why do people lurk?

i saw this in a forum and although i wanted to post my response, i felt like it's not right for me to post there XD

so i'm posting here

why i think people lurk?

i think it's not exclusive to one fandom

people said many different things on the thread there, like the language barrier and other relevant stuff like that...

i'm a bit of a lurker in that forum too...

but it's really just because it's like my opinions aren't so welcome, i guess... haha... i dunno... i've always been paranoid of higher laws... like the general vibe of the place... stuff like that...

also i've had the saddest experiences of being ignored in some forums XD

i think shyness and laziness is also a factor in lurkerhood...

there are times when i want to post but my thoughts go like 'i look conceited posting... are my opinions that important that people have to see them here?' stuff like that...

i really try to encourage people to delurk because forums are for discussion... contribution need not be just news and pictures, news and pictures, news and pictures... insight is important too...

especially for fans like us... i think it's bad when only one person gets to say anything because that sort of creates a kind of like hidden higher law... dunno... haha cuz that person has balls and you don't... something like that XD

i think many forums have a live-and-let-live kind of philosophy going on so there's not much to fear, i think...

i remember that one week in this other forum when there was a sudden avalanche of topics and people replied right away... but after that batch of responses, not surprisingly, from the same people, it just died...

people think they have nothing to say while they amuse themselves with what others have to say... that's kinda parasitic, isn't it XD

i hope the active posters would want the lurkers to post every now and then... information and insight need not be exclusive... at least that's what i think...

i also think some people are scared of being called postwhores...

haha

i dunno, i feel it's unfair that some people just post until they have enough posts to access stuff... like the post count thing is installed there to stimulate activity and contribution to the community... so it's anti-community to just post until you've got enough posts to get shit then go into severe lurkerhood... that's taking more from the community than what you've given...

like for me, in jph!p, i didn't even know that there was a restricted area and that there's a post count limit... i asked for access only after posting my 200th post or so XD

like there, i just wanted to post and post and post XD

it's fun...

there are forums with stricter rules though... but rules always have to be respected...

yeah... haha

there goes tru and her word salad again... gomen minna-san