think of myself as a lurker.

you're probably wondering why i'm bothering to post this. well, the thing is... this is my 100th post and i thought putting it here would be fun.

gotta go now. i've been on longer than i should.

Paul

Well, this is a topic with my name on it, because until very recently in this fandom, I was a lurker. I read Zoom's boards religiously but hovered on the edges for 18 months before making my first post. Probably for many of the reasons people have mentioned above: fear of not having anything scintillating to say (not that I do now either...), and it is definitely scary to jump in, especially into an "established" community. A person's character in RL probably plays a factor as well: a "shy" person will undoubtedly take longer to summon up the nerve to post than an outgoing one.

I also tend to worry - probably overmuch - about the way my written words come across. I've been in fandoms where misunderstandings have arisen over the slightest (unintentional) misphrasing, so I tend to be a little paranoid about not wanting to offend anybody. And I already spend way too much time on the computer as it is - if I'm going to take 30 minutes to write each post (ok, a slight exaggeration), then I'll never have time for anything else...

Kathy

I hope we can avoid clique-ishness here... or at least make it clear that new members are enthusiastically welcomed

But yeah, making private jokes in public -- in front of a lot of people who won't get it -- is tacky. Unless you can disguise it well enough that it doesn't look like a private joke... but even that's tricky

Kathy, I'm glad you got up the nerve to post I'll admit there have been a few dust-ups in FOLCdom, but we try to keep things calm if we can

PJ

Amen to that. But then it's like, once you jump in with both feet, you wonder why you were quiet in the first place. I probably did at least a year's worth of lurking around the FOLCdom before I started opening my mouth.

I also have recently "de-lurked" and for all the reasons said earlier in this thread. I was excited to join a "new" board, even though it's obvious that many of you already have "history" together, being a number less than 4000 and less people here so far seemed to make it less intimidating.

I have also "lurked" on other MBs that people got "flamed" for their remarks because it wasn't the popular opinion. Everyone here seems much more mature and respectful -- hey you all seem down right "friendly".

I'm still not sure if I have anything of "substance" to contribute to these boards, I guess time will tell.

I'm just glad to be here

glad you're here, too, rose. as for substance, you've got your own unique viewpoint. the more the merrier, imo. glad you de-lurked, and glad you feel welcome.

Paul

You're doing alright so far! And "substance" is overrated anyway Mostly what we do here is play, after all.

As for getting flamed for holding the "wrong" opinion, well, thankfully it hasn't been an issue yet, and we hope to keep things that way. Disagreements are healthy. Flaming is not allowed.

PJ

I'm a memeber, but i guess I'm aslo a lurker. I don't post much unless something really catches my eye.

Well, I don't think one has to be a newbie to the boards to end up lurking, a little or a lot. Sometimes real life can just get to be a hassle all on its own. Even those of us who've been around for a while find ourselves in situations where it's easier to lurk than actively participate and yet we don't really want to stop "visiting" a community completely. I think it all kind of ebbs and flows in that regard.

As to the clique issue, I'm not sure that's the word I'd use because it's much too negative. Life is more what I see happening all the time in this and other forums not connected to L&C. If something, even a community such is this, is alive then it's going to grow and change with the passage of time. Period. Change of that nature can sometimes mean more unity that can seem "clique-ish" to those not quite as involved at any given time. Sometimes, thouth, that same change can mean less unity and lead to division. Thing is, both can be perfectly healthy processes as long as the core reason for the group's existence remains strong.

And I think that gets right back to why I sometimes lurk much more than I post. Personally I simply don't have time to participate that actively anymore, or at least all the time, but I also recognize the signs of a "healthy" community in FoLCdom that I still enjoy keeping track of when I do have the time.

Beverly

I lurked for a long time on the net in general. When I started de-lurking it was generally only to give feedback. Now, I'm just increasing my post count. :p

Anyway, reasons why I lurked.

Everyone seemed to know everyone else. It's like at school, if there was a big group of friends you were never sure how to join that group, it was kinda intinidating.

Also, I'm not a very outgoing person, I generally only do well in small groups (seem to be doing ok here, so far though ), that's where I'm at my best.

I think I also lurked for a while cause I couldn't post just for the sake of posting, which was in part cause I didn't 'know' anyone, cause I hadn't posted. See, vicious circle there.

Next point. As a new person on the fic list I didn't know what the general 'mood'/tone of the group was. That didn't come out right. I think what I'm trying to say, is that I wanted to wait and see what the atmosphere so that I didn't say/do something that would disrupt everything. Still not quite what I mean, but I can't think of anything better!

And another thing, I couldn't think of anthing to say, I didn't what to post just for the sake of posting. I seem to be getting over that.

That's all that comes to mind at the moment.

Loriel (so glad she came out of Lurkdom, and who also never voted, cause, well, she stopped lurking to christen the new boards and hasn't looked back since! )

I voted, even though I'm not a lurker anymore. I think I lurked for about a month on Zoom's boards, not sure anymore. Basically I didn't have time to post.

I decided to go for the irony here :
after over 3 years of lurking around L&C fanfic it was this poll that finally persuaded me to come out!!!

I guess I was always nervous/ embarassed about posting but I have read everything on the archive (at least twice!) and just wanted to say how much you guys have all inspired and entertained me.

Although I haven't got round to writing anything of my own yet i decided to try giving proper feedback by posting replies when I have the time - because I love this stuff so much and I know that you writers appreciate it!!!

Hopeless chocoholic (who can't believe she is actually going to post this )