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I'm not one of your hardcore lurkers, but I tend to participate in
spurts. Why?
-Time. I can't always keep up with the interesting threads and have more
than once thrown something out without being able to follow up. That's
frustrating.
-Time & attention. To provide thoughtful feedback on a more complex
thread takes some effort and I don't always have that.
-Personality. I like listening to other people's ideas and thinking
about them. Sometimes that's easier to do if you're not engaged in the
debate. (I read an interesting quote by Hemmingway yesterday, I think,
about listening. I can't remember where though! Which leads me to:)
-Attention. I read a bunch of stuff online, including several lists,
both tool and professionally focused. A lot of times I'm skimming for
items of interest.
-Vision. At the moment I am subscribed at home, so I usually read the
list during the evening. After all the reading during the day, it's hard
to read through a hundred messages and make sense of them. (I check the
web site during the day if something interesting is going on, but it's
hard to follow both.) Honestly, I think I need to get my eyes checked!
Kevin, I think it's a good question (and I've had a similar positive
experience with offline contacts), but most of the reasons you offer
suggest people don't participate out of fear. Obviously there is some
reluctance based on other responses, but I am curious why you perceive
things that way?
Lisa
Kevin offered up the following possibilities:
Don't want to get flamed
Don't want my name/address getting out
Don't want my company to see my post
Don't want a bunch of people writing to me
Don't feel qualified
Scared of a particular List member
What's the point?
Too shy
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