𝕯𝖆𝖛𝖊Nov 23, 2022
raboof

In Internet slang, "lurking" means being present (e.g. on a mailing list, forum or chat) without participating yourself.

I'm curious: does "lurking" sound like something shady to you, or is it neutral?

I ask because the Dutch word 'lurking' means something different, and as such I always regarded it mostly-neutral - but the English dictionary definitions are all "shady", so I wonder what this is like for non-Dutchies.

Boosts OK

shady
35%
neutral
65%
Poll ended at .
Nov 23, 2022 at 12:44pmWeb
Show threadNyaa Nov 23, 2022

@raboof For internet people here in the US, common internet slang meaning is the common.

If I were to say it to anyone who wasn't tech here, they would likely think of stalker like behavior, "lurking in the shadows" etc.

Show threadMANov 23, 2022
@raboof "remaining hidden so as to wait in ambush." Source - Google Dictionary
Show threadHĂ©cateNov 23, 2022
@raboof The word really had an existence before Internet usage btw. "lurking in the shadows" for instance
Show threadTheta SigmaNov 23, 2022
@raboof I always assume that when people use it on the internet, they are using it as a tongue in cheek version of shady - I.e; actually, what they are doing is perfectly legit, but it feels shady because IRL, the idea of sitting in a room just listening to other’s conversations is a bit shady.
Show threadwords of encouragementNov 23, 2022
@raboof to me it really depends on the context? I'd be happy with somebody lurking in my forums but very unhappy with somebody lurking outside my house
Show threadeuropean handle  đźŽŹNov 23, 2022
@raboof It sounds neutral in an online context, but totally shady in an offline context to me.
Show threadLaurenZannah 🏳️‍⚧️Nov 23, 2022
@raboof @ThetaSigma It’s shady, but it has traditionally been kind of a self-deprecating joke so in this context I think it has taken on a more neutral connotation
Show threadTheta SigmaNov 23, 2022
@laurenzannah @raboof the act, I would argue, is entirely neutral and everyone accepts that. But the word retains that shady connotation- mainly for the “lurker”.
I.e.
Often the word is used by way of a self-effacing apology “I’m speaking for the first time, you won’t know me but I’ve been lurking here for a while”. It’s an acknowledgment that they personally feel a bit awkward that they’ve not spoken before even though they already know everyone else in the room.
Show threadBenson S.Nov 23, 2022
@raboof @nlnetlabs I suppose context matters… As a natural US English speaker who has known the term “lurking” as Internet slang for decades, if I hear it in that context then it does not seem at all shady. But if I hear it in a physical context then it does have a shady implication. It can be used as a joke / to tease about one’s shyness, or as a real concern about potential danger, but in the physical context it definitely implies an attempt at staying in the shadows with negative connotation.
Show threadJacob ¶. FordNov 23, 2022
@raboof only no longer sounds shady to me because of the common internet definition
Show threadEd DaviesNov 23, 2022
@raboof As a native British-English speaker I voted for “shady” but it's only slightly so in this context: a sense of taking from the conversation without contributing.
Show threadnbNov 23, 2022
@raboof I’ve definitely been on the internet too long because this is context-specific to me. Lurking on a forum/site is neutral. Someone lurking across the street from my house is shady.
Show threadKathryn MathiasNov 23, 2022
@raboof (English as a mother tongue, Canadian here) just as the other respondents have already noted with the use of 'lurking' - context matters. I use it as a benign term when online - to indicate that I'm curiously hovering over the conversation close enough to read the comments but not landing to comment myself. IRL it takes on an intrusive nature similar to spying on someone (IMHO).
Show thread(((Baslow)))Nov 23, 2022
@raboof
You might want to ask @jomc, specifically, since she wrote this book:
https://us.macmillan.com/books/9780374194338/lurking
Lurking

One of Esquire’s Best Books to Elevate Your Reading List in 2020, , and a OneZero Best Tech Book of 2020. Named one of the 100 Notable books of 2020 by the...

Macmillan Publishers
Show thread(((Baslow)))Nov 23, 2022

@raboof

When I was young many linguists thought that the word had a broadly "negative polarity", meaning it appeared more often in negative constructions - "Stop lurking!", "I'm not lurking" - than in neutral or positive ones - "I'm just lurking". I believe this has been shifting over the last few decades (something that can happen to marginally negative polarity items), especially motivated by its use in online contexts.

Show threadCarl CravensNov 23, 2022
@raboof Lurkers online have always just just been there. As someone who has run mailing lists, the number of people who just read and don't (or rarely) post generally outnumbers the people who _do_ post, so I've never seen it as a negative. Just a lot of people who have nothing to say.
Show threadEdvin MalinovskisNov 23, 2022

@raboof not a native speaker (nor am I Dutch), but in my experience "lurking" used in an online context like your examples has always had neutral connotation.

While in other contexts it seems to be exclusively used to imply some level of shadiness

Show threadWilmhit until peace prevailsNov 23, 2022
@raboof lurking means this => 
Show threadSzymon NowickiNov 24, 2022
@raboof for me (polish native speaker) it sounded shady at first but then I learned it’s neutral so now it sounds neutral.