<p>BHG's thread brought some folks out of the woodwork, and prompts my question. I've noticed that certain threads get huge numbers of views, yet very little in the way of response. It's almost as if you can <em>sense</em> people tabulating the data others share, but not sharing what might be their very valuable opinion.</p>
<p>If only a small number of interested parties actively post on a forum like this one, it's easy for the perspective to become skewed and for people like BHG to think he's 'the only one', or for important topics to get buried for lack of contributions. </p>
<p>If a board seems to lack diversity, the best solution would seem for a more diverse population to participate, yes?</p>
<p>I figure it's because some are afraid if they post too much information it may reveal they or their children's identity.</p>
<p>There may be others, like myself, that have children interested in majors that are rarely talked about on this board. I did get some terrific feedback though from a few that had students at RISD, Pratt etc or had art backgrounds...which was very helpful.
Thanks again, Momrath and Mackinaw:)</p>
<p>I can't really give much in the way of "advice" on this board unless someone asks about architecture, small private Catholic girls schools, NYC, Texas, Art Colleges and
travel and riding horses. LOL</p>
<p>Interesting question, Dizzymom. I lurked for about a year before posting anything: My oldest child was applying to college, and while I found the postings incredibly helpful in everything from practical information to moral support, I guess I didn't feel I understood the process well enough to be helpful to others. Occasionally I had a specific question, but rather than posting it, I would search the boards and could nearly always find the answer somewhere. My daughter posted a few questions and comments over the course of the year.</p>
<p>Now that my daughter has made it to college, I do add my two cents from time to time. (It reminds me a bit of the old medical school adage: "Watch one, do one, teach one.")</p>
<p>I have always recieved extremely useful information to my dilemas and questions. that I post. I will respond to a post when I have something I percieve to be of value to add but many times I can't add anything new or inspirational so I don't clutter the board with ramblings.(although I may be doing that right now) I imagine many to be similar, and lurkers can gain enough info that down the line they too can provide valuable info. I have recieved second hand info, ie so and so used to post here and their child was very happy with their aid and experience at college X. That info is extremely beneficial. (Just trying to be fair to lurkers, wouldn't want them to leave)</p>
<p>All you who have answered are free to go, lol. You are the 'good lurkers'.</p>
<p>I guess I was referring to the <em>evil</em> lurkers, who will pick a thread dry of info and use for their own purposes, but not contribute their own experience or knowledge for the benefit of those posting. For instance, there are a number of us on the parents' forum who are hungry for information about athletic or other forms of recruiting -- judging from the number of views of the threads related to those subjects, many people have more than a passing interest, but few share.</p>
<p>If that pattern is applied across the board, we all lose out because those of us posting are working with less information than we could be and the site ends up being less enriched with information for the archives than it could. Sometimes there's value just in knowing that others have the same questions, even if they don't have the answers -- it might prompt yet another person out there to have mercy on us and fill in the missing pieces of the puzzle. </p>
<p>Er, some of us came here to learn. I posted some, but mostly to repeat what I learned from earlier "generations" of posters who've sent their kids to college and moved on or things I've seen on school websites others may have missed. Beyond that I'm better off being silent. :D</p>
<p>Ummph. <em>Sometimes</em> I'm almost grateful that not all lurkers post. I've been in a contentious thread on Asian American Admissions in the "College Search and Selection" forum and, while the thread has fewer than 200 posts, it has somewhere around 7,000 page views.</p>
<p>I can't answer the OP question since I'm genetically incapable of lurking, or so it seems.
