Would it be possible for us to lurk in the chat room without being noticed?

I don’t know but I don’t do the chat too much.

Why would you want to lurk unbeknownst to others? That kind of seems like spying. If someone is listening to me, I kind of want to know they are there.

@wundayatta We’re allowed to lurk in the threads. Is there really any difference?

I guess I find that disturbing, too. I think we should go the other way, and be allowed to get a record of people who have viewed what we’ve written. I am willing to speak, not knowing who is listening, but I’d rather know who is there. It might be a pain to eliminate lurking on the questions and answers, but I don’t see why we should create lurking in chat.

The chat room can be true high school bullshit sometimes, but don’t let it eat you up. Lurking in there just would complicate things, create issues between users, and in my opinion, would just be an unnecessary load to implement.

I don’t think the kind of talk that goes on in there should happen, necessarily, but the ability to lurk would only push it further.

And I don’t think you have too much to worry about.

ha! I wish I could edit the title. “without being noticed” wasn’t needed, was it. ;)

I jump into the chatroom randomly, I don’t always join in the conversation…other do the same thing. I don’t like the idea of it being hidden though.

You could always just create a throwaway account. There are regularly 1-lurve users who pop in and just stay there for hours without saying anything.

What sarc said.

whom

Well, I must say I’ve never seen any “bitching” going on in the chat room, and I spend a lot of time in there.
For starters, when you join you can see the last few lines of what people have said. So people might be wary of talking about others in case they came in at that moment and could read what was said.

Thank you @breedmitch ;)

This is a very good question. You are exactly right about the chatrooms. A good percentage of them do talk about others when they are in their, they cut and paste a lot of things that are on here and show others in their. I don’t acknowledge them. I know who I can trust in there and who I can’t.

@Sarcasm Creating a throwaway account sounds like too much of a hassle to just pop into the chat for a few minutes. An email account would first need to be created, then a fluther account.

It seems that the people that object to this have something to hide. Why else would you not like lurkers?

I suppose my issue with the lurker idea lies in the fact that it is a chat room. For chatting, not for lurking for informational purposes.

I’m not saying I have something to hide, I’m just saying that a lurk function is a long way to go just to prevent something like this.

And just out of curiousity, would you feel any better if you were lurking in there and you heard some “high school bullshit”, would it even make you feel any better or would it just be grounds for a grudge?

Sure, the chat room can be dumb and high school-ish, but a lurk function would only elevate that drama, in my opinion.

@dverhey As I stated in the details of my question, other chat rooms allow this. I was just wondering if it would be a possibility here. I really don’t think it would elevate any drama.

Would it make me feel better? Yes it would. I wouldn’t hold a grudge, but I would know whom not to trust.

@all I didn’t ask this because I think people are talking about me. I just think it would be a nice option, one that other chat rooms allow.

Correct me if I’m wrong and I just may be, but USTREAM’s chat rooms are more about discussion and not socializing, right? More like youtube comments?

I just think that Fluther’s chat is a different type of animal, more for social purposes, and less specific, which would require different organization and features, like lurking.

I am completely unfamiliar with USTREAM’s chat, though. What were some of the other sites that allow lurking?

@dverhey During the live show on USTREAM the chat room is for socializing. Many times we have more people lurking as guests than we do people that are signed in and chatting. You’ve got me on the other chat rooms. I’ve seen it, it’s just been years ago. I really don’t see what the problem is.

Do we have a new chat room or something? Every time (rarely) I’ve ever signed into the chat it asked me for a name and I was able to enter whatever I wanted. Why not just enter a random screen name like joeblow and lurk to your heart’s desire.

You’re probably thinking of the “Campfire”. Yes, there’s a new one. Check it out! The “Chat” button at the very top of the screen, to the side of the search field.

@breedmitch I know you could do that in Campfire, but unfortunately you can’t with the new chat room. Thanks for the suggestion though. :)

Why not, I guess if it interests you and your not comfortable with those chatters knowing you, like they would care.