Lurkers lurking everywhere!

[fortunateone 156618]

I have to say a LOT of the lurkers are only reading ads. That is what they come here for. I've seen or heard from time to time someone mention them, and the idea is that they either don't read the Discussion area or actually they don't even know it is there.

 

Typically on some forums these are the folks who post some sort of topic in the actual review section, rather than in the discussion area simply because they don't know it is there.

 

Maybe some would be encouraged to simply give out reps, as a way to be 'heard" or at least 'seen'.

[Athos 108589]

I'm frequently amazed at how in some areas of the board, there is discussion ... "Has anyone seen lady x?" or "does anyone know someone who provides y service?". And there are replies ... "Yes she is great, seen her many times" or"try so and so, she provides that service". Yet there are very few recommendations.

 

I was away from the board for some time, and occasionally dropped in so I suppose I was lurking. Having become more active (perhaps too active) it's both more fun and more rewarding to participate. I also think that having a presence allows you to get to know the ladies in a much different way, and this certainly makes for very rewarding encounters.

 

So, no downsides to getting involved, and huge upsides!

 

Porthos

[Guest W***ledi*Time]

Lurkers ... How can we encourage them to come out of hiding? ...

 

Everyone should of course relax, and enjoy or use Cerb and its resources in any way they feel comfortable.

 

I'd guess that, in aggregate, the ladies do more business with the huge number of lurkers/non-posters than with the small number of clients who are more active on the forums. Also, all users are traffic, and therefore revenue-generators for Cerb.

 

The best thing that those of us who post on the forums can do to encourage a flow of fresh active participants is to be friendly, helpful and welcoming to them, and of course that means for us to be friendly and helpful to each other as well. I happily feel the board is generally doing pretty well in that regard these days.

 

Back several years ago when I first guested on Cerb, then joined, the reason I did so was to have access to the ladies who used Cerb as their exclusive source of clients. Although there were also some great posters, with plenty of wisdom to share (and that's what first caught my interest), the atmosphere on Cerb was really much more of a mixed bag back then. I steered clear of posting at first because I saw the horrible way some newbies were treated by the veterans. Thankfully, that changed, and I got up the courage to make a post or two and held my breath. When disaster didn't strike, I started posting a bit more, and it seems to have somehow turned into a habit for me, ha ha.

 

So, yeah - in my opinion, the board is doing well in the friendliness department now, and, as I say, that's the biggest thing we can do to encourage wider participation. Keep the friendliness going! Because if others react like I do, one thread where some poor sap is treated poorly will get read by who-knows-how-many casual readers - and the message these threads carry in the few cases where they do crop up is: this could happen to you if you post. So don't post.

 

I'd also guess that plenty of clients worry that they'll run greater personal risk if they actually post stuff. It's uncomfy if your SO discovers you've got an account on Cerb, even with zero posts. It's much more dicey if your SO discovers your account on Cerb with a bunch of your posts detailing the extent of your involvement and experience in this pastime. Of course, properly handled, with private browsing and what not, and constant attention to covering your tracks, that won't happen. But lurkers may well be asking themselves: who's perfect and never slips up?

 

Plus of course some folks are really shy and not really inclined to be joiners. Remember that "hobbyists" are really only a small fraction of the clientelle for the ladies - so most of the clients who've discovered Cerb will inevitably be casually interested in the stuff that gets posted about - but not likely interested enough to sink much of their personal time into anything beyond finding that escort that knocks their socks off and then dialing her number!

[Smithwick 7122]

I joined CERB a few months ago and I only made my first post a few weeks ago. While I was "lurking" I learned about the ladies, and learned the ins and outs of the hobby.

 

The key for me to start posting was two-fold. First I changed my username from my usual username for everything to what it is now. Gives me that bit of anonymity against anyone that might know me. Secondly I just found everyone so helpful and supportive. Ours is a hobby fraught with embarrassment. Seeing how supportive people are with questions (ie my Contact Etiquette thread) led me to believe that I wouldn't be judged for my actions. This truly is a great place to communicate with other like minded individuals, especially for those of us that don't exactly know what their doing. I can't imagine a message board like this where veterans would give noobs such a hard time.

 

Thanks everyone for everything, and keep it up!!

[Befuzzled 752]

Great post WIT.

 

I would hazard a guess that there quite a number of accounts created by people who have not nor may ever participate in the hobby as well.

[Phaedrus 209521]

For those who are interested, here's something worth reading on contribution inequality.

 

I joined CERB a few months ago and I only made my first post a few weeks ago. While I was "lurking" I learned about the ladies, and learned the ins and outs of the hobby.

 

To be honest, I think this is just good netiquette (as applied to the specifics of CERB. It's always good to find out a little about the rules - both written and implicit - of a new forum before you dive in. I did the same.

 

I can't imagine a message board like this where veterans would give noobs such a hard time.

 

I can. I've seen it in other contexts. Trust me, it's... unpleasant. Of course any forum that does this will be deprived of most of its potential new blood, and sooner or later will whither and die.

[roamingguy 300292]

I came to CERB a couple years ago when I made a decision to see escorts, and needed a starting place to look. I joined CERB, as well as a few others, to learn the etiquette of seeing ladies

Well the other boards I left, and CERB I stayed. CERB is a community where both the ladies and gentlemen are opposite sides of the same coin, whereas the other boards struck me as an us versus them mentality (and some boards newbies not welcomed)

Part of what makes this a community is that newbies are welcomed. And newbies are more than welcome to post...please do. No need to ask permission. All positive contributions are welcome.

