Posted by PeterH on November 16, 2006 at 23:42:21 from 86.130.120.197 user Peter_H.
In Reply to: Re: Listening (was lurking) posted by Owen Roberts on November 16, 2006 at 22:25:49:
Thanks, Owen, for a sensible analysis of the 'lurking' problem. I reckon that the number of TarBoard 'active non-participants' is quite low - certainly not 450, which, if a true figure, would be a dreadful indictment of this board and the type of discussions on it. If it is true that 90% of TarBoarders read TarBoard regularly and feel they don't want to contribute, then something is desperately wrong.
OK, we know there are about 50 fairly regular posters. My feeling is that there are another 50 occasional and very occasional posters; an unknown number of people who regularly log on but never post (a lot of these will be 'casuals', as Owen suggests) but I really doubt if there are more than 50 of these at any one time and probably a lot less; and then 350-odd who have so far over the years registered for TarBoard but have since wandered away. I base this assessment on a quick look through the archives - I keep finding names which were once familiar but have since disappeared. I can't prove any of this, but I refuse to believe that all 450 are still around sitting there reading this - it would make me feel like some sort of megalomaniac.