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There are SO MANY people here who read and don’t post...

 
 
 
Rhea

Rhea

Cyborg with a Tiara
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I’m always interested by how many names show up under “people who have read this thread in the last 3 days” whose names I have not seen posting.

I don’t have a problem with this, mind you, I just find it interesting.

Like a teaser about further conversaations that _might_ happen, interesting thoughts I _might_ read if they post one day. I wonder, do they like the topic? Are they pro? Con? Having thoughts that were not yet articulated by others on the thread?
 
Ok, I admit to being guilty of browsing threads without adding to the conversation. I'm also one of those introverted sorts that hang out in corners of rooms during large gatherings, enjoying 'people watching' more than jumping into conversations with strangers. :D
 
My biggest complaint is that most people who post, rarely if ever start new threads. I don't start that many but at least I try. So, thanks for starting this thread Rhea. New threads are what keeps the place alive.

Maybe a few lurkers will tell us why they lurk. Thanks OWIP for posting. I do know that you post sometimes, especially in the word games area, an area that I lurk once in awhile. :) I miss our old countdown thread. It was my place to vent.
 
Old Woman in Purple said:
Ok, I admit to being guilty of browsing threads without adding to the conversation. I'm also one of those introverted sorts that hang out in corners of rooms during large gatherings, enjoying 'people watching' more than jumping into conversations with strangers. :D
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Nothing to be guilty about. :) I just know that the introverted sorts aren’t hanging out with blanks minds - there’s interesting stuff going on. It’s mysterious. Tantalizing.
 
It is because our daunting, relentless intellects are just so intimidating. That really was the case for me back in 2002, anyway. The board has changed a lot since then. I was also in a state of personal flux, my whole worldview going upside down on me. I wonder if many are in a state of flux themselves. I try to keep that in mind when I post, although I freely admit there are times I fail. I guess if there are so many people content to just watch, it means that our conversations are interesting, or we're good for a point and laugh. Perhaps even both.
 
braces_for_impact said:
It is because our daunting, relentless intellects are just so intimidating.
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LOL
That really was the case for me back in 2002, anyway.
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Totally agree with this. I loved the lofty conversation from those years! I did a lot of listening then, too. I think in general people left general boards for topic-targeted ones for the more in-depth conversations. I miss them, but I like so many different things that I don’t want to follow to academic places. Alas.

I still enjoy the community here. I think you’re right that a lot of people are in flux and that those are more likely t enjoy reading than posting.
I guess if there are so many people content to just watch, it means that our conversations are interesting, or we're good for a point and laugh. Perhaps even both.
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Indeed!
 
It's a problem for us Methuselahs that we've been talking about a multitude of deep and interesting topics for years and years. It gets difficult to say something really new, or even come up with a fresh way of expressing an old thought.

It's good that we at least keep trying, though!
 
Rhea said:
Countdown to what?
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At Secular Cafe, we had a 'Countdown from 1,000,000' thread in the Lounge, where anyone could chime in with whatever was on their minds, or comment on other's posts; the only rule was that you had to number your post, and keep the count accurate.

I suggest we try a 'Countdown from infinity' thread, and keep the count as just a single negative number; -1, -2, -3, etc.- to be subtracted from infinity. :D
 
Jobar said:
It's a problem for us Methuselahs that we've been talking about a multitude of deep and interesting topics for years and years. It gets difficult to say something really new, or even come up with a fresh way of expressing an old thought.

It's good that we at least keep trying, though!
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I think you're right about this. Especially with regards to the "god question". I find as I get older that on one hand, I'm much more patient than I used to be, and yet at the same time, I have less patience for the bullshit. I don't know how many variants for the existence of God I've heard since walking away from my faith in 2000, but after awhile they all seem the same. Some research shows that there really hasn't been any progress in this area for hundreds of years, so I don't know why sometimes it seems like we're expecting something well, better.

There is a multitude of issues that stem from not believing though. Also, things have changed pretty radically. When I first started at iib, it was an oasis. A place where you went because just about everyone you knew believed in God. Well, there are more of us now than there are evangelicals. If we ever figure out how to cooperate politically, they're fucked.
 
Does anyone really want to read my sermon on morality and moral codes, again?
 
braces_for_impact said:
... I wonder if many are in a state of flux themselves...
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I can think of a small number of regular posters who I wish would go flux themselves. But that's why God created the Ignore List. Stating that they should flux themselves would be a TOU violation. ;)

Lurkers are great - they represent an unknown and perhaps unknowable audience who might even be impressed by our arguments. Certainly they provide a reason to hope that even the worst received post might not have suffered the apparently universal disdain that a mere reading of the responses to it (or the mere absence of any response) might suggest.
 
Since landing here at TFT from SC, I've been sitting back a bit, observing, trying to get a better sence of the place before making an ass of myself (:D)... I like the game threads (and if a proper Countdown thread gets started) as a 'safe' way to be interactive.... Even if I don't post in the actual conversations & 'intellectual' discussions as much as some would like, I am at least trying to be generous with the 'give reputation' button on posts I have a reaction to.
 
Rhea said:
There are SO MANY people here who read and don’t post...
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Sure, but there is equally a large number of people who post here without reading the posts they pretend to comment on. :p

Still, good question. :D
EB
 
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