"Lurker": Pejorative Term??

...Apparently one reader at Paper Napkin thought so. Funny, but it's not clear from context whether this individual was actually a "lurker" herself! Crazy. Hey... I didn't invent the term. Look it up (I used Dictionary.com) -- the entry I saw even explicitly addressed the blog "lurker" definition as non-pejorative!

Incidentally, I decided that viewing only one source for this definition was insufficient. I love Wikipedia's thorough explanation on the topic, references dating back to early '80s message board sub-culture, and separate categories of lurkers!

I'm moderately tracking the National De-Lurking Week movement. We're about half done. All I can say is, 'FOR CRYIN' OUT LOUD, PEOPLE -- IF YOU HAVEN'T POSTED ON MY SITE YET, F-ING DO IT!' Simple rules: 1) Everywhere you "lurk" in the shadows, reading/listening but never speaking/posting yourself... now's the time; 2) Everyone who posts to your blog -- particularly due to the de-lurking movement -- respond in kind and return the favor on their blog.

Supposedly this whole thing was started through Sheryl at Paper Napkin (I initially caught wind via dr. b) a year ago -- god, time flies -- and it was originally only a day. Honoring the weight of purpose in de-lurking, bringing all of you wallflowers out of your comfort zone, we needed a full WEEK. It sometimes takes more than a day to lure a turtle out of her shell.

Thus... in honor of this whole De-Lurking thing... whoever you are, however long you've been lurking in the shadows of my blog... LEAVE A FRIGGIN' COMMENT! It doesn't have to be deep, profound, or otherwise rewarding to the rest of us. It is simply meant to demonstrate the existence of yet one more human in this mix.