A rambling

RG

[Maverick 2873]

There's a theory out there that online 1% of people contribute content, 9% comment on it, and 90% just lurk. Imagine Cerb with 11 times as many people commenting and 100 times as many people creating discussions topics.. Just something to think about haha.

[bcguy42 38594]

For those who are interested, here's something worth reading on contribution inequality.

 

Great link - spot on topic. There are two lines in it I love:

 

How to Overcome Participation Inequality

 

You can't.

 

Succinct and to the point. That being said, by all means we should encourage input, observations, and story-telling from any and all.

 

My greatest fear before I first posted was that no one would care about what I said. Over time, the positive feedback - which includes those who disagree with me - helped me overcome that.

 

So if you are one who has yet to make the first post or the fifth or the five hundredth, feel free to reply and tell me you agree or tell me to stick it.

[backrubman 64800]

Great link - spot on topic. There are two lines in it I love: How to Overcome Participation Inequality You can't.

 

Yes, great link Phaedrus. Of course after it says it is not possible it then goes on to suggest some ways it is, some of which could be applicable to CERB while others are clearly not. The suggestions here being of much greater value as they are specific to CERB.

 

So if you are one who has yet to make the first post or the fifth or the five hundredth, feel free to reply and tell me you agree or tell me to stick it.

 

I agree it is a challenge but we are making progress.

[Luscious_L 871]

I am a Lurker!!! Muahahaha! :sm185: Well I'm actually more of an observer and I only post when I feel I have something of value to add to the conversation :)

[Chanel Reign 28097]

I would like to think I'm both. If I have something to say, I do. Otherwise, I may read a thread, but have nothing to add.

 

People are here for different reasons. To find an SP, be part of a community, share in a forum, whatever.

 

But I will say, that at the moment I am on several forums, and am really only chatty here on CERB.

:)

[rickkkm 525]

hey dude...a lot of members prefer to simply reply/comment through private messages...don't forget them in your analysis!!!! happy cerbing!!

[bewlayb 7480]

I agree with WIT's opening comment: "[let them] enjoy or use Cerb and its resources in any way they feel comfortable."

 

In real life I am a "less is more" kind of guy when it comes to conversation. Unless I'm breaking a rule, why should I change my natural interactive tendencies just to participate on this board?

 

By the same token I quietly tolerate/respect our more verbose and active members, who, admittedly from time-to-time, I wish said less or contributed more of substance. Why can't I expect the same courtesy for my preferred level of participation?

[MightyPen 67414]

Yeah, lots of people are quiet and mostly lurk entirely by choice, and not because they just need a little prodding to do otherwise. ;)

 

I lurk a LOT more than I post -- usually, I speak up only when I think I have something original to contribute to the discussion. Often others have already said whatever I would have on a given subject, and a "me too!" just to push up my post count isn't generally my style.

 

Hopefully when I write something on CERB, it'll be worth the time you took to read it. When I'm not convinced of that... silencio*.

 

As long as everyone is enjoying themselves and getting something rewarding from CERB, it doesn't really matter whether their experience here is a passive or active experience.

 

* cue creepy "silencio" scenes from Mulholland Drive!

[backrubman 64800]

it doesn't really matter whether their experience here is a passive or active experience.

 

Your right of course. At the same time we see wonderfully intelligent members (like yourself) come out of lurking after being members for a long time (not saying you did) and become active and make very insightful and valuable contributions.

 

Nothing wrong with lurking but I guess if you decide you want to attend a social ... I'm not going there.

 

I was researching SPs a while back; lots of lovely ladies posted ads, but some had no viewable profile, no recommendations and no posts I could go by. So I have an ad, the information in it and nothing else to go on, not even a web site link, so I move on. Even two or three posts (other than ads) would let me know something more about her.

 

With ladies getting an appointment request from a potential client that do their due diligence, I'm sure she can figure out what I am about pretty quickly but again, no participation, no information.

[Athos 108589]

Lurkers may, in fact, be happy well adjusted people who have full lives and have not succumbed to CERB addiction!

[Smithwick 7122]

Lurkers may, in fact, be happy well adjusted people who have full lives and have not succumbed to CERB addiction!

 

I fear this may be where I'm heading :p

[Nicolette Vaughn 294340]

I have 2 or 3 lurkers who look at my profile EVERY single day! LOL. I'm sure they follow every post I write. Come on and just say hello to me damnit! You know you want to!:motion:

[Guest qwert123]

Alright, I'm going to start posting and give back to this community whenever possible. But I have to say for those of us who haven't seen an SP before, some of the conversations can be somewhat difficult to get into. And the last thing I want to add to a conversation is with an emoticon, or something like "I totally agree".

 

But I do want to thank those of you who have made many discussions enlightening. I've learnt much since I joined the site. :)

[Guest p**h*x]

I mostly lurked for a long time when I first joined because I used this place to learn.

 

Eventually I started contributing more but I am still rather infrequent in my posting habits. When I feel compelled to contribute for whatever reason I will. But mostly I find someone has already posted the same point of view I have on a topic so I don't bother and remain content enjoying cerb as an observer.

[Chanel Reign 28097]

So I think we can agree that there is nothing wrong with lurking; as everyone has their own reasons for being here.

 

I liked the challenge because it might give someone who is a little shy inspiration to share their pearls of wisdom, or humour, or whatever. I doubt it was ever intended for anything other than that.

 

Lurker can have negative connotations, and I like the word Observer. :)

[roamingguy 300292]

I have 2 or 3 lurkers who look at my profile EVERY single day! LOL. I'm sure they follow every post I write. Come on and just say hello to me damnit! You know you want to!:motion:

 

Although not one of your lurkers, Hello Nicolette :-)

RG