posted 06-22-99 05:20 AM ET        

Let's Draw Out the LURKERS!

If I may, I'd like to ponder a moment about what would make a Lurker want to post. Yes, this is an interesting topic. My thoughts:

To a Lurker, every added post is a mark of shame. Unlike most of the neurotic people here who will lie, cheat and steal to increase their posts counts (I still haven't stolen anything), they see their low post count/early registration date ratio as a badge of honor, a stamp of wisdom, the secret handshake to a Club of Infinite Members--infinite, of course, because it's hard to count people you can't detect.

That, of course, is their power. Their genius.

Are they meeting now? Are they passing some SMAC Provisions that will forever change this board and the realities of the "Many Posting People"? Who knows? Maybe...look over your cyber shoulder. Was that a Lurker passing Resolution 443 to have Yin banned? We'll know soon, I guess. The point is, Silence is the ultimate power--and the Lurker knows this.

What kind of person is a Lurker?

I see a Lurker as that guy in the back of the science class, too bored with the lecture because he already read the science book two summers ago 'for fun.' He draws weird shapes on his desk that only an advanced matematician could decipher, but to people like us they just look like poorly drawn ducks, maybe, or sunflowers.

I also see the Luker as that guy who you think has no opinions about life--only to one day overhear him giving the most brilliant dissertation on the collapse of Popular Culture and the Current Age of Noise. He was talking, of course, to himself.

A Lurker is also a guy who fears rejection: NOT because he's weak but because if he were ever rejected, he'd have to kill as many people as possible "To teach the world a lesson and then leave it in silence." But only his sharp mind, and the knowledge that he COULD carry out such a scheme, keep him in control. Keep him quiet. Plotting. Planning. Watching your every post.

How do you get a person like this to post?

Well, I think TELLING him to post is a dangerous thing: Sure, nothing is likely to happen. But rest assured, if something DOES happen, it won't be pretty.

Humor is a good strategy, but the Lurker is desensitized to all but the most hilarious humor. And it's almost never of the "Why did the chicken cross the road?" variety that draws out a Lurker. No. Sitting there in quiet judgement, the Lurker only mutters to himself, "Tsk...tsk...When will this species ever learn?" No: In my experience, a Lurker likes sick and twisted situational forum comedies. Their favorite? Flame wars that end in one side being made to look the complete fool without their even realizing it. Like the time I convinced my 'enemy' after several nasty rounds of flaming that I was 10 years old. The guy quit, saying, "Jesus, I didn't know I was arguing with a 10 year old nit-wit!"

The Lurkers applauded.

In the end, I think, we have yet to discover the formula for summoning the Lurker. He is crafty, a master of adapting to our strategies. A kind of mutating net-presence, shifting the moment you think you see him. Aceplayer's "Let's see how many people post here" thread was a Golden Moment, a sudden flash in our efforts to make these Lurkers materialize. But they have noted that ploy in their collective notebooks. That approach will never work again...Not here. Not anywhere.

Lurkers: I salute you. I also fear you. I wonder, then, if I could beg you: Post here. Tell us about yourselves. Are you really that guy in the back of the science class? Can you make bombs? Do you hate people who talk too much? Can this one thread alone give you reason to post? Or must there be a more compelling--a more sinister--context?

posted 06-22-99 05:57 AM ET            

Most lurkers don't register and then lurk.

They start reading the forums, hopefully getting something from doing that (entertainment, game information, gossip, whatever). And sometimes they feel compelled to reply to a post, or need to ask a question, and so they register and thus become what some people refer to as "newbies". Some will then become addicted and reach transcendence...

Or, alternatively, they become bored by the lack of interesting conversations and the nonsense, or are aggravated by some obnoxious posters or even think that all people here are a bunch of retarded nerds posting meaningless BLAH sentences... because of that, or other reasons, they simply go away, never to return again.

At least, that's my experience, and the one of quite a few friends. I started following the SMAC forums in June last year, but didn't feel like posting before I actually got SMAC because I didn't believe I had anything interesting to add to the discussions.

Moreover, I like to get to know the people a little bit before starting conversations and/or arguments. If you don't spend time doing that, you will inevitably end up being considered an idiot, a "newbie" in the negative sense of the word. Examples of this type of behavior abound on every forum (Domk, Chrisk, Kalahari on these parts to name a few)

Just my CHF 0.05...
Aredhran

posted 06-22-99 07:40 AM ET            

Wait, wait, there is certainly something wrong in this sentence...

posted 06-22-99 10:42 AM ET            

Things'll pick up when 4.0 comes out with people glorifying and demonizing it. That'll be fun at least.

