Forum Moderators: rogerd
There are some ways to encourage posting, and one is to give half-answers to questions that prompts others to post and helps to bring some of those lurkers out of their corner.
Some people are timid to be the first one to respond, some not knowing if they really know the correct answer or just nervous being the first. If you give just a bit of it, just enough and know when to stop, it's almost like they finish your thought in their heads - and know that they do know what the answer is. It'll get them "feeling" like finishing your post for you - so they're prone to jump in and post.
It's kind of like putting teasers out; I've seen it happen over and over again innumerable times. It takes a bit of practice to get it down, but it works and it's one of the most effective ways of driving people out of lurking.
Another way is when the first post is a question and it's really not clear what they're asking, the way they've worded it. Asking a few pointed questions to clarify what they mean *without* giving them the answer often gets them to respond to you. If not, it's clearer to others and by then there are 2 or 3 posts instead of the dreaded one post and it's not only a good way to pull lurkers out of hiding, but to make the whole discussion more comprehensible and productive.
Kind of sneaky little tricks of the trade, but it really is helpful to people both because it helps the ones asking and also the ones who would like to particpate but are just too hesitant, unsure of themselves or shy.
Anyone else know ways to combat the silent observer problem?
Honestly, I lurk because on the most part I have nothing original or useful to provide to the community.
Also seriously...how do you know if it's worth while etc to someone else or not ..sometimes your take on a subject may be just whats needed to to help someone else clarify theirs ...
Ps .I cant make the search work either ..i now thnik thats it's deliberate and encourages us to view all the threads and so maybe participate where otherwise we wouldn't go or know about ...he aint dumb the owner of this place ..
I cant make the search work either ..i now thnik thats it's deliberate...
It isn't a bug, it's a feature. ;)
I'm not a huge fan of way off-topic stuff, but threads like, "what kind of pet do you have" can be an ice-breaker. At the same time, though, some lurkers may not even look at this kind of stuff, and most of the posts will be from the community regulars. Different strokes...
Some people may not think they know their stuff, but sometimes the lesser experienced people can give replies that are actually more helpful to newbie types. They may be intimidated in the presence of high-tech pro's, but actually a lot of the time the way the old techies explain things it's too complicated for the newbie to grasp.
The mid-level folks, since they're closer in time to their learning stages, can often remember back to when they had the same struggles as a beginner and remember how it feels - and can explain things in much simpler terms which make it far easier for the newbie to understand the reply.
Sometimes it almost takes a mid-level person to act as an interpreter, translating geekspeak down to language that's comprehensible.
There's a certain knack to communicating simply enough for newbies to understand, and that's where the less experienced can really be of service because they still speak the same language, not having progressed that far into geekdom.
There's a place for everyone and often people just aren't aware of how much they're really worth to others.
. Granted, in some areas I don't know what I'm talking about but still......
There's little doubt than discourteous replies will cause lurkers to return to lurking and discourage others from even trying to post.
(I'll add a reminder that the charter of THIS particular forum excludes discussion of WebmasterWorld-specific issues; such topics can be discussed in the WebmasterWorld Community forum or, if they concern moderation issues, by stickymail.)
Goober
Cheers
PS when I do lurk on a thread, it's usually to learn something, and I seldom feel qualified to answer most of the questions I see.
[edited by: ShootinBlanks at 11:48 pm (utc) on June 14, 2004]
Ps .I cant make the search work either ..i now thnik thats it's deliberate and encourages us to view all the threads and so maybe participate where otherwise we wouldn't go or know about ...he aint dumb the owner of this place ..
Leo m'luv: on the System Preferences page of the Control Panel section of the site, there are fields labeled Custom Code Insert Top? and Custom Code Insert Bottom? If into one of these fields you insert the following:
<center><form method="GET" action="http://www.google.com/search" target="_blank"><input type="hidden" name="domains" value="webmasterworld.com"><input TYPE="text" name="q" size="25" maxlength="255" value><input type="submit" name="btnG" value="Google"><input type="radio" name="sitesearch" value="webmasterworld.com" checked>webmasterworld.com <input type="radio" name="sitesearch" value>www</form></center>
you will INSTANTLY upon clicking the "submit" button have a custom search box in the appropriate section of EVERY WebmasterWorld PAGE which allows you to search not only the whole of the web through Google, but WebmasterWorld in all it's glory.
Try it, you'll like it. It actually works far far better than the legless search facility accessible through the "site search" link....
(Unless you've got members like Seinfeld, Leno, etc. ;))I said humour ....these couldn't make me laugh if I was on pure NO ...
"cultural differences..?"
