Ping all you lurkers out there.

Oh man! Ad-blocking software has been detected! :'(

This website is run by the community, for the community... and it needs advertisements in order to keep running. Blocking our ads means your killing our stats!
Please disable your ad-block, or become a premium member to hide all advertisements and this notice.

OK, I know I'm unlikely to get a reply to this by the very nature of the people it's addressed to but...

I was just looking at the weekly poll results and I noticed that there are one or two people who have voted in the poll but have either never posted or only posted once despite being fairly long term members. This fascinates me. I think I understand lurking itself and the fact that some people prefer not to post because they don't like the idea of expressing their thoughts and opinions in the public domain, feel they don't have anything interesting to say or even that they only see the forum solely as a non-interactive resource much like 90% of other websites. Forums are communties and all communties have their well-known active members and not so well-known members. However, the idea of voting in a poll where the results are public seems to be totally at odds with my idea of why people lurk as expressed above. Am I missing something?

You can feel a certain affinity with someone by watching them on the TV or reading their books so I guess you can feel the same way and that you belong to the community just by reading posts without actually interacting with anyone. But voting in a poll is a limited kind of interaction with the community and ironically this interaction is meaningless as what does it matter to me that ForumUser1980 uses Firefox when I know nothing about him or her and have never seen a post by them?

Just thinking out loud here so apologies for the pub philosophy nature of this post.

 

Oh man! Ad-blocking software has been detected! :'(

This website is run by the community, for the community... and it needs advertisements in order to keep running. Blocking our ads means your killing our stats!
Please disable your ad-block, or become a premium member to hide all advertisements and this notice.

You put a lot of thought in this, Dr. Phil

I love the fact that you solicited a response from a group that *never* posts. What's even greater.... you've made it so they can't even answer properly in less than a paragraph.

Dude, Baba, you've got my vote for greatest thread, if there ever is such an award. Actually, now there should be.

 

I see what Fortch means Baba.

It's like standing in front of a table lamp and shouting 'Sing, damn you!'

I agree that it is a bit spooky though sometimes...

 

With the right tone of voice and a selection of drugs and/or alcohol, you'd be amazed what you can get that table lamp to do.
Hell, if you're ill enough, that can do it as well. I had a fever once and swore my cats were sat on top of the TV doing the OogaChaka dance while my dog was master of ceremonies in full ringmaster garb.
That's probably way more than most people want to know about how my brain works so I'll get me coat.....

 

You think that's weird, you ask a former addict about their experiences of going cold-turkey, you couldn't make it up.

Let's see if any respond! I'm hoping to draw a few out of the woodwork.

PS. Who's Dr Phil? American TV dude I'm guessing.

 

Enough said. ;)

 

Who abouts are you expecting a reply off Baba?

 

Um, hopefully a lurker explaining why they lurk and why they don't want to post. Of course, to do that, they'll have to post and so will no longer be a lurker. In that case, their views on why they are a lurker will no longer be valid as they won't be a lurker...

Oh dear, my brain hurts.

 

Baba that was a profound statement.

having spoken to other members on another forum who use this site but does not post, I can see from there point of view why they don't interact, they don't feel as though they have anything to offer, because they are new.

Despite my efforts to persuade them to join, they prefer to remain annomyous.

Then again just because they are a lurker should we judge them for this after all it's better to be a lurker than a leech!

What is a Leech?

 

Agree with that statement totally, most of the time i don't post because i cannot offer anything new so just mostly browse and enjoy reading other peoples post.

What may be an idea is to try and post interesting off topic random discussions in 'The Lounge - Off Topic' that would enable all forum users to post what ever they like about anything that would allow all users to contribute.

Just an idea...

 

I'm not judging anyone UCM, just looking for insight.

 

There's nothing stopping you mate...

 

Baba - I suppose I class myself as a lurker, a bit strange as I’ve been a member since 13th April 2004, but only made 75 posts! I view the site regularly but due to limited time make very few posts.

Home life is very busy with 2 kids under 2, but enjoy reading the posts when I get the chance. Very interesting watching the community come & go …….

“so I guess you can feel the same way and that you belong to the community just by reading posts without actually interacting with anyone” …. there is some truth in that

Muff


& no I haven’t voted in the poll !

 

Actually Sparky, there are limitations "with just Browsing"

For one - if you want to find a thread or a post that a CF member has written you can't do this unless your a member.

 

Good Point!

& nice to see your still around mufftak

 

OH (Monkey runs to the nearest dark corner to hide)

 

Wow Sparky just checked out your posts and points, looks like you've been busy over these last couple of months.

You soon be catching up with TCM