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Lurking in the Shadows


StormWolfe
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So, let's talk about Lurkers!


In general RPG terms, Lurkers are those that drop into a site or chat, maybe register an account but never get active. That's the short version. I have known and been on sites that kick them off if they are not immediately active. Some sites are far more chill about their Lurker community.


Personally, I don't mind them at all! Free advertising because there's always the chance they will tell their friends to check out the site. We welcome them pleasantly and then let them be. The two I have on my western site just hang out, occasionally they chat about our plots. I'm happy if they read our posts and just chill.


I know that sometimes Lurkers join sites or Discord, chats, etc., to make mischief. I don't think that is what the majority of them do though and would term the troublemakers as Trolls, not Lurkers.


I will not usually register an account until I've finished my lurking phase. I read everything I can find. After that, I'll reach out via chat, guest friendly forum, Discord, etc.


So, what do you guys think?

  • Do you allow Lurking?
  • Do you have rules for Lurkers?
  • Good experiences?
  • Lurkers - why do you lurk?

Someone somewhere went to sleep and dreamed us all alive.
Dreams get pushed around a lot, and I doubt if we'll survive.
We won't get to wake up, dreams were born to disappear.
And I'm pretty sure that none of us are here.
~ None of Us Here by Jim Stafford ~

 

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Both of the sites I staff welcome lurkers. Which, in my opinion, is how things should be. Roleplaying is not just about writing! Its about reading too. Some people prefer one more than the other. Or they're interested in your site but don't have time to commit to a character at the moment. There are a lot of reasons for people to lurk. Once you register an account, you can follow threads you're interested in and some sites don't allow you to view character bios or site events until you register.

 

Our lurkers fall into the same rules as any other member that's registered for our site. On Witchlight there are no activity requirements so you could lurk forever. But if you're not communicating with us, we will send out a PM every 3 months to make sure you're still around.  

 

Sufficient Unto the Day has had a great deal of success with wooing lurkers into writing. A lot our members were lurkers first, which is totally understandable. Historical sites get a bad rap for being restrictive/limiting and its a good idea to suss them out before committing. We haven't had too many lurkers on Witchlight, and those we do have at the moment gave staff good reasons for not jumping into the activity just yet. 

 

As for reasons lurkers lurk, I'm pretty guilty of being a silent watcher before joining a site. I like to read a few things, see which writers I'm most likely to click well with. I don't usually get involved in a Discord server until I've finished a few weeks of lurking around, making sure the site will run a while and my writing will mesh nicely. In fact,  rarely register an account until I've written up my first character or two. I'm not really shy per say, but I hate to get an admin's hopes up about a new member only to realize the place just isn't the community for me.

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Oh I love lurking! I can lurk for ages, like a sniper, before actually committing to anything. In fact, I lurked on a board for 1 1/2 years before joining once (and no, it didn't shut down the next day, in fact it's still very much going strong although I'm not a member anymore). So I'm just going to answer this question as the lurker I am since the rest of this doesn't really apply to me at the moment.

 

Lurkers - why do you lurk?

There are several reasons why I might hang around and lurk at a site, but it typically boils down to one main reason and two more minor reasons that are dependent on how the main reason goes.

 

So, the main reason I lurk is typically to suss a community out and get a feel for it before committing to anything. That could be things like rules, lore and characters, it could be a bit more nitty gritty like reading posts to get an idea if they're someone I'm compatible with or somewhere I'd feel intimidated/drained by playing at. I also lurk to see how members interact with each other, how the staff treat people and what kind of sitewide (if the site does them) plots they might do, whether smaller plots and player input is okay and just get an overall feeling for what exactly it is I would be joining if I choose to go down that road.

 

Now, I can lurk for a very long time, sometimes because I'm unsure, often because I don't have time right there and then or I'm torn between more than one board (but only being able to join one) and so lurking in order to get a better idea if one of them is better than the other (for me specifically). I like seeing what kind of character ideas and plots I can come up with before joining and just generally letting my brain marinate a little and see if it's someplace that's just shiny and new right then or someplace I could see myself exploring several different ideas at (which is what I prefer).

 

The other two reasons are; I'm no longer a member (for whatever reason, but I'm not on bad terms with anyone) but I enjoy keeping up with things and seeing how things are going because I did really enjoy my time there or; It's not for me but the concept/plot/setting/something is interesting enough to me that I want to see where it goes and what happens because even though it's not a place I want to play, I'm intrigued enough to hang around watch. 

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I'm not a lurker, but I'll give my opinion as an admin. 

  • Do you allow Lurking? To a point, as outlined below. I only keep track of people that are lurking in the Discord, because watching over who's visiting the site is a level of micromanagement that I don't have the time or the energy for. Unless I find out that you're stealing content, I'm not going to even notice you're there, tbh. 
  • Do you have rules for Lurkers? If someone hasn't posted in the Discord in over a month, I'll reach out to them and ask if there's anything I can do for them. If there's no answer, then I'll remove them. If they've got some reason, I'll let them be. I prefer to only keep people that are actually involved in the site or server somehow. 
  • Good experiences? No good, no bad. There's been a handful of people that ghost but otherwise, everyone that's popped into the server has become a member. 
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  • Do you allow Lurking?

Yes. I like having fans. And I like interacting with them, hearing their opinions.

