Forum lurking: come on down!

[fingal]

Hello

A question I find fascinating is, 'How many people lurk on any given web Forum' and 'How can you get lurkers to post to Forums?'

I never gave this much thought in the past, until I joined another Forum a while back (yes, I have a double life, aside from old 'Fingal') and a few people just jumped in and said, 'I've lurked here for a couple of years, but I was too shy to post before.'

I also noticed that such people tended to come and go; but perhaps they just changed online identities to reflect their new found confidence!

What do you think about this? Have you ever lurked in an online community? Are you currently lurking but would secretly like to post something? Why not introduce yourself and say hello?

[Dapper Dan]

I think it depends on the forum.

Some like Linuxforums are friendly and considerate toward new members. Others I've been to are like a wild west town. No rules and hostility is the norm. While I can flame and yell with the best of them, I prefer a forum with civility. That's why I like it here and easily get put out with members who conduct themselves in a rude or inconsiderate manner.

If any lurkers are reading this, please know that Linuxforums is among the most civil and polite forums you'll find anywhere on the net. No one is going to berate you or belittle you. If they try, rest assured they'll be swiftly dealt with by our excellent moderators.

So come on down and post so we can get to know you!!

[bigtomrodney]

Yeah I've lurked in a few. I'm even a member in a few that I don't post in. But I do find that it depends on the environment. I find myself not being as relaxed on aone news site in particular.

[Thrillhouse]

I lurked on one forum for almost two years before I finally registered to say something. Up until that point, I only went there to see the conversation/debate that went back and forth. It was interesting but I was never motivated to say anything, myself, until one day when a thread struck a chord with me. It was odd because I knew the personalities of the regular posters there so well that they were kind of taken aback when I finally did join in on the conversation. Needless to say, I'm now a regular there as well.

I agree with Dapper Dan, too. A lot of Linux forums have arrogant and condescending members who don't really welcome new users and berate them for asking simple questions. I don't care for those people. It seems like they just don't want anyone intruding on the little niche they've created for themselves. And God help any newbie who tries to go on an IRC chat for help. They're often yelled at right out of the chat and probably no longer feel like trying Linux.

I feel like we have a very welcoming community here and I hope it stays that way.

[fingal]

I feel like we have a very welcoming community here and I hope it stays that way.

Yes I feel the same. Thanks Thrillhouse, that was interesting. Funny, but it would never occur to me to lurk on a Forum...

I know what you mean about rude people online: I hate that! I try to behave online the same way as I would if you met me face to face. I think if this community had turned out to be as boorish as the ones you've described I would have left long ago.

[cSquared]

I'm fairly new as far as using forums and such, but I have to agree with you guys. This is an EXCELLENT forum. I have recieved nothing but courtesy and consideration since I have joined. The moderators and admins here are doing a fantastic job. Thanks alot.

btw I only lurked around this site for a couple of days before I new I had nothing to fear here.
Thanks for the help and I will always be ready to help someone who may need what little knowledge I might have.

[bigtomrodney]

Welcome to the forum cSquared...I hope it lives up to expectations

<btr inserts obligatory nana>

[cousinlucky]

Very seldom in my whole life have I been able to stay silent for long. As you can probably imagine there have been places on the Internet that do not every want to be exposed to my opinions again. That is alright by me. No two people I have ever known think exactly alike.

I have friends whose opinions are very far from mine but we respect each other as decent and honable human beings and so our deep friendship continues.

Humans have all kinds of reasons for not " joining in ". They may be shy or insecure of themselves or very sensitive to being critisized. Some people have encased themselves in shells and do not know how to get themselves out.

If I were young I would probably feel very inferior being on a Linux forum and being the complete computer illiterate that I am. However I am old and quite willing to laugh at my own inept computer follies. I am secure in the knowledge that there are some things I know quite well.

I think the " Open Source Community " has great promise for the betterment of the human race. If it were not for the crossword puzzles I would not even buy a newpaper any more. I get my news, sports, etc on the Internet. I do not watch commercial television. There's Apple, Windows, and Linux on the Internet at present. I think that Linux with its open source concept is a superior human mentality that will serve our species extremely well in the future.

No one can punch you in the nose on the Internet for having a different opinion than the one entrenched in a bullys mind.

Believe me, in hindsight, I've asked some pretty dumd computer questions on this and other forums; but I have learned a lot, even when I did not want to.

The moderators are not going to let anyone " rock the LinuxForums " boat and get away with it. They do a great job of keeping this forum on the up and up. No one should ever feel timid about posting on this forum.

[budman7]

I am a member of a few forums, but I rarely post in them.
Sourcemage and Gentoo particularly.
And there are some message boards such as the ESPN boards and distrowatch where I very rarely post.
But I check the message boards all of the time, and only login and post when something really strikes me.

[MikeTbob]

Hello

A question I find fascinating is, 'How many people lurk on any given web Forum' and 'How can you get lurkers to post to Forums?'

I never gave this much thought in the past, until I joined another Forum a while back (yes, I have a double life, aside from old 'Fingal') and a few people just jumped in and said, 'I've lurked here for a couple of years, but I was too shy to post before.'

I also noticed that such people tended to come and go; but perhaps they just changed online identities to reflect their new found confidence!

What do you think about this? Have you ever lurked in an online community? Are you currently lurking but would secretly like to post something? Why not introduce yourself and say hello?

I think the number of Lurkers on any Forum, might surprise you. I think every Forum has it's own Lurkers, who have no desire to post. I have been a Member of Slashdot for awhile, I participate in the Moderating/Polls/Firehose, but I haven't posted one single msg. I'm pretty sure I don't have any "insecurity issues". I think it (not posting) has more to do with remaining anonymous.