posted 06-22-99 10:59 AM ET            

I am the brilliant student bored in the back of class. I love flame wars, you are beautiful in starting so many. If I thought you were trying to make me post I should doubtless have to destroy the world as punishment for your temerity. (No I can't tell you what the issues are in SMAC Provision 947/b, especially paragraph 42A, but when we lurkers are decided you'll find out. Thanks for asking.) Oh and you only thought my dissertation on the demise of Popular Culture was for myself, I'm sorry you missed the others lurking nearby (understandable) but my dissertation was for them. They agree with the issues regarding the Current Age of Noise, but are waiting for you mere mortals to deal with it. No I don't make bombs (except nuclear ones that is). Yes I do dislike people who talk too much. You, Yin26, however amuse me and thus are immune from my vengeance for talking too much.

posted 06-22-99 12:18 PM ET            

I'd still like to know how he destroyed my previous username, though.

posted 06-22-99 12:27 PM ET         

Periscope depth aye captain!

Up scope! (looks around)
Ahhh... Target sighted!
Ready tubes one and two!
Angle on the bow port 15 degrees.
Range... mark!
Bearing... mark!
Fire one!
Fire two!

posted 06-22-99 01:03 PM ET            

Mtg, that wouldn't have been to try and point out the difficulties of writing software in the throw away industry that is entertainment/games would it? With a large dose of stating... "Its windoze. It has more faults than the Pacific Rim" would it?

posted 06-22-99 04:00 PM ET         

First off, I will respond to a few of your speculations in the spirit of good sport and fairness.

1) "To a Lurker, every added post is a mark of shame."

A) Naw, in my case, I'm often too ambivalent or $%#@* lazy. So I lurk to read the expanded world of other people's comments.

2) "I see a Lurker as that guy in the back of the science class, too bored with the lecture because he already read the science book two summers ago 'for fun.' "

A) Well, I certainly did a bit of daydreaming in school, but I was much more likely to fall behind instead of be ahead of the class. The shock therapy helped me get back on track, although I've still got this little twitch.....

3) "I also see the Lurker as that guy who you think has no opinions about life (except when he talks to himself)."

A) HMMMMMM.....pretty close to the mark there. But I'll follow up on this later below.

4) "A Lurker is also a guy who fears rejection."

A) In my case, MUCH closer to the mark. Or rather more, the fear of making an absolute jackass of myself on this forum. (Too late; I think I've already done so.)

5) "Humor is a good strategy, but the Lurker is desensitized to all but the most hilarious humor."

A) Nah. The cute little smiley-face icons that we can use on this forum still work for me too. Humor for me doesn't need to be complex, but I do appreciate original humor a lot more.

OK.....Let's close with me making myself more of a fool, hehehehe. I will ACTUALLY post an OPINION for debate.

ISSUE: In the Ancient period, civilizations like the Greeks held the view that the "universe" could be defined by four "elements": air, land, fire, & water. I am now think that this view of the universe was both right & wrong: the right number of "elements" (4), but wrongly defined.

So which four elements am I thinking of?

Regards,

posted 06-22-99 04:54 PM ET            

Ergo, any Lurkers who post replies to this thread are not actually Lurkers, but simply infrequent or potential posters... by the mere act of posting, the elusive Lurker status is lost, never to return... the BBS equivalent of a self-fulfilling prophecy?

Nell... what on earth am I talking about?

posted 06-22-99 05:17 PM ET            

And yes, I guess I'm a lurker now, even with my post count. I rarely post, but I read a lot. And snipe posts

posted 06-22-99 06:41 PM ET         

At home I just had a dull old 56K modem and there is always SMAC to play. Recently we got cable modems in the area and I can now surf pretty well at home, but still I lurk a lot. Generally I will read a thread or two decide that sounds cool and decide to go play SMAC instead.

posted 06-22-99 08:25 PM ET            

Oh yes, it was
Earth
Fire---+---Water
Air

posted 06-22-99 08:36 PM ET         

Not quite any of those is what I was thinking about as the "four elements of the universe", but I your first suggestion is probably true enough.

(I'll post my answer later on, just to give a little suspense to anyone who might actually care.)

Good comments too on the Meyers-Briggs. I might be ISFP if I last recall.

posted 06-22-99 09:45 PM ET            

Although yesterday, I made windoze history. You know those exception error BSOD's (no it wasn't SMAC) which say "it may be able to recover and proceed normally" which is total BS? I actually had my first ever no hassle, no close, no hang, no BS recovery from a BSOD.

posted 06-23-99 01:40 AM ET            

A Luker DOES post--but not often. That's the whole point here. What makes a Luker post? By the way, I think 'not often' means fewer than 10 times/month WHILE following the board fairly closely--once a day, 4-5 times/week at a minimum.

Of course, the King Lurker would never reach double digit posts to save his life. But he still posts--just veeeery carefully. Again, the reason I ask: What makes a Lurker post?

posted 06-23-99 08:22 AM ET         

The four elements are:

matter, energy, time, & space.

