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In Internet culture, a lurker is a person who reads discussions on a message board, newsgroup, chatroom, file sharing or other interactive system, but rarely participates. Image File history File links Circle-question. ... This article is about the Internet An internet is a more general term for any set of interconnected computer networks that are connected by internetworking Graphic representation of the WWW information network structure around Wikipedia, as represented by hyperlinks The Internet, or simply the Net, is the publicly available worldwide... This article or section does not cite its references or sources. ... A newsgroup is a repository usually within the Usenet system, for messages posted from many users at different locations. ... A chat room is an online forum where people can chat online (talk by broadcasting messages to people on the same forum in real time). ... File sharing is the activity of making files available to other users for download over the Internet, but also over smaller networks. ...

[Image:http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Image:LURK.jpg]

History

The term dates back to the mid-1980s, when most people did not have access to the internet, but used BBS chat rooms and message boards instead. The 1980s refers to the years of 1980 to 1989. ... Ward Christensen and the computer that ran the first public Bulletin Board System, CBBS A Bulletin Board System or BBS is a computer system running software that allows users to dial into the system over a phone line and, using a terminal program, perform functions such as downloading software and...

Because BBSs were often accessed by a single phone line (frequently in someone's home), there was an expectation that all who used a bulletin board would contribute to its content by uploading files and posting comments. Lurkers were viewed negatively, and might be barred from access by the sysop, if they did not contribute anything but kept the phone line tied up for extended periods.

Many internet communities advise newbies to lurk for some time to get a feel for the specific culture and etiquette of the community, lest they make an inappropriate or redundant comment, ask a frequently asked question, or incite a flame war. This leads to the tongue-in-cheek command to "lurk more". The verb to "de-lurk" means to start contributing actively to a community having been a lurker previously. Noob redirects here. ... Etiquette, also known as decorum, is the code that governs the expectations of social behavior, the conventional norm. ... FAQ is an abbreviation for Frequently Asked Question(s). The term refers to listed questions and answers, all supposed to be frequently asked in some context, and pertaining to a particular topic. ... This article is about the Internet meaning of the word flaming. For other meanings, and meanings of the word flame, see Flame. ...

There are also some who lurk on a forum habitually, and rarely, if ever, contribute. It is generally difficult to guess how many such lurkers are present, due to their silence.

Malevolent lurkers

Some lurkers may attempt to heavily involve themselves in the administration of a moderated forum by repeatedly alerting moderators to comments which offend their political or moral point of view, but refrain from participating in the discussion directly. Some of these lurkers occasionally post comments praising moderators, usually in an effort to curry favor. On Internet websites which invite users to post comments, a moderation system is the method the webmaster chooses to sort contributions which are irrelevant, obscene, illegal or insulting from contributions which are useful or informative. ... Moderator, a Latin word for he who moderates, can refer to: Moderator provinciae was the title of certain Roman provincial governors Moderator is a Scots, and Scottish English, gender-neutral word that approximates chairman or convener. ...

Benign lurkers

Most lurkers, however, are either shy, feel inadequately educated on a given topic, or are uncomfortable expressing their thoughts in written form on email lists. They enjoy reading others' posts and responses to them, but refrain from adding their own contributions. They have been known to send comments off-list, to individual posters, which are frequently positive.

Constructive lurkers

The constructive lurker is a person who regularly reads online forums but rarely posts. These individuals might have a high degree of sophistication within the topic of any given forum, but are unwilling to post detailed replies. Lurkers of this sort are not shy about posting. When these lurkers do post, they often provide well thought-out and detailed comment to the discussion at hand. A constructive lurker is often a veteran of several previous online discussion forums. Having been involved in many heated online discussions in the past, these lurkers often only contribute when the discussion takes a novel turn.

Smart-Ass lurkers

The "smart-ass lurker" is a person who watches a discussion take place, only to intervene with a derisive comment or "gotcha" comment that sends up the active participants (from a smug, detached position).

Perverted lurkers

The "perverted lurker" is a person who watches online discussions for the purposes of sexual arousal. They are often condemned by moderators and participants of topics such as women's issues and transsexualism, because they find their presence degrading. They may observe topics that are not prurient in and of themselves such as fashion, hair, and medical discussion boards. They may for instance, find something arousing in a discussion on breast cancer.

