Originally Posted by
.:neuko:.
Question: What is the threshold of lurking enough?
Because I've never found any clear rule on AF as to how much a member should lurk before posting a thread of their own. While I do accept that each thread should have a fair "grace period", and that therefore one should reasonably do some lurking before starting a thread of their own, at the same time, I do think there should be some expiry date with them as well, something which apparently AF doesn't make clear; that and the fact that it keeps well-outdated threads for years at a time. Seriously, am I expected to lurk all the way back to those threads as well before thinking to post my own?
Suffice to say, I think it's rather unfair that any member should be allowed to claim a monopoly on some topic with their thread for an indefinite amount of time (especially if it's not getting any replies); but that's exactly what seems to happen on AF, as certain members are quick to fire accusations on the lines of plagiarism at a member whose thread exists alongside some other about the same topic, and just as quick to dismiss a long-abandoned, yet nonetheless topically-relevant thread with cheap posts along the lines of, "Who dug this thread up?".
Before starting a thread, I will lurk--sure, but to a point... That point is when some thread with a topic similar the one I'm looking to post (should it exist) has had no replies for over 1 month, or has been outranked by more than 100 posts. You may argue that as non-mod it's not my place to be (self-)imposing such rules, but in my defense, I think it's rather sad that as far as I can see, members are being forced to do what ought to be the job of the mods in the first place.
By the way, I'm not defending or condoning WBL Studios' actions (In the first place I don't know the guy or the circumstances that lead to his ban), and he may well have "antagonised" the mods as you seem to be suggesting. However, I fear that the lack of clarity on how much a member ought to lurk before posting their own thread runs the potential risk of trapping many newcomers into unintentionally breaking AF community "rules" (which seem to be ambiguous at best, and elitist at worst); at least, until they've interacted with the community enough to gain some sense as to what is an acceptable level of lurking.
A system that can potentially ban an entire family within a household from a forum when only one member was responsible for abusing it? Forgive me, but that doesn't give me any sense that the Internet has evolved at all.
Bookmarks