OK, I think my "lurking" (or luking?) mode demands that I stop adding to this thread.

posted 06-23-99 11:08 AM ET            

"Now, will you admit on the forum that you were wrong? ROFLMAO!"

posted 06-23-99 05:46 PM ET            

I was a teenage lurker....

.. well actually a bit older than that.

The story of getting drawn in is true. I've probably bored the arse of the non-SMAC forum about the rate of increase in my posts (only recently abated through anbence I might add).

The most disturbing comment is, I suppose, that if the best firms advertise the least, then do best SMAC-players post the least? I don't claim to be the greatest CEO in the world and there are so many in this forum with better ideas than me. But what about those who don't post, those who spend theiir time (antisocially) kicking the butt of all and sundry in SP - the Lurkers. These are the guys with the real strategy.

posted 06-23-99 10:42 PM ET            

Personally, I lurk in places where the important people post (e.g T.A Forums recently, after an earlier bout of flaming and posting) information that might be of value, but which don't generate much stimulating dialogue "You ar a LOZER - YoU like Staarcraft. SC is the worst sh*t evr. Ect."

Since Firaxis staff virtually never post on these forums, unless provoked ("Chris Pine is an uncoordinated ignorant clown!"), the lurkers here are a different breed to the normal, actually here for the general conversation or for the odd strategy tip (play morgan).

posted 06-24-99 01:43 AM ET            

Exactly my point. A lurker MUST post at least once every month or two. Otherwise he or she is either 1) a voyeur--just getting a cheap thrill but not really engaging mentally or 2) Sid Meier (though we might put Sid in that first category and see if he posts an objection. QUESTION: If Sid Meier posts on a forum but nobody is there to read it, does Sid Meier exist?).

Lurkers are our greatest hope--and potentially our most feared source of all human ruin. Don't kid yourselves, people. We've GOT to figure out the mind of a Lurker.

posted 06-24-99 07:37 AM ET            

Current rumour is that Sid Meier is just a marketing strategy originally invented by Microprose to sell flight simulators. It seems it got a bit out of hand, and they had to hire an out of work actor to pose as a gaming genius for interviews and publicity, yada yada yada, and the whole thing snowballed from there. Things went completely mad when the actor started getting ideas in his head and wanted to actually start making his own games, instead of just the ones he was supposed to be pretending to have programmed - MP had to hire another actor called Brian to 'be seen to be doing the work' in order to keep Sid out of the way for a bit. And now Hasbro comes in and screws things up entirely by hiring both of them as game designers! MP must be laughing like crazy over all of this.

posted 06-24-99 09:53 PM ET            

BTW, when I lived in Tokyo, I had some Kiwi and Aussie friends - once you get to know both, it's very hard to ever confuse them.

posted 06-24-99 09:53 PM ET            

First person to prove they're not Sid Meier wins a free trip to the recycling tanks with full military honours. And a free copy of 'My time in silicon valley' by Sydney Mayor.

posted 06-24-99 10:10 PM ET            

My name is jimmytrick. I am a replacement player in a PBEM SMAC game called Aredhran's Challenge. I have been told that I replaced you.

Is this true?

If so, could you please explain how the **** you could have ****** up the ******* position so thoroughly in so few ******* turns.

sincerely,

jimmytrick

(will YOU answer?)

posted 06-25-99 12:48 AM ET            

i think i still haven't posted more than ten times and i've been reading the smac board since the pre-cambrian era (pre-nexus, NIM, etc.). back when thomas stobie used to actually post stuff, back when smac was but a gleam in brian reynolds eye..., back when imran was still a junior member, etc., etc.

what are my reasons for not posting? well, honestly, i have on occasion wanted to voice my opinion on certain matters, but actual discussions about the game have been pretty rare. kudos to the transcendent ironpeople (how p.c.!), and others (even yin!) who've kept the torch of reasonable discussion about the merits and faults of the game going in more recent times. most discussions here on the "game messageboard" have been too far afield for me to bother adding my own opinions to the mix (i came here for alpha centauri, but ended up witnessing something entirely different at times). it just seemed at times that there was very little to discuss that would receive actual feedback from a firaxian (other than jkm doing troubleshooting). the game features were pretty much locked in by the time the demo came out, etc. notable improvements came with the patchlist campaign, but still and all, i mostly felt like posting wouldn't really make much of a difference to the game in the long run.

