Voyeurs on Autism

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I'm amazed at the amount of visitors this site gets and the number of people who are watching the various discussion forums but never even bother to chip in even a few words one way or another about any particular subject. I find it very sad to think that so many come and go and never leave anything behind that adds to the discussion. Because of that we end up many times chasing our own tails and rehashing things a zillion times because there are no new ingrediants for the mind soup.

It's actually very normal to have that sort of non-participant visitor ratio to a website, I think. In fact, I think normally the ratio is much greater than this.

I don't mind, I think it's good that people are curious and learn things from reading our posts. Learning makes the world go round.

There could be a number of reason why, sadly, these people don't contribute to discussion. Maybe they just aren't very good at it (I'm not particularly but I always like to have a go) and feel a tad embarrassed by it. Or perhaps they just like to read these posts out of interest. Or maybe they feel it's not their place to contribute for one reason or another or just don't know what to say. I used to be one of these people who would read stuff and not contribute because I felt that, if I said anything, others wouldn't find what I say relevant or stupid. I'm glad that I no longer feel like this.

Hey, you never know; if these lurkers are NT maybe they learn something new and have some negative stereotype disabused. If they are AS, maybe they don't have the confidence to post but seeing like-minded individuals and coping strategies on here brings them comfort and confidence in their daily lives! There is a members-only forum for any sensitive issues members would like to shield from the public eye. I think lurkers help forums grow.

Lurkings not necessarily a bad thing. From time to time there might be a "Lurkers invited" kind of thread to encourage people to post...some people are too busy and just want to look in every now and then. I look in at another group I used to belong to just because I like it there, I like the people - I don't have their disability (it was one I looked at as an alternative to AS), so I don't feel I can contribute much.

Lurkers vs poster yes in alot of fourms it is about 98 percent lurkers and 2 percent posters.

I bet most of them are just checking out the site, seeking information, satisfying curiosity, not interested in actively discussing anything.

Fora are information sources as well as active communities. People use them in different ways.

I think lurkers make forums larger but not necessarily better. From my viewpoint I would like to see a very broad number of opinions on any particular subject so things don't get so 'inbred' with the same responders over and over again, like a family you have to live with, but I guess you can't have everything.

I didn't start commenting until I was pretty darn sure that I actually had AS. There were a few times that I just couldn't help myself, and had to add my two cents. But I always posted with a disclaimer to the effect of "I'm not sure I have this but..." I've seen many people use those disclaimers. I've also seen threads where people basically called someone out and said they didn't think the person they were directing their comments at wasn't autistic.

This site does more than just give autistics the chance to get to know each other. It also let's people get to know autism. Be it a socially challenged individual that may just now be discovering a name for what made them different, a parent learning about what their child is facing, or someone that is just interested in autism.

It's great that so many people are reading.

That's an excellent example.

I'm a voyeur that likes watching autistic people make love...

That's exactly where I'm at 100%

Posting is a scary thing to do.

Posting is liberating, it breaks the shackles, it opens the mind, it makes you free from the constraints of orthodox society and the fears of being 'noticed' by other people.

Hey, remember who this site was designed for!

You never know if the lurkers would have had something to say anyhow. I would rather have "loyal opposition" between regulars develop since there is a lot of contention about certain autism spectrum issues that is not going to go away, no matter how tired it gets.