  • Do you have rules for Lurkers?

No, I have no rules. If they are not members, then why have rules for them?

  • Good experiences?

Yes, I have some. I know we have fans. @Gothicis one of them. We both read each others sites when we have time. There are more, but I am not sure who of them are members here. Some of them had been members once upon a time and had no more time/ inspiration, others simply have no time because they staff their own sites. 

  • Lurkers - why do you lurk?

Because I like reading some sites stories or newsletters, but I do not have time to join these sites or I have no inspiration to further their stories, just to read them.

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I can't speak from an admin perspective, but I can speak from a Lurker perspective. While I normally don't stick around a site for long as I usually wrap up whether I'm interested in it or not pretty fast, there have been one or two sites where I'll find the community and plots enjoyable, but not enjoyable enough to join in on. This can be for a number of reasons:

 

  • If I'm already invested in one or two other sites I might not have the time to devote to a third in the way I'd want, but I still want to stick around just in case one of the sites I am apart of lose steam or I simply would rather be apart of the one I'm lurking on. (in short, I'm an RP Whore and I'm fickle with what I'd like to write about)
  • If life reasons get in the way of being apart of the site writer wise, but not personality wise
  • If I know someone that wanted me on the site, but the site itself doesn't call to me
  • If I have plans to join the site but have yet to find my muse
  • If I lose my muse shortly after joining the site
  • No matter how extroverted and plot-happy I am, sometimes it's hard to find writing buddies and making open threads nonstop is boring, so I might lose steam and just be active in Cbox/Discord for who knows how long before I find someone that actually wants to write something other than one or two posts

 

The list goes on and I can't speak for any lurkers but myself, but these are some of the usual reasons I choose to socialize in the chats but not write on the forums. With or without a registered account.

Edited by Hysteria
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  • 2 weeks later...

I'm fine with lurking and I don't have rules for it. As for lurking myself, I do tend to lurk a handful of communities. I like to read the stories and continue seeing where characters go. I don't think of lurking as innately bad behavior. Sometimes people have time, sometimes they don't. It's a lot easier to sit back and read what is happening on a board then putting in an effort as a member. I always feel guilty if I join and I know I won't have the time I really want to put aside for the site. I like to be a member who contributes with characters and plots and grows the setting with ideas. I know I really adore members like that. 

 

Anyway I'm going off on a tangent. 

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Reality is an illusion. 


 
 

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  • Do you allow Lurking? Yep, we do. It's all chill.
  • Do you have rules for Lurkers? On Discord, same rules as everyone else - no toxic behaviours etc etc. But Lurker specific rules? Nah.
  • Good experiences? Yeah - I mean, they're people who are having a look around, having a chat with the community - no issues.
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Do you allow Lurking?

I currently do not own/run a site of my own but I have personally always been a fan of my lurkers when I had... so in short ABSOLUTELY!


Do you have rules for Lurkers?

Written rules, no. Common sense rules expected, yes. I don't mind them jumping in and being a part of the community, chatting and discussing with our own members is totally fine with me. I appreciate lurkers that do not make accounts and then just abandon them.. More to clean up in the future but as far as jumping in and being a part of the community is fine with me. Unspoken rules would be common courtesy, kindness/respect, etc. etc. and please don't be a troll.

 

Good experiences?

Both yes and no. Most lurkers are fantastic souls but there are a few that just push every limit they get.


Lurkers - why do you lurk?

I have been a lurker so I suppose I can just stumble in and answer this as well. Most of the time I lurk to get a feel for the site before making my presence known, from there I will go to a community lurker making myself familiar with the community and feeling things out. I often find it easier to decide which place is most welcoming and fits me better. 🙂

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Do you allow Lurking?

Yup! Lurk however long you want. I think it's awesome. 8D

 

Do you have rules for Lurkers?

Just the same rules as apply to everyone else.

 

Good experiences?

Yeah! 8D One of our staffers (and a great friend who we all collectively adore <3) was a lurker for like...5+ years? Something like that? Before she finally joined. I didn't know she was lurking because she didn't make a peep because shyness. xD But when she rolled on in she was knowledgeable not just on the lore, but on everyone's threads and characters! xD


We've also just had people who were former members or just didn't have time to join come and lurk and chat but never play. And that's cool!

 

Funny experiences? We have someone who registered an account like 5 years ago who logs in several times a week to read topics. They've never said a word. We all get a giggle out of it, though, because they specifically read the smutty threads. xD Doesn't bother me, just amuses me, and I guess we produce some hot shit? Sweet. We're just like, oh hey, it's [Name]! 8D Logging in to catch up on all our raunch!

 

Lurkers - why do you lurk?

I lurk some sites because I don't have time to dedicate to another site (and maybe don't even have interest in playing in that setting), but I still enjoy reading the threads. x3 It may sound weird, but like...there are just some genres I like reading, but don't enjoy writing! I've never spoken up on any of the games I've lurked. I'm just there. In the shadows. Watching. o___o You're all doin' great. ❤️

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  • 2 weeks later...

I don’t mind lurkers as long as they don’t abuse the rules over all in any form. I don’t have rules specifically for lurkers if I run sites though. I can’t say I have had any good or bad experiences. If I lurk on a site its usally because I am interested in reading content or possibly even joining eventually. Sometimes I lurk and try to get a feel for the folks and content on a site!

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