oh, and to see a great example for the gaming industry in terms of communication between a developer and the internet consumer, check out the interplay boards for the upcoming strategy title "star fleet command". compared to many message boards you'll see a lot less flaming, and a few more answers from the powers-that-be there. there you'll see a remarkable sense of community is present which many game companies (even firaxis) should strive to emulate (hmm, wonder if brian has time to check out what chris taylor & company are doing there?).
simply remarkable.
this is not meant as a bash against firaxis, or a bash on the netizens who post here, but simply my view on the state of game forums today.
often there is so much complaining AFTER the game has shipped on a message forum because there was not enough communication before the game went to press to quell possible disappointments or disatisfaction. i think firaxis is on the right track with hiring a full time webmaster to deal with customer inquiries on these forums (otherwise why bother having them in the first place?). but we have yet to reach the golden age (or even a we love the sid day). i also see the amount of fan input that brian is willing to take on for civ3 as another positive sign for the future of firaxis as a "fan-friendly" game company.

at any rate for several reasons, this has been my longest (and final) post on this forum.
i wish this board's denizens the best in enjoying the great games that sid, brian, and company provide.

peace,
/willko

posted 06-25-99 01:12 AM ET            

jimmytrick,

posted 06-25-99 01:33 AM ET            

He doesn't have a chance. He's stuck on a medium sized island with me. Remember? I can only assume that you quit after finding out that I was to be dbrodale's replacement. Ah... the sweet taste of irony turned bitter when you putzed out of the game. Xenofungus kimchee, mindworm garnishing and a big plate of yin was on the menu and I was famished. How could you?

posted 06-25-99 03:37 AM ET            

Your faction has shortcomings (can you spell technology ?), but at rollout time you had the largest territory, pop and # of cities.

posted 06-25-99 08:06 AM ET            

jimmytrick hasn't a chance? Well, we shall see what we shall see!

As for the maniac AREDHRAN, he sets up the game with the Believers and UoP side by side, and when you go on vacation, he takes the opp to provoke a war. Now he has clued you in to the fact that I have more bases and pop than you!

He is a psychopath!

There is indeed a horde of infantry at your door. You should have taken up my offer last nite at ACOL, while I was juiced and feeling friendly.

Now I must do the Lord's work.

posted 06-25-99 08:06 AM ET            

Anyway. I still had one of the best laughs with that thread where I asked everybody to make fun of my name... Ah, the memories, I think I'm just going to have to resurface it now !

posted 06-25-99 12:25 PM ET            

The Lord's work? Oh... you mean getting down on your knees and supplicating yourself to those, whose moral and spiritual superiority is so pronounced? Why, thank you. Thank you very much.

posted 06-25-99 03:48 PM ET         

Downsiding from the Non-SMAC forum

posted 06-27-99 07:58 AM ET            

Okay. Although I'm a single-digit [poster], I have been reading the forums off-and-on since late February. SMAC is my only/first turn-based strategy game, and in fact I'm also new to [real] gaming forums. I honestly haven't seen anything quite like this forum before.

However, the only interesting discussions going on are usually far off-topic. Russians fighting in cities, asbestos jackets, da da da dum, flamethrowers, burning presidents, you know (no, I don't have an obsession with fire; stick to what I'm saying). I suppose that my main reason for 'lurking' is that from the looks of things, the game really _IS_ locked in at this point.

I feel as though the "wave" has already passed by me even before I bought SMAC. For me to post, I would likely have to discuss something off-topic.

(Don't worry, conclusion is coming...)

For now, let's just say that sometimes the results are unpredictable when I shoot out the thoughts in my head. I'm not Bill Clinton. Too honest. I could easily get into combat with 30 other posters the moment I go off-topic. I'm not as *Bad* as say, Marge Schott (spelling?), however, PC I am not (the lurking brain thinks in verse).

Every time I have posted, (a) nothing happens or (b) somebody is convinced that I won't be happy until the sun turns into a red giant and toasts everyone (okay, I must admit that I do sometimes encourage this, per the number of times I mention fire/burning/toasting/hot stuff/naked deirdre dancing through the trees, but in general I'd rather people believe I'm a "nice person." As advanced as people say they are in the '90s, word choice is still everything. Don't believe the hype, extend your vocabulary, or you'll be where HARDMAN is at now -- a hard place).

In fact, I shouldn't have even posted this, as I'm breaking my own rules! But I guess there's no time like the present to change..

Right?

Right?

Oh, fine.

(The conclusion is here!)

The two alternatives are exhausted. I have little to say unless I commit to Civ3 before it ships.

<post-mortem/reassurance/winning hearts and minds>

Just in case anyone is still in doubt, yes I like you all. Even HARDMAN, on those days when the laws of nature reverse all at once (has anybody seen the 'opposite sketches' from "You Can't Do That On Television?").
I'm not saying that the forum should be any different than the way it is, just that I'm not posting much under the current circumstances. I can honestly say that I fall over laughing when I read the forums sometimes. Besides, questioning what other people do is an exercise in exercise.

Keep it Up.

posted 06-27-99 09:35 AM ET            

korn469