Why do some people lurk before leaping?

Hello,

I have seen a few intro threads here lately where the person says "long time lurker, new member here"

And it made me wonder. Why do some lurk and some jump right in?

I would like each one of you to tell me your reasons behind lurking. Why did you not just join up?

I was a lurker for awhile myself, maybe a few months before I took the leap.

My reasons for lurking:

1. Wanted to get a "feel" of how people posted on this board - the rules and style

2. Wasn't sure if this site was "legit" or ran by an arm of the shadow government - after MUCH research of the founders I realized they were looking for answers as well.

3. Wasn't sure I had what it took to contribute, then I said "what the heck" I can do this.

So, why did you lurk? or if you didnt what made you dive in head first?

I look forward to your responses.

Dorian Soran

The Good Doctor

I think paranoia is the main obstruction. Whether its making your self look stupid or the credentials of the website as you mentioned. It could be a case of not reading anything you feel strongly enough to contribute.

Im a jumper myself. My self esteem is'nt tied up in how people view me.

If i jump the gun and someone slaps me with a reasonable argument. then its a lesson learned as far as im concerned.

This has happened on many occasions but im better informed because of it

I lurked basically because I didn't want to post something which is wrong and look like a total idiot.

But now I've looked into conspiracies and became more interested, I feel the urge to post more.

I lurked for years because there were many threads that needed no real input from me other than to sit down and read them and also really this outlook meant I tended to use this place as a database and a think-tank, looking for answers.

My prime reason for coming here was not because I wanted to make friends or to shoot the breeze but to find out things about the world that the mainstream would never touch, and the more I lurked the more I realised I did not have to say anything. Searching from top to bottom I was finding theories or plausible answers to pretty much everything I had been questioning.

The members tended to be on the ball and deep in their lateral thinking that they tended to ask the questions I would have asked had I been a registered contributor. Therefore because I had no need to register and ask these questions I just slipped into a habit of lurking and this went on for years.

Of course the reason I did finally bite the bullet was there was a thread that either caught my attention or really got me thinking and I registered to thank an OP for an amazingly informative thread or post.

I am not here to gain kudos or a plethora of stars and flags, I am here to find some answers and though I do not have those answers yet, being a member and having lurked for years beforehand has certainly educated me to the hidden world that has been suppressed utterly by those who think they have a right to lie and hide the truth from us.

Thanks to ATS and its members I am not scrabbling around blind and fearful in the dark anymore and there is a definite light at the end of the tunnel.

That is why I lurked for years – perhaps three or four years before registering.

Just one reasons of a million reasons to lurk



[edit on 20-1-2010 by SmokeJaguar67]

reply to post by SmokeJaguar67


What an awesome answer to the question.

I like all the responses so far. It is kind of nice to hear other posters thoughts as far as why they do what they do.

Dorian Soran

The Good Doctor

I jumped straight in because I have a massive ego and yearned for recognition, stars and flags! So if you liked this post can you please star it, thanks in advance

I lurked because I felt that I needed to get a feel for the boards before I started to post. It sounds weird to describe, but after watching the boards for a year or two you see and get a feel of what the environment is like, and realise that you won't be laughed at and that your opinion is valued no matter what it is.

reply to post by Dorian Soran


I lurked for a while out of curiosity and then became really interested.

I'm one of those 'highly sensitive types' that's too shy to say hello to a person, let alone post on a public forum. The last thing I wanted to deal with was the doom of ruthless people, but figured I'd give it a try because ATS was just too fascinating to pass up.

So, of course, I've been flamed, attacked, and called names left and right like many others have, but I decided that it's therapy for me as it bothers me less each time... SO C'MON, GIVE ME YOUR BEST SHOT GUYS, I'M STILL IN THERAPY HERE!!! (I'm just kidding... really.... don't hurt me.... please....).

reply to post by misfitoy


I always thought the internet was a place where shy people could be extroverts. On the internet, everyone is equal. It does not matter whether you are rich or poor, tall or short, ugly or beautiful, wearing expensive designer clothes or something you got at a thrift store...all our words look the same when we type them.

My stepson told me about this board.I wanted to make sure he wasn't
saying anything that would have the F.B.I. knocking on our door looking
for him.I found it,gave the site a quick look, and then joined that same
day.

I too wondered the same thing here BTS: lurkers

I see many opening posts with I am new here, but I have been lurking since the 80's. Well, maybe not that long, but it comes off that way. One does not need to justify themselves by saying this. It is not necessary. At the same time, I ask myself why they didn't just join and read the threads. It makes absolutely no sense to me. You are still a lurker for as long as you don't post, and if the join date is all so important, then at least you have that too.

I lurked for a couple of weeks. I probably would have lurked a lot longer, but I had questions I wanted to ask.

