[Air-l] where does the term "lurking" come from

[Terry Calhoun]

Among the many lists I manage is the college and university webmasters 
list (UWEBD), which now has upwards of 2,500 members. No flame wars, 
ever, and lots of good info. But most of the posts are by a (relatively) 
small group of a couple hundred posters.

As Barry noted, "lurkers" in the early years may have been the minority. 
They are surely in the majority now in the lists that I manage.

Maybe what we need is a term that positively describes the minority of 
really active list members and recognizes that most people join and 
appreciate but do not post much, if at all.

So, let's call those who post "contributors" and everyone is a "member." 
If someone needs to say about themselves what would have been "I just 
lurk," they can instead say that "I am not a contributor."

-- 
Terry Calhoun, MA, JD
Director of Media Relations and Publications
Society for College and University Planning (SCUP)
terry.calhoun at scup.org | 734.998.7027 | www.scup.org | AIM = "splendid1"
339 E. Liberty Street, Suite 300, Ann Arbor, MI 48104 USA