I came to this board to find the answer to one question, saw a question that I could answer in the meantime, and the rest is history.</p>
<p>I'm tempted to ask Mauretania what airline you use to get a SoCal horse to a New England school but I'll be good.</p>
<p>Btw, Dizzymom, I do agree with your general sense of sharing. But I talked to at least one lurker that I know locally and she said she's just too intimidated to post but could read forever.</p>
<p>Of course some people are greedy about giving information. I suspect that some folks are afraid of giving a wrong answer and causing damage. One of the things I try to do is go down the posts that have no answers. Sometimes, asking the OP a question, or providing an supportive comment is all that is need to move things along to provide reasonable information.</p>
<p>I know I lurked for a few months. Part of the reason is because I didn't know what the abbreviations meant and I was determined to figure them out. LAC - Liberal Arts College, HYPS - Harvard, Yale, Princeton,Stanford , CC - college confidential or community college. etc. Also, I'm sure many people have been flamed on boards that are not moderated as well for asking a question or just making a comment. The old Princeton Review Parents board was notorious for nasty posters.</p>
<p>I'm kinda shy in person (believe it or not) and I can readily understand someone just not feeling comfortable in a conversation. It really doesn't bother me if some people would rather just read; if it helps them, then it's a net good.</p>
<p>the people driving up the page view numbers may not be lurkers at all. They may be people who have already posted in the thread, checking to see in anyone has repsponded. Or they may be active posters on other threads - I consider myself a fairly active poster, but I view many more times than I post.</p>
<p>I lurk more than I post. I've only been on CC a few months but more than long enough to feel part of a community. Therefore, I get interested in a lot of subjects I know absolutely nothing about, such as recruiting athletes. I really don't have anything to contribute to that kind of discussion but still want to keep up with what's happening with other people and with what people are thinking. And sometimes, when a subject comes up and I disagree with a lot of the posts, I just don't feel like arguing. But maybe I should try to track down some of those threads. :-)</p>
<p>Mauretania, nice to hear from you and glad to hear that your daughter is thriving in New York. I just spent a few days with two young women from the creative side fashion retail. One went to a junior college, then design school in Europe. The other is a graduate of RISD. They are so charming, enthusiastic, full of adventure. Loving their lives in Manhattan while learning to navigate the corporate waterways.</p>
<p>I agree that I find this board more fulfilling when I stick to my areas of expertise and don't wander too far into the obscure and estoteric. Maybe it's age, but I just lack the energy for prolonged and intensive philosophical arguments, though I'm not too old to hate to lose them.</p>
<p>Dizzymom, I don't post often because (1) I have little or nothing intelligent or useful to add, and don't want to clutter up threads with self-serving posts or just to "hear" myself "talk"; (2) specific to athletic recruiting, I am leary of posting something inaccurate that may influence someone in the wrong direction; (3) I do not wish to brag; (4) I do not wish to reveal my child's identity, or her school; (5) nearly everyone on this board is better educated than me, even the majority of the students, so nearly anything I would add would likely be a waste of everyone's time, including my own. </p>
<p>I do though sincerely wish I could find a fast, easy way to say "congratulations" to all of the high school seniors who have been accepted by their schools, however, this would take forever, as there are too many students getting into to too many places, and it would be imposssible to post "congratulations" to every single one of them. That would represent thousands of posts. I simply do not have the time, but every time I read a post that says "I got in" I sit here and silently cheer; I am truly very happy for them. Maybe the management of this website could create a "congratulations" section where lurkers and regulars could post general congrats to all of the students who are receiving acceptances, and who have acceptances coming now and throughout the spring so that at least we can express our good wishes. My guess is that even the most silent of the lurkers would come out of the woodwork at least once to post a general note on such a section.</p>
<p>I also lurk more than I post, generally because what I know doesn't seem to be sought after. I have learned to apply other situations to my own, however.</p>
<p>There are a few things I know something about (mostly because I learnedi it here), and I'll post about that. I'm a fairly proficient searcher though, so if someone asks for an old thread I can usually find it, so at least I feel useful sometimes.</p>
<p>For those of you who might have some anecdotal experience to share but are leery of exposing yourselves online, remember that there is a private messaging function whereby you can contact people without your information being shared publicly. I, for one, would appreciate any contacts of that nature as I seek help in navigating this process for my children.</p>
<p>I'm another lurker who doesn't post very often because most of the time I don't have much to add! (Actually, though, I did start a thread one time because I wanted to know something and I was too lazy to look to see if I could find the information first :) )I started coming to CC about a year ago to research the college admission process for my daughter and wish I had started WAY sooner. My daughter has been accepted to University of Oregon, Purdue and Knox (with $10,000 merit aid--yea!) and is waiting to hear from University of Washington, Northeastern, Willamette, Lewis & Clark, UC Santa Cruz and Cal Poly SLO. That really diverse list comes from basically "covering our bases" since D is not sure what career she would like to pursue. She has been adamant so far that she wants to go to a large university but I encouraged her to apply to some LAC's in case she changed her mind. (That was something I learned from CC...that they can change their minds from the time they apply until when they get accepted.) So now I feel like I've introduced myself to CC! (By the way, I'll admit that I almost just did what I usually do when I try to post...I delete it because I think, like a previous poster said, that I am just cluttering up the board with a long post.)</p>
<p>I wish I could lurk more. I just can't help posting!
Sometimes I log on and think "ok, I'll just read today because I need to shut up already"....lol. Never happens......like now.</p>