Re: COMP: lurk etymology, alternatives

<I want to request Linda M and others to find a gentler word than
"lurker" to refer to list members who do not post daily!... Glenn Grigg,
Raleigh, NC Zone 7>

Lurk does have connotations of stalking, lying in wait to pounce, but
the term has been around in cyberspace a lot longer than I've been here.

From a "netiquette" web page:
<Lurk Before You Leap.
            Whenever you join a new group on the Internet-- a newsgroup,
mailing list, chat forum--take time to lurk before engaging in
discussion. Read the forum for a few days without responding so that you
can get an idea of how things work in this particular group. >

Some forums suggest lurking for 2 or 3 weeks before posting.

Another page says:
<...lurk... [is a] Term used to describe users who log on and "listen"
in to a ...session without actively participating.>

On the other hand, I have referred to those who only rarely post as
lurkers, and I guess technically, they are no longer officially lurkers
one they've posted.

Maybe we can spawn a new word for occasional posters, although I noticed
when I hunted up the netiquette pages that posters in other forums say
they are going back to lurking, implying it is a reversible process...

I found lots of definitions and suggestions for lurking, but no
explanation for why this particular term has been in use, unless there
is a tendency to feel like a hidden stalker has pounced when someone
suddenly de-lurks (another accepted descriptive word in cyberspace).

In the early days of iris talk, some folks said they were 'de-cloaking'
rather than 'de-lurking' when they would occasionally post.  So we could
refer to non-posters as cloaked, if you enjoy the Star Trek universe.
But most of those cloaked ships belonged to the bad guys, Klingons and
Romulans sneaking around...

Maybe 'lurk' was the least derogatory short word folks could think of?
Clearly 'snoop' is worse!

definitions/synonyms of lurk:
To move silently and furtively: creep, crouch, go furtively, gumshoe
glide, mouse, prowl, pussyfoot, skulk, slide, slink, slip, snake, sneak,
snoop, stay hidden, steal, wait.

While I was at it, I tried to find some netiquette on talking too much,
but no success :-)

Linda Mann east Tennessee USA zone 7/8
East Tennessee Iris Society <http://www.korrnet.org/etis>
American Iris Society web site <http://www.irises.org>
talk archives: <http://www.hort.net/lists/iris-talk/>
photos archives: <http://www.hort.net/lists/iris-photos/>
online R&I <http://www.irisregister.com>

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