Re: Re: COMP: lurk etymology, alternatives

Glenn, who I see is trying to unsubscribe, unfortunately, said:

> <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>
>
Linda (who seemingly never took offense at the moniker "Rot Queen"), and
whose posts I relish, eventually said:

> 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...
>

Sure. Members who don't constantly post may still be interested in the
discussions, but either have little to add to a particular topic or are just
pretty busy. Or are involved in other lists which require attention and
bandwidth. Another term? I don't know, Silent Majority? A reading of a
month's postings might only show a relative handful of posters compared to
the actual membership. I sometimes post a bit, read most of the time, and
then, when the mood strikes, get into a real discussion. Am I lurking? Or am
I normal (well, that's not quite right), am I the average list member?

I don't mind the term lurker. When I started with lists, I lurked. Still do
at times, I guess. I've been busy, and this is recreation. Lurker seems an
apt term in the context of lists.  But I wouldn't go too far down the
dictionary and ascribe those definitions to "occasional posters".

And don't leave, Glenn, from one Carolinian to another.

Me talk pretty some day...

Jim Gibbons
NC Coast Zone 8A and sandy...
gibbman6@mchsi.com

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