Re: lurkers and lurking

[Jan Henning <henning -at- r-l -dot- de>]

I would like to add my own two cents to John's post, whom I largely agree
with.

>Why don't they
>contribute more? For the exact same reason they all fill in "it was flippin'
>wonderful" when asked--every semester in every class--to comment on the
>class and instructor. Because every good student knows that every good 
>instructor keeps track of who says what, and those "evaluation comments" can
>come back to haunt you.

This seems similar to the attitude that "he who does nothing makes no
errors". Sure, if you never post anything here, nothing incriminating can
come to light later, but nothing showing how good you are either.

I guess it boils down to, are you more interested in having a good
experience or in avoiding a bad experience.

>Consider--if I rudely shoot down a poster for something I consider utter
>drivel, then find out later that the poster is the hiring manager at the
>firm at which I am seeking employment, has my freedom to post my real
>opinions benefitted me?

Are you saying that you would happily flame away if you had no fear of
offending somebody you might want something from later on? I'm not impressed.

>Sure, we lurk. We are trying to learn, because to a great extent, we are the
>tech writers of the future [...] and we are better trained, better educated,
>and better motivated [...]. Remember the Cultural Revolution in China?
And the result?

Cue the fanfares... Again, I'm not impressed by this attempt to make an
individual personality into the defining characteristic of a 'Generation
Lurk'. Wouldn't it be more honest to discuss your own reasons for lurking
than hiding behind the faceless mass of 'the tech writers of the future'?

Regards
Jan Henning

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Jan Henning
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