Now I found myself addicted to this site......

I've been a lurker here for years - and I mean many YEARS!

I've always lurked because I love many of the threads here and the subject matter - some of the most intelligent people I have run across post on this site.

I've never registered because I generally never saw a need to post anything. Most of the time I don't have anything to offer to the thread that, in time, someone else wouldn't offer.

Mainly, I've never registered because of the reasons I've outlined below:

Also - - I'm no stranger to Internet message boards - I'm a PHP MySQL web developer and specialize in content management systems and database management. I've been doing it for about 15 years so I've been around. I have run several large message boards at a time as both admin and mod.

Generally speaking, debate on a message board is an exercise in mental masturbation (particularly left/right paradigm political debate). You'll never 'convert' anyone with an opposing opinion. It's a waste of time and effort.

Secondly, there are gangs of trolls that run through threads and just trample anything constructive that is being discussed simply for the laughs (lulz). Like 'drive by' shooters posting anything oppositional without thought and derailing a thread with Ad hominem attacks and non fact based statements to derail into chaos a thread so nothing gets communicated. Those genuine posters end up having to defend themselves from ravaging hoards of trolls attack them personally rather that actually discussing the issue in the thread. Folks that want to read and learn have to wade through juvenile sophomoric banter post after post till they get tired and move on.

Last, many boards become overrun with factions that only want to feed one side of the political paradigm or the other and often use gang posting and clusters of threads to drive great minds away. Truth or accuracy doesn't matter only cheerleading the ideology.

So .... though there truly are fantastic intelligent people that I would love to converse with over the Internet, and there are and have been many here on ATS, why would I or anyone else want to subject my thoughts and feelings to the knuckle dragging Neanderthals and trolls that message boards in general also attract?

Over the years I have watched as fantastic message boards DIED a long slow painful death due to the poison that eventually seeps into the boards. I have seen it happen many times before and IT IS happening here. I'm sure many here can attest to other posters who USED to post here but were chased away. If it's not controlled this board will die too!

THAT'S why I never registered before. Not because I am thin skinned but in today's world - why bother.

I browsed "lurked" for months. Partially because I don't have a tendency to join forums (just don't really have time to contribute and often just don't care enough to contribute long term) but the more I browsed, the more interesting the site became given it's many different sub-forums.

I also got caught up in reading a long running, controversial thread in Aliens/Ufo's forum which kept my interest for quite the while, even though I never "bought" the story from the beginning. Couldn't help going back to it everyday, just to see the evolution of it.

I also spent quite a lot of time reading old-threads. I really dislike it when new people join a forum without taking the time to learn any of the history, what's already been discussed, culture, style, topics, site layout, what's available where, etc. I like to have a feel for all of that, before I "jump" in...

I'm not here to be redundant...




[edit on 20-1-2010 by LadySkadi]

I had to join to try and help balance out the American view point on ATS. In turn Ive learnt a lot about American politics, and politicians i'd never heard of. I used to think Ron Paul was a black transvestite.

I am am one of those Intros haha.

For me it is because I felt I had nothing to contribute nor did I feel a need to give my two cents, but recently I've felt an urge to join up and help contribute to certain things.

I am also an extremely introverted person, so I never felt the need to join a big group. I just lurked here to brush up on some topics and see what was going on in the world that the regular media doesn't cover.

Something has recently changed and I have felt a draw to this place and it finally became so strong I decided I would join up and meet some people who think alike I and who think different than I.

There's a lot of wisdom to be had in the old sayings. "Lurk before you leap". My old Aunt Minnie had that cross stitched on a tea cozy. In fact I think she stitched it herself, the first time we had her put away.

reply to post by Dorian Soran


er...hi.I was lurking for around two years before i signed up...and then i went back to lurking.im still scared.There are quite alot of very clever people on here and im not.I love this place though.Its nice to know im not the only one who thinks a bit differently to the masses.

reply to post by Dorian Soran

Why do some people lurk before leaping?

That is a good point and you know what? Lurking is what the web is all about... at least for me. I don't sign up for a membership at every website I visit. Heck, I get over a hundred spams a day as it is!

Lurking is nothing more than window shopping before spending your email addy (and any other info) on the product.

Oh my goodness there are some interesting stories in this thread.

There seems to be as many stories as posters. I liked the one about posting and hoping the FBI wouldnt be knocking.

I have read them all so far and I have to agree with a bunch of different ideas I hadn't thought about until this post.

Reading the replies has helped me understand that we are all just posters on this big old world wide web and most have similar feelings, fears, reservations and that aunt that we had to "put away" a time or 2 ( haha )

Thanks for making this a most interesting thread!

Dorian Soran

The Good Doctor