Lurking vs. De-lurking??

[HeBeGeeBee]

Every time I steer my browser towards the TMF I notice who is logged in, how many members are logged in, and how many guests are viewing the board. At this very moment, there are 74 members and 545 guests. I wonder what is keeping the 545 guests from signing up and joining the party. They obviously like to stop by for a visit. Of course, it took me about a year to muster up the courage to put my private thoughts (as inane as they may be) on a public tickling forum...so maybe those 545 folks are feeling the same way. How long did it take for you to go from lurker to de-lurker?

 

[primetime]

a LONG time. i remember when the TMF was first created and thought it was a cool site. then i kept reading some interesting topics that i wanted to chime in on, so i registered. plus, i figured, we ALL like the concept of tickling, that's why we're here. i found a community where i could talk about tickling all the live long day, and not be ashamed. try bringing up tickling in a crowded break room and see what the reaction would be. this place is great!! i encourage all the "lurkers" to join in. couldnt hurt could it? what could go wrong? we'll laugh at you for liking tickling? then we all need to be laughed at. join the party!!!!

 

[Novus]

*Delurks*
I think I speak for the hundreds of lurkers out there. We will each delurk in our own time. Everyone of us is fighting a battle in our heads over whether to come out of lurking mode and post. I will read one post and think that I have to reply but then I will read on and see a post that sends me back in the opposite direction. Just wanted to let you all know what it like to be a lurker. We are out there, hundreds of us and we are all watching you. Thats all for now. Bye.
*Relurks*

 

[mabus]

Novus, what makes you "go back in the opposite direction?" (Any other lurker can answer too...)

Rudeness, perhaps, or a point maybe you were going to make was already made, or perhaps it was something else?

I like to think of this place as a free society where all views are welcome (except hate filled flames.) That must be clarifies also. We want to keep it civilized here, and if someone wants to just type curse words and obscenities, there are other avenues to do that - like the newsgroups.

But aside from that very, VERY narrow limit, (flames don't get anywhere and are hateful,) ALL other viewpoints are welcome. No matter how serious, or silly. In a previous thread, Neutron disagreed with me and was rather rude about it. But hey, I would rather uphold free speech than squash it to protect my own ego, so I didn't post a complaint.

Or maybe it's something else...but all are welcome here, so what can we as members do or offer to get more members to de-lurk?

 

[Tickling Motty]

As you may or may not know, i have finally delurked about 2 or 3 days ago. I first came to the TMF some 6 months ago, and straight away i wanted to join and be apart of it, but like what Novus said you see one post that you want to reply to but then when others reply you kinda dont want to then, i dont know, your afraid to come out and tell people about your experiences in tickling and if they would accept you or not etc. But if you read my post and all the responses, you can see that the people here accept you no matter what background your from. The reason i signed up eventually was because more and more people were doing the same and were getting warm welcomes, so i knew i would get the same response. I think the members here want all the lurkers to join, the more people registered, the better the community.

So im calling all lurkers out there to come and join in the fun and meet new people who share the same interest as you. Everyone here is so friendly and would go out there way to make you feel at home. I know im only new but i feel at home already

Andy

 

[tummyticklish01]

Well for me it probably took about a month, not because i was afraid, because i didn't know HOW to register!!😀

 

[Myriads]

Hello Novus,

Welcome to the forum, glad you chose to join us.

I will read one post and think that I have to reply but then I will read on and see a post that sends me back in the opposite direction.

I'd be interested in hearing what sends folks back also.

Myriads

 

[mabus]

You know, you lurkers really don't have to give details about your tickling experiences, and still be a part. Very few, if any of my posts actually talk about ME tickling anyone, because quite frankly, I don't. I may have given a quick, 1 second tickle about 6 or 7 times in my life. I think I gave 1 tickle in the last 5 years.

When I said freedom of speech, I meant FREEDOM of speech. That also means, you don't HAVE to give any details that you don't want to. No one here demands it, and if anyone does, don't worry, we'll tell them to sut up. 😉

 

[BigJim]

I think it took me 4 or 5 months to de-lurk.

 

[ticklishbbw]

Delurking

OK..I'll make this my first official post! We'll see if it works! I've only been lurking here for maybe a month or two, was given the link by another tickle friend. Any time I join a new discussion group, of any kind, I take some time to get a feel for the group/board. Personally, I would have posted sooner, but was having problems with the login process.

Anyway, consider me officially "delurked"

 

[BigJim]

Re: Delurking

OK..I'll make this my first official post! We'll see if it works! I've only been lurking here for maybe a month or two, was given the link by another tickle friend. Any time I join a new discussion group, of any kind, I take some time to get a feel for the group/board. Personally, I would have posted sooner, but was having problems with the login process.

Anyway, consider me officially "delurked"

Welcome to the legions of the damned T-BBW!😛

 

[Darkknight]

Sorry I won't de-lurk. It's part of some super-hero code or something. 😛

DK

 

[Tickling Motty]

As a fellow newbie around here i would like to Welcome to the forum Ticklishbbw and congratulations on delurking

Andy

 

[coolman]

looks to me like HeBe as already managed to delurk 2 people... nice one.

personally it took me about 6 months to finally delurk, i dunno why, but one day i just kicked myself and did it.

as a sidenote i would add that i don't like the idea of any EVIL cookies finding there way into my history, so i log in to the TMF only when i want to make a post, so chances are you can subtract at least 1 from your 545 guests. but the percentage of guests to users is much higher. i guess some people just want to take but not give?

