WWaBOTLD?

[sean]

Here's an ethics exercise for you, brothers:

Hypotheticallly speaking, let's say there is a Brother who herfs with another guy on a weekly basis - let's call the brother "Mixtape" and his buddy "At-At Walker," you know, so true identities are not given... if there were true identities, because this is still a hypothetical situation... yeah, okay.

SO! Mixtape is herfing with his buddies and he comes to discover that At-At Walker has not only been trolling BOTL for about a year, reading everything that is going on, BUT he is also a member of BOTL (and has been for a few months) and has yet to post a peep.

The question is, should Mixtape let a sleeping dogs snooze where it is, or come up with some way to poke this sleeping dog with a stick?

 

[funkejj]

If he is a reader and isnt in to posting let him be. But if he just needs a nudge to get started then give the nudge.

 

[ironchefscott]

nudge away....it is fun in here

 

[javajunkie]

i lurked for two years before joining, and look how THAT turned out! o)

seriously, some people are open in person, yet reserved in teh interwebz, and some are the other way, and no amount of nudging, outing, or baiting will change it either way. they want or post (hypothetically speaking), they are welcome to. they want to lurk, hope they enjoy the show, and learn something about a passion we all share.

hypothetically.

also, do they hypothetically have an addy? o)

 

[sean]

also, do they hypothetically have an addy? o)

Hypothetically...

 

[GoingPostal]

Hey active participation is not a requirement nor needed to enjoy BOTL. We have a lot of lurkers and nothing wrong with that. Would rather have a lurker than some jerk just going around trying to start flame wars.

 

[Rupe]

Some people feel that it is better to keep their mouth (or keyboard) shut and look foolish than to open it and remove all doubt.

My suggestion is to let him become more active at his own pace. The one thing that I appreciate about this forum is that you don't find the usual bullies and flamers that seem to be everywhere else on the interweb. Over time "at-at-walker" should come to realize that this is a safe and caring environment and begin to contribute.

Of course if you... I mean if Mixtape gets too impatient and has a good relationship with at-at-walker then I think it would be OK to poke gently. By that I mean find a nice way to draw him out and engage him in the board rather than a poke in the eye with a sharp stick. :eyepoke:

 

[Treinenwj]

I'm with GoingPostal. If he doesn't feel comfortable posting, or just doesn't want to, let him be. I don't think it would be positive or brotherly to push him into something he doesn't want to do. I'll take a hundred lurkers over one dbag poster any day!

 

[Craig Mac]

I kept coming back to botl when searching for stuff(info on a cigar, how to's, ect). Never was one to be a part of an online community until a buddy of mine recommended joining here. Botl is a great resource for cigar smokers, but if you embrace the brotherhood it is so much more than a stop on the information highway.

 

[danthebugman]

I'm with CMac...BOTL is a wealth of information and if that's all you're after feel free to lurk all you want. But, there is something else here also and if you participate in the community, that too can be very rewarding. Just depends on what your hypothetical friend is looking for and wants to get out of the experience. That said, if you wanna poke him I'm sure there'd be a few guys that would lend a helping hand :grin:.

Dan