Bloggranddaughter Rave of Quid Nunc is pondering blog lurkers.

You know... those people who read your blog that you didn't KNOW read your blog?

She's seeking definitions, and I'm not really sure what to tell her. But I'll take a stab at it.

I'd define "lurking" as reading someone's blog without leaving a comment.

I'd define a "lurker" as someone who habitually reads your blog without leaving a comment.

For example, I'm inclined to leave comments whenever I visit a blog, but once in a while, I simply have nothing to say regarding any entries posted since my last visit. So then I'm "lurking".

But since I leave enough comments that the blog's author knows that I visit regularly, I'm not a "lurker", except in a narrow, time-period delineated sense of the word.

Then there's the WHY of lurking.

Various reasons:

Technical difficulties, laziness, or being short on time. Sure, you WANT to say something, but some blogs have VERY annoying spam-prevention hoops to jump through, like registration or "type in the unreadable letters". Sometimes even having to type in your name is too big of a burden when all you wanted to leave was a simple "LOL".

The aforementioned lack of inspiration. Some folks - especially non-blogging lurkers - have an incredibly high inspiration threshhold. You'd have to mention something QUITE near and dear to their hearts to get them to comment.

Shyness. I had this bad before I started blogging. I *had* responses to posts, but I felt like it'd be impertinent, intrusive, or even downright RUDE to type my thoughts onto someone else's web page. Like painting a moustache on the Mona Lisa. It took me a while to understand that ANY comment is welcome by ANY blogger.

Being an outsider. Somewhat similar, but not exactly. In this case it's not through fear of the host, but fear of the other commenters. A lot of popular blogs (and even the smaller ones) have a group of regular commenters, who obviously have a warm relationship with the blogger and each other, and leave comments full of personal references and inside jokes, often not even related to the actual topic of the post. Leaving a comment in such a situation feels like crashing a stranger's family reunion.

Distracted Thread Syndrome. So maybe the post inspired a comment, and you're not shy and you're not worried about what other people think. But then you read the comments, and 90% of them are discussing an off-topic remark left by the first commenter. It's like the subject has entirely changed. Leaving an on-topic, post-related remark at this point just seems awkward. Time to sneak away quietly.

Cold-Shouldered. You're inspired, brave, know all the in-jokes and you're the first commenter. And the last. And it happens again and again. Every time you drop something in the comments, you're roundly ignored. No acknowledgement whatsoever. You feel shut out. But the blogger still writes amazing stuff, so you keep going back. Except now you're just a lurker. And you always will be.

With those items in mind, I have advice.

For lurkers: Anyone who has comments enabled WANTS comments, regardless of quality. Nobody expects you to leave some sort of Shakespearian sonnet (although that would be TOTALLY cool!), bloggers are just looking for a little attention for their writing. Believe me, some days all it takes is one little :-) to make a blogger's day.

A good place to start is any post with zero comments. Bloggers HATE those. If you can acknowledge that post's existence I guarantee* you will earn enough good karma to get out of a speeding ticket the next time you get pulled over.

*(not a guarantee)

For bloggers: When someone new leaves a comment for the first time, try to acknowledge it in some way. Leave a follow-up comment, or reply directly if the comment is e-mailed to you, or just click on the URL to vist the commenter's page - maybe you'll find something there to leave a comment on and make THAT blogger's day. At the very least, you'll show up in their referer logs.

Personally, I don't always have time to do that, since I'm frequently distracted by shiny objects, but I'd like to state for the record that I read EVERY comment I get. So DO know that I appreciate every one of them, even when I don't say so at the time.

Now having said that I feel that I have to mention the one good reason to stay a lurker and never leave a comment:

Fear of being made into my next blogchild. A real and terrible danger. Be afraid. Be very afraid.

I'm sure my blogkids can back me up on that one.

Or they would, if they weren't afraid to comment.

Posted by: Harvey at 08:25 AM | Comments (39) | Add Comment
Post contains 803 words, total size 5 kb.

1 OK, OK, no more lurking...I've been reading for months, nay, more than a year. You caught me with the "being an outsider", "lack of inspiration", and "laziness". I'm turning over a new leaf.

Posted by: x lurker at December 06, 2006 08:50 AM (L+AiS)

2 *waves with great enthusiasm* HI X-LURKER!!! :-)

Posted by: Harvey at December 06, 2006 09:23 AM (L7a63)

3 You do realize "x lurker" that Harvey will now hound you mercilessly to start your own blog. He plans on having the largest blog family in the world. *grin*

Posted by: Teresa at December 06, 2006 11:59 AM (5UR9t)

4 I'll lurk where ever the hell I want to lurk. I'm terribly lacking in commentors, which makes it difficult for me to find the courage to be a commentor myself. And, why comment elsewhere when I can just blog it myself?

