Lurker (ROM-sen)

Overview

ROM-sen (short for Read Only Member, also called miru-sen, meaning "view only") refers to users who don't post or comment on social media themselves and only browse other people's posts. In English they're called lurkers. In online communities, there's a rule of thumb that about 90% of users only browse, about 10% post, and about 1% create most of the posts. This is known as the "1% rule" or the "90-9-1 rule."

Why lurkers don't send questions

For a question box owner, lurkers are people who "watch but don't send questions." There are several reasons lurkers don't send questions: "I don't know what to ask," "A question like this might be a bother," "I'm happy just reading other people's questions and answers," and "Sending a question is a hassle in itself."

"It might be a bother" is a psychological hurdle. Even when it's anonymous, people may hold back from taking up someone else's time. When a question box owner says clearly, "I'm happy to get any question" or "Silly questions are very welcome," it helps lower this hurdle.

How to turn lurkers into senders

Lowering the hurdle for asking as far as you can works well for turning lurkers into senders. Saying "Yes or no questions are OK" or "Even one word is OK" reduces the burden of thinking up a long question. Offering choices is another way. If you ask for either-or questions like "Dog person or cat person?", it becomes easier for even lurkers to join in casually.

Another way is to make watching the answers fun content in itself. If you keep sharing funny answers, surprising answers, and moving answers on social media, lurkers may start hoping, "If I send a question too, maybe I'll get an answer like this." Getting people to see someone else's Q&A and think "I want to ask too" can also be what gets lurkers to act.

Accepting that lurkers are there

There's no need to see lurkers negatively as "users who don't take part." Lurkers don't post, but they consume content and sometimes introduce your account to other people by word of mouth. A lurker who looks forward to your question box Q&A every time is a real part of your audience.

Instead of trying to turn everyone into senders, keep putting out high-quality Q&A for all your followers, lurkers included. In some cases, that leads to more questions. Whether to send a question is up to each follower, and respecting people who only watch as valued members too is what grows a healthy community.