lurking, reasons why

Here is a 42-page PDF which I may skim over the main points at a later date: Reasons why lurkers don't post:

- shy about posting
- want to remain anonymous
- posting is of no value to me
- messages or group low quality
- wrong group
- long delay getting response
- concern about aggressive responses
- fear of commitment
- new members treated poorly
- nothing to offer (22%)
- others have said it
- still learning about the group (29%)
- had no intention of posting
- no requirement to post
- just reading/browsing is enough (53%)
- not enough time
- do not know how to post
- too many messages

Below are more reasons which people may choose to lurk. It is from an interesting research project by Jacquie McDonald and colleagues (12-page MSWord).

- feel generally happy with outcomes and are learning/sharing in their own ways
- wish to hoard their information
- fear (of losing face, letting their colleagues down, or misleading them)
- are in the listening and learning stages
- think it’s not polite to interrupt or to “speak and run”
- have external time constraints
- feel it meets their learning needs, their level of commitment, and schedule needs
- feel keeping relevant requires recent involvement in online dialogue, so sporadic attendance or absence leads to lurking
- some people are naturally cautious or slow to react
- feel that participation is not a priority
- feel that a genuine invitation has not been extended to allow them to participate at the core
- struggle with language
- lost and overwhelmed and don’t want to say so
- the community may feel impermeable
- the practice may be too hard for just anyone to master
- may just want to check out the community
- may have had off-putting experiences when first encountering the community
- may be cultural or personality issues at play that are not visible even to the lurker
- shy away from any responsibility
- inability to identify with the community members