Posted by: wRitErsbLock at December 06, 2006 12:34 PM (MwQOF)

5 I must confess, I lurk some blogs occasionally. I read everything, but don't necessarily find the words to warrant a comment all the time. Sometimes- when I do leave a comment- it does feel like your ass is hanging in the wind. I'm with granpappy on this one- I'm not 'really' a lurker, except in the narrow, time-period delineated sense of the word.

Posted by: Rave at December 06, 2006 12:57 PM (Fir0Z)

6 I guess I should comment after reading a post on lurking. I have another reason as to why I don't comment very often. I type VERY VERY SLOWLY (1 incoorect wpm). most of the blogs I read have great posts that I would like to comment on but don't have the hours I require to type a comment.

Posted by: sherlock at December 06, 2006 01:44 PM (THj5I)

7 Caught me lurking. Now I'm obligated to say Hi. Actually it took me months to get the courage to leave a comment anywhere, and I still feel the grievous pain of cold shoulder all too often. Guess I'm not as clever as I think I am.

Posted by: PaleoMedic at December 06, 2006 04:19 PM (PQx1b)

8 GREAT post...I think I'm going to have to borrow it and give some gentle reminders to those that stop in and don't say anything at my house either...

Posted by: kate at December 06, 2006 04:39 PM (cG4Xd)

9 Excellent post, Harvey. Being an avid blog reader (before I was ever a blogger) I can totally relate to most of your "lurker reasons." I never want to be rude (unless intentionally), intrude or interrupt. But as a blogger I love comments... And Sherlock? You can sit by me typing wise. I am a *terrible* typist. Go for it anyway...

Posted by: Richmond at December 06, 2006 06:10 PM (e8QFP)

10 Oh and hey, you should include this post in your "how to blog" series. Just sayin'...

Posted by: Richmond at December 06, 2006 06:14 PM (e8QFP)

11 LOL

Posted by: Tiffany at December 06, 2006 06:33 PM (BO1P2)

12 I'm just lazy... I try to keep up with anywhere from 10 to 20 blogs a day, but I only comment MAYBE about 5% of the time. Is this my comment of the day? Hmmm....

Posted by: pam at December 07, 2006 08:21 AM (l6NIn)

13 Yeah, don't worry Teresa. After Harvey reads a few of my comments he'll see just how unimaginative I am. That's probably why I love reading so much...I get to live vicariously through other people's imaginations.

Posted by: x lurker at December 07, 2006 08:24 AM (L+AiS)

14 *hands congratulatory adult beverages to Sherlock, Paleomedic, Kate, and x-lurker in honor of their bravery* Kate - you can re-post the whole thing if you want, or any salient parts. Just make sure the linke works :-)

Posted by: Harvey at December 07, 2006 09:27 AM (L7a63)

15 You should be thankful that I lurk. People could actually lose I.Q. points by reading any comment that I post...I AM NOT KIDDING! stop reading now! Oh great, there goes 5 points. Happy???

Posted by: Peety at December 07, 2006 10:50 AM (dN9TR)

16 Horse!

Posted by: Tammi at December 07, 2006 10:56 AM (Bitcf)

17 ...and a very swift one, I might add. As swift as the best thoroughbreds at the track. Certainly not like the type I bet on, as they are anything but "swift". It seems like they know that I placed a bet on them.

Posted by: Peety at December 07, 2006 11:18 AM (dN9TR)

18 "If you can acknowledge that post's existence I guarantee* you will earn enough good karma to get out of a speeding ticket the next time you get pulled over. *(not a guarantee)" I'll guarantee it. If I pull you over and you mention this blog, I'll let you off with a warning.* *I am not a police officer.

Posted by: Kevin Porter at December 07, 2006 11:55 AM (jqVOv)

19 Well thought and well said. I agree, and I think that shyness and lack of one's confidence in his or her writing ability tops the list.

Posted by: Jim - PRS at December 07, 2006 03:18 PM (a6/Kb)

20 I get the stalker kind of lurkers, or I used to at least- a couple of stupid ex-boyfriends who had nothing better to do than to dig around the Internet and find my new haunt when I abandoned my old blog. Either they got smarter about how they lurk- or they finally got lives. Just because I'm paranoid doesn't mean they're not after me, you know.