THANK you, Leo! Guess we approximate the same "culture". I don't find any of the "show host comics" or stand-up variety (Dave Barry? is that one of them?) or sit-coms et al funny AT ALL. My sense of humor is seriously skewed I think - at least from the POV of the everyday american, I guess.
Old_Honkey, you must like Benny Hill and trifle
And what's wrong with Trifle? We eat it every day after our Fish and Chips or Roast Beef and wash it down with gallons of warm beer and sickly sweet weak tea. Mmmmm Trifle...
Some people may not think they know their stuff, but sometimes the lesser experienced people can give replies that are actually more helpful to newbie types.
I often read newbie posts, as sometimes the questions they don't understand are 'new interpertations' of things that people who are use to seeing things one way for too long have missed as the 'one way', has become standard, and the fresh perspective can be intriguing.
Timid or shy to repsond
Fear of/nervous about giving the incorrect answer
The need to find a comfort level within here before posting
Some feel that they have nothing original or useful to provide to the community
From those suggesting ways to bring out lurkers, that is those who wish to post, not those who just wish to lurk and learn.
Giving 1/2 answers to questions in the hopes that someone lurking can give the rest of the answer.
Putting out teasers
Roll call types of posts
Intro posts
congroversial posts to get people started on some type of discussion
What is your favorite widge/how'd you get into widgets
Creating a community with shared interests, concerns and with support
Sharing and encouragement
A "Why have you never posted a reply or started a thread" thread
Not mocking inexperience
A chat system set up with a weekly topic/question
Intentionally send a thread off topic just to see who replies and joins in
Polls and games
Nice summary, 4css. I think that one will probably have to try a lot of different things, because people fail to post for a variety of different reasons. Some will respond to an "introduce yourself" poll, while others may be too shy; some of the latter might be drawn into a "favorite browser" type discussion (translate to your forum's topic). It's a lot like marketing to a diverse customer base - you have to use more than one approach.
Rogerd:
Nice summary, 4css
Leosghost:I'll go along with most all that you said 4css except giving half answers
I like your answer though. The way I would have looked at it was as an answer to say something in CSS. Not totally giving out the whole answer, but just a bit of it to see if the problem could be solved, or if someone else knew the answer.
In the other forum that I am extremly active in, if I reply and don't know an answer, I give a link to something that might explain it to the person, as well as letting them know that I don't know the answer, but maybe this link would help them out.
And sometimes even when I do know the answer I still provide a link so that they can read it for themselves as well as learn the answer along with it being given to them. lol, not sure it that makes sense or not.
leosghost:
4css ..I think you need to get out of the sun : )..
I nearly understood ya!...which is worrying cos I don't understand any css ( always thought it was to do with dvd :)...
LOL!
I'm glad that someone at least nearly understands me!
Makes a gal feel pretty good!
;)
To deviate a bit away from the intital thrust of the thread and to how to keep an ex-lurker an ex-lurker:
Be careful how much off topic material is allowed.
I only belong to two forums, and have drastically reduced my participation in one of them. It became so full of off-topic political content that there wasn't much else left. I had lurked for a long time there, then started participating because there were interesting topics and it was a good community. I went back into lurk mode as soon as it was all politics, all the time. A number of others left or also reduced their participation when the off-topic stuff dominated the forum.
There is a balance between enough foo-ish stuff to bring out the lurkers and enough to put them back into lurk mode. I'm not sure of the exact amount of off-topic material that should be allowed, but when it gets too much it's pretty evident in the lack of members. And that's my blinding-flash of-the-obvious for the day.
it is better to "lurk and learn" than to post meaningless comments just for the sake of joining in
Hear ye. As has been previously mentioned (...), it's pretty much all been addressed here before somewhere.
My home page is set to the active posts listing, and there's always something interesting/educational to browse through. If I ever have any questions, help is usually just a archive search away.
Lurk and let live!
Thanks all.
In fact, I've various times wished for a thread like that here....
Be careful how much off topic material is allowed.
So here's an idea, why not have a separate forum called "Off Topic" where anybody can post anything on any thread and change the subject at will? You could still moderate it for decency and legal issues but otherwise the mods could sit back and let the rollercoaster ride.
Then all the people who want to go "off topic" are happy and they are all contained in one place so that the right-on "on topic" folk are not troubled and confused by their meanderings.
The lurkers get used to posting and may well go on and become pillars of the comunity. It's a win win situation.
(Apologies if this is slightly "off topic") ~<;-}
I think this is an excellent idea. lol, sort of like an ignore this post type thread. Sounds like fun.
One good thing to use a "lurker lure" is "Where did you get your nick?"In fact, I've various times wished for a thread like that here....
I think this was the most recent one:
http://www.webmasterworld.com/forum9/6104.htm [webmasterworld.com]
