Outing the lurkers

August 10th, 2006 by GoldenAppleCorp

Here at the ‘tumor, we’re wondering just how popular we might be getting. We have an account at a nifty place called statcounter.com which gives us a fairly good idea of how many people view our site each day (around 100 unique individuals, thanks for asking). But out of those 100 people, only 10 or so actually comment.lurker.jpg

I can understand that. There are quite a few sites that I visit at which I am not inclined to leave my footprint. Usually it’s because the subject matter is of no interest to me. But c’mon! How can the ‘tumor NOT be interesting to you folks?!

So it is with much trepidation that I post this… er, well, post. If you visit this site fairly often and find it humorous, educational, or oddly fascinating in a train-wreck-y sort of way, please let us know by leaving a comment. You know, where you’re from, how you found us, how much we suck, how foxy your grandma is. If no one comments, then I shall take down this post shamefully and with much embarassment and we shall never speak of it again.

And if you’re a regular commenter and you’re embarassed for me by how few comments this post gets, create a new account and leave something nice.

29 Responses to “Outing the lurkers”



  1. Cathy Says:

    I read you because you’re smart mouths like me. :) I started reading you after you left a comment in someone else’s blog.

  2. Anotherthing2 Says:

    Well I don’t comment often but I do link. Hows that?

  3. Evan Erwin Says:

    Oooh, only two comments. BURN ;)

  4. Katie Says:

    O.k. I never considered myself a lurker but I guess I have been lately! Creepy. Anyway, I left OR to attend college and have not moved back since. Until the election season, I never felt compelled to check out any AC blogs, but with all the drama that in a lot of ways affected my family, I got sucked in! Over the past month or so, I have been regularly checking in with you, Netmom, and AT2, all regular posters in the Oak Ridger’s forum. I find the information you guys post informative, entertaining, and it makes me feel more in touch with my old home town so thank you!

    Katie (Lantrip) Archambault

  5. GoldenAppleCorp Says:

    Hey, Evan, at least people can leave comments on my site.
    DOUBLE BURN!

  6. GoldenAppleCorp Says:

    Cathy - We like smart mouths. And smart asses. :)
    AT2 - We lovey the linky. Do you come here only for the political stuff, or do you like reading our various ramblings as well?
    Katie - Thanks for the comment. You’re not alone in moving out of Oak Ridge and never looking back. There’s a serious lack of people here aged 20-50.

  7. djuggler Says:

    You know I’m here!

  8. Atomictumor Says:

    I’m here… do I … count?

  9. Mrs. Eaves Says:

    Would I be the….lurking author?

  10. Hulk Hogan Says:

    Hello, BROTHER, I have been lurking on your website for years. ARRRRRRRRR.

    Just kidding, this is AT.

  11. GoldenAppleCorp Says:

    Your political campaign counts as a tax deduction, AT, so in that sense, yes, you count.

  12. Bosphorus Says:

    Ummm… I like this site. Glad to hear the kind words.

  13. Jon Says:

    Do I count as a lurker?

    I’ve been meaning to do one of these pages on my site but I haven’t had the guts. You’ll have to back me up when I get the courage.

    Let’s see, I’ve been reading this here blog since, well, I think since the fall. You must’ve commented on my blog or something.

    And I kept reading it because anybody who’s anybody reads teh tumor. Duh.

  14. Anotherthing2 Says:

    Nah it’s not just the political that keeps me coming back. I enjoy reading the “Tumor” but usually have very little to add as far as comments.

  15. GoldenAppleCorp Says:

    Bitchin’. It’s nice to know you guys are around, even if you don’t ever speak up. :)

  16. daco Says:

    Like AT2 I enjoy reading the tuma, but unlike AT2, who is smart and insightful, I’m just a smartass and a big mouth. But never a lurker.

  17. AT Says:

    And you have a partial stake in the dot, remember…

  18. Netmom Says:

    I don’t lurk, but I check in several times per day (even sometimes when I shouldn’t), as y’all are dedicated and actually update often. I think that we’ve collectively made some improvements, and look forward to others joining the area blogosphere.

    Thanks for what you do. And yes, I enjoy reading about more than the political stuff, especially AT’s RIAA rants (I do have teenagers, you know), and GAC’s family rants make me feel like I’m not alone.

  19. Tank Johnson Says:

    I lurk here quite a bit. I don’t think my IQ is high enough to comment much, however.

  20. daco Says:

    Don’t feel bad Tank…just fake it like the rest of us.

  21. The Bosphorus Says:

    Yeah, I’m just making this up as I go.

  22. djuggler Says:

    Not sure what just happened but I’ll retype.

    I’m trying out Live, a plug for WordPress 2, that uses AJAX to show the current activity on your site. I have it set up on Reality Me and Domestic Psychology at a 10 second refresh and am tickled with the results. It is interesting to see 192.168.1.200 is reading from RSS 2, while 10.0.0.28 is reading from RSS, 10.1.0.197 is a fresh hit to your front page, while 192.168.0.32 is reading an archive referred by http://atomictumor… and so forth.

    I haven’t reviewed it yet but hope to post something this weekend after figuring out the pros and cons. If the status window stays blank for any length of time I certainly wouldn’t use it as a measure to think that your readership is down. Mine has stayed blank the entire time I have typed this comment (twice) and I was hoping to get a screen shot.

  23. Atomictumor Says:

    Whoa… that sounds cool. GAC already tells me that I’m obsessive about this. Like, Tank, I was about sure that you were one of the regular posters doing a ‘hulk hogan’ and I was determined to find out who, so I was searching through the SQL table (all 10000 or so entries) looking for you.
    Turns out I was wrong, so good to see you, and thanks for commenting. But still, Live sounds freakin sweet. Thanks Doug!

  24. Atomictumor Says:

    OK, I’ve been playing with it, and its big limitation seems to be that it doesn’t log jack unless you’re actually looking at the page, which gets boring. Whatchu think?

  25. djuggler Says:

    Been at First Day Festival so I haven’t been able to check it with that much detail. I would think that if you wanted that level of detail you would just run your webserver logs through Webtrends or something equivalent. That would be the best way to get the most accurate representation.

  26. bartley Says:

    I look at this site at least once a day. I don’t comment because, as a general rule, I try to limit my interaction with people and keep a small footpirint on the internet.

    because the man is watching me. I’ve probably already said too much

  27. Tank Johnson Says:

    The man would have a very boring time watching me.

  28. The Man Says:

    Go ahead and unlock your front door Bartley. We are on our way to your house. Don’t waste our time by making us knock.

    Signed,
    The Man

  29. The Bosphorus Says:

    That Live plug in sounds about like the internet’s equivalent to an unmarked white van… wait a minute, that describes my computer. No, no… I’m being paranoid.

    Tinfoil??