Posted by: Pandy at December 07, 2006 04:55 PM (k7t5s)

21 ... lurking....

Posted by: Eric at December 07, 2006 06:00 PM (NlzwQ)

22 Fuckin putz...

Posted by: Inigo Montoya at December 07, 2006 06:53 PM (ewDFv)

23 "Shpxurnq!!1!" (to all you lurkers out there... THAT was an inside joke)

Posted by: Inigo Montoya at December 07, 2006 06:54 PM (ewDFv)

24 D'oh! Forgot to change my nom de plume... and fuck you if I spelled that incorrectly.

Posted by: Madfish Willie at December 07, 2006 06:55 PM (ewDFv)

25 Found your blog from: http://kateskafe.blogspot.com/ Sometimes I'm cruel and will "out" a habitual lurker in one of my posts. For example if I see someone visiting fron an IP at UC Berkley over and over. I'll make a post about Berkley and thank all the visitors from there. This will either scare em off or induce them to post something. Mean huh?

Posted by: Hammer at December 07, 2006 08:43 PM (MSVH4)

26 I am President of Lurkers Anonymous... CRAP!!! I broke rule number one.

Posted by: Dazd at December 08, 2006 12:20 PM (Qq7C7)

27 Hell Harvey, you're 'bout the only one who leaves comments for me anymore. (Thanks for that, btw!) :^) And as for Cold-Shoulder... well, chances are this'll be the last comment... Not bitchin', just sayin'. ;^)

Posted by: Wes at December 08, 2006 02:30 PM (+waxI)

28 I'm a notorious lurker. I rarely comment unless I really have something I want to say.

Posted by: Contagion at December 08, 2006 05:44 PM (MsT2U)

29 I'm not a lurker here-I've never been here that I know of. I'm here because Dazd has a link to this post. But I want to say this post is right on! I might start lucking here.

Posted by: Janet at December 08, 2006 09:15 PM (YyZCl)

30 Lurking, not lucking. Geez.

Posted by: Janet at December 08, 2006 09:16 PM (YyZCl)

31 Wes - apparently you're a dismal failure at killing comment threads :-) Janet - glad to have you by, typos & all :-)

Posted by: Harvey at December 08, 2006 10:33 PM (L7a63)

32 way to make a first impression, Janet-I strive not to leave typos behind!

Posted by: Janet at December 09, 2006 10:00 PM (YyZCl)

33 Yeah, but now you'll have a great story. "So I went to this guy's blog, and I'm trying to be all classy and stuff, and then I left a freaking TYPO!" You'll get a lot of mileage out of that one :-)

Posted by: Harvey at December 09, 2006 10:28 PM (L7a63)

34 I lurk, therefore I am. And I catch-up when I can - usually my "timeliness" leaves a little to be desired. By the time I get around to reading/posting, even I have forgotten why I'm there. Fear of being made into my next blogchild. A real and terrible danger. Be afraid. Be very afraid. Bah. I'm the same bastard I've been all along - doesn't faze me. (Still, I anticipate a paternity test will be ordered.) Of course I can't very well be "=HC=" (a.k.a., "HubbyCubby") on my own blog - I'll have to undergo a name-change... No, what really worries me is the fact that I threw-down the gauntlet on effing memes at the HoZ.* Well, that and how you'll explain my presence at the next family reunion... Nope. I won't be "outed" until I'm ready... (i.e., when I figger-oot template modifications without xhtml errors in WP - damn Firefox, but I hate IE7 even more!) =HC= *NEVER say "Never" - Damn! ;o)

Posted by: =HC= at December 10, 2006 03:07 AM (ororX)

35 How 'bout now? ;-)

Posted by: Wes at December 10, 2006 01:21 PM (+waxI)

36 Apparently, I can only kill a thread when I'm not trying. *stomping over and over again* ;-)

Posted by: at December 10, 2006 01:23 PM (+waxI)

37 I don't think I have ever been here before either but I am here via Dazd's blog. I can totally relate to all the different reasons for lurking. I have experienced all of them. Wow you sure do have a lot of blog children!

Posted by: Cindi at December 11, 2006 02:42 AM (gqZ7h)

38 Cindi - I'm still waiting for the FDA to approve a reliable blogcontraceptive :-)

Posted by: Harvey at December 11, 2006 02:32 PM (L7a63)

39 Just Lurking

Posted by: FIAR at December 12, 2006 12:16 AM (R0pVX)

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