"The Lurkers Support Me in Email"

In flame wars, a person who is losing the argument and being ganged up on from all sides will sometimes make the claim that he is receiving email support from lurkers who are afraid join in the discussion. Such arguments are looked down upon since they cannot be proven without posting the emails, which is considered bad netiquette. To meet Wikipedias quality standards, this article or section may require cleanup. ...

Such claims inspired Jo Walton to write the filk "Lurkers Support Me in Email". Jo Walton (born in 1964) is a fantasy and science fiction writer. ... Filk is a form of music created from within fandom, and performed generally late at night at science fiction conventions. ...

The Lurkers support me in e-mail

They all think I'm great don't you know.

You posters just don't understand me

But soon you will reap what you sow.

Lurkers, lurkers, lurkers support me, you'll see, you'll see

Off in e-mail the lurkers support me, you'll see.

The lurkers support me in e-mail

"So why don't they post?" you all cry

They're scared of your hostile intentions

They just can't be as brave as I.

Lurkers, lurkers, lurkers support me, you'll see, you'll see

Off in e-mail the lurkers support me, you'll see.

One day I'll round up all my lurkers

We'll have a newsgroup of our own

Without all this flak from you morons

My lurkers will post round my throne.

Lurkers, lurkers, lurkers support me, you'll see, you'll see

Off in e-mail the lurkers support me, you'll see.

Source: http://barb.velvet.com/humor/lurkers.html

Pop Culture

J. Michael Straczynski, the writer of the television science fiction series Babylon 5, decided to use the term "lurkers" to refer to the homeless space station inhabitants of Brown Sector because of their similarity to Internet lurkers (see Internet marketing and fan influence on Babylon 5). Joseph Michael Straczynski (born July 17, 1954) is an award-winning American writer/producer of television series, novels, short stories, comic books, and radio dramas. ... Science fiction is a form of speculative fiction principally dealing with the impact of imagined science and technology, or both, upon society and persons as individuals. ... Babylon 5 is an epic American science fiction television series created, produced, and largely written by J. Michael Straczynski. ... The International Space Station in 2006 Computer-generated image of the completed International Space Station A space station is an artificial structure designed for humans to live in outer space. ... Internet marketing pioneer original Babylon 5 Interactive Information Kit Babylon 5 was one of the first shows to employ Internet marketing to create a buzz among online readers far in advance of the airing of the pilot episode. ...

There is an email archiving tool (http://lurker.sourceforge.net) of the same name.

A singer/songwriter project from Germany named itself "200 Lurkers" (http://www.200lurkers.com)

The circle of filmmakers starting in 1996 (and then the general film festival attendees) of the annual H.P. Lovecraft Film Festival call themselves "the Lurkers". Also the film festival program is called the Daily Lurker (after H.P. Lovecraft's The Lurker at the Threshold). The festival is run by Lurker Films. Howard Phillips Lovecraft (August 20, 1890 – March 15, 1937) was an American author of fantasy, horror and science fiction, noted for combining these three genres within single narratives. ... A publishing company, founded by Andrew Migliore focused on weird tales & literary horror—H.P. Lovecraft, Cthulhu Mythos, Edgar Allan Poe, Robert W. Chambers. ...

Andrew Migliore and John Strysik wrote a book called Lurker in the Lobby: A Guide to the Cinema of H.P. Lovecraft. Andrew John Migliore (b. ...

Trivia

In Japanese, a lurker is refered to by the wasei-eigo term "read-only member" (リードオンリーメンバー rīdoonrīmembā), possibly as a pun on "read-only memory". Likewise, a leech is called a "download-only member." Wasei-eigo (和製英語 wasei eigo, lit. ... In computer science and especially on the Internet, being a leech or leecher refers to the practice of downloading information from someone or group of people but not offering anything in return, or only token offerings in an attempt to avoid being called a leech. ...

References

Lurker also appears on Myspace. A lurker is someone who views your comments constantly and looking at who you are talking to. MySpace is a social networking website offering an interactive, user-submitted network of friends, personal profiles, blogs, groups, photos, music, and videos. ...

Further reading

• Blair Nonnecke and Jenny Preece (2003). "Silent participants: Getting to know lurkers better", in D. Fisher and Christopher Lueg: From Usenet to Co Webs: Interacting with social information spaces. Springer, 110–132. ISBN 1852335327. 

External links

• Participation Inequality: Lurkers vs. Contributors in Internet Communities - Article with several examples of the large percentage of users who lurk and guidelines for encouraging more participation.