Thread: When Does LURKING Become More than Just That??

It usually takes me about anhour to decide wether I join a forum or not.
When I found WF it looked just right because of the layout and other things.

What does LURKING invoke in you?

I lurk at all kinds of forums -- especially technical or industry forums, or forums I visit for research purposes. If I have to know something, and I can't find an answer, I'll join. As result of all this, I'm a member of more forums than I can count.

I know what you mean.
Your kind of lurking is studied as in focused.
Would that be better called researching forums because for some reason I find the word 'lurk' a bit 'shaddy'?
Does that make sense?

Originally Posted by JosephB
I lurk at all kinds of forums -- especially technical or industry forums, or forums I visit for research purposes. If I have to know something, and I can't find an answer, I'll join. As result of all this, I'm a member of more forums than I can count.

But how does one know what to believe? The internet makes an expert of everyone.

Originally Posted by The Backward OX

But how does one know what to believe? The internet makes an expert of everyone.

That's true of you're a sucker. Otherwise, I don’t take any one source as gospel. I always cross reference and verify.

When I visit a technical forums, for things like web development, the answers are pretty easy to check out. Sometimes I have to weigh out the opinions and try things for myself. Often, people will cut and paste code etc. or reference tried and true sources.

At the industry forums, sometimes I’m just looking for opinions – there are no right or wrong answers. For story research, it’s often a case of getting the direction I need to do more extensive research on other sites.

It’s all about due diligence and using common sense. The more critical it is, the more I time I spend checking things out. As for the sites I frequent, it doesn't take long to identify the members who know what they're talking about and the ones who can be safely ignored.

Originally Posted by The Backward OX

But how does one know what to believe? The internet makes an expert of everyone.

Very good point.
I find the way the internet is set is to get as much information about as possible.