 

[HeBeGeeBee]

looks to me like HeBe as already managed to delurk 2 people... nice one.

Just doing my part to broaden the membership. Although, the credit goes to those who finally decided to jump in with both feet (pun intended). Maybe we should have a "de-lurker" initiation. I'm sure we could think of something appropriate... 😀

 

[Ayla ny]

I never really lurked... but in the beginning I only posted in the stories section. I can’t tell you how glad I am that I joined, and sometimes even participate in, TMF. I got most of my fears of posting out of the way on AMT (a much scarier place at times lol) so by the time the wonderful place we call TMF came along... I was feeling pretty brave.

no matter how you feel about this interest of ours, there are (I guarantee you) others who feel the same way. and even the views I don’t particularly subscribe to, I respect. I get the feeling that we all understand where each other is coming from to some degree and that’s really pretty cool. because sometimes just knowing that someone else ‘gets it’ means the world.

I think lurking is just fine tho too. if that’s all you want, all you are looking for, then why not?

but... the people you have been reading for so long... they really are pretty cool people. and just trading a few lines with them now and again is an awful lot of fun. it’s also a way of reminding yourself that there are people who are into this who you would enjoy knowing regardless of this interest... as well as because of it.

(it’s 2:27 AM and I have been drinking wine. if everything above is garbled... that’s why! 🙂 )

 

[milagros317]

I lurked (just read the Forums without being registered) for about two months. Then I wrote my first story ("The Sorority (F/m)" in two parts), and registered so that I could post it. This led to commenting on other people's stories, then venturing to post in Forums other than "Post Stories." TMF has become my favorite site.

 

[Novus]

*Delurks*
I have only been lurking around this forum for about three weeks. I have been wanting to post since about day three but something has turned me back each time. I can't even really put my finger on what it is or any true specifics. Maybe it is something along the lines that the people on these forums do not quite share the same beliefs as I do. Something tells me that maybe this is not really the right place for me even though there is a strong contection. The warm welcome by HeBeGeeBee finally pulled me out of lurking. I guess lurkers will finially post when they realize that any differences they may have from the majority will be accepted.
...

 

[smiley_orchid]

*deep breathe...* DE-LURK!!

i'm now another de-lurker. 😀 who would have thought that a post of annoyance about people not de-lurking woule get me to de-lurk. i'm a privacy freak. don't worry, i'll not start actively going in the threads now!

 

[smiley_orchid]

*deep beathe...* DE-LURK!!

i'm now another de-lurker. 😀 who would have thought that a post of annoyance about people not de-lurking woule get me to de-lurk. i'm a privacy freak. don't worry, i'll not start actively going in the threads now!

 

[tklr5150]

Yes, yes! Come out of the woodwork! All are welcome here on the TMF, all personalities and beliefs and dining preferences! Hell, they let ME stick around this long, Lord only knows why!

More delurking! More contributions and perspectives! More, I say! Let our community grow and be strong! Improve our odds in the inter-web-community softball game against www.legumefan.com!

😀

 

[Novus]

Yes, we lurkers are coming out of the woodwork. I have always wanted to post because I have so much to share with the community. I have been working on a tickling novel before I even found this place and I have witnessed nearly 400 tickle fights.

 

[BigJim]

It's fantastic to see so many people coming out and registering in response to this post. For all of you who are thinking about still, know this:

The TMF is the most borad-minded, non-judgemental group of people you could ever hope to meet. There IS a place for you here, no matter how fringe you think your interests are. I spent years in my adolescence worrying my guts out about my sexuality because I thought I was some sort of warped pervert. Now I come here and I discovered that not only was I normal, but I was one of a group of literally thousands of people who shared my interests.

Every day this forum gets close to the 5,000 member mark, and THAT'S just the ones who have taken the plunge! Every time someone de-lurks, our community gets a little bit more diverse, a little bit more representative of the wrld as a whole and that can only be a good thing.

Like anywhere in life you will get the odd person that you don't get on with (sometimes VERY odd! LOL) but on the whole you will find your membership of this place can be a fantastically rewarding experience. For me personally this forum has made me some very good friends and has helped me come to terms with myself and my "internal workings" in a way that has benifited me tremendously.

Join us, and you will never regret it!🙂

 

[BigJim]

Yes, we lurkers are coming out of the woodwork. I have always wanted to post because I have so much to share with the community. I have been working on a tickling novel before I even found this place and I have witnessed nearly 400 tickle fights.

FOUR-SMEGGING-HUNDRED!?!?!?!?!? Damn man you have got to teach me how to find tickling fights out of the air like that!!!!!LOL

 

[HeBeGeeBee]

The TMF is the most borad-minded, non-judgemental group of people you could ever hope to meet.

I agree...and we're BROAD minded, too. I'm glad to see so many former lurkers coming out of the woodlurk...er, woodwork. 😀