>>It's interesting to compare the number of members on this group with the actual number of people who contribute to the list-it's a handful of people. Ever wonder why so few do? This group is like a private little sorority<<
I own and moderate several Yahoo groups, and have done so for years... based on my experience and from the reports of others, it seems that for most groups the average number of regularly active participants runs around 10% to 20%. And most groups are sort of private little sororities, each one does have their core active membership and lurkers. Many people prefer to lurk for various reasons... one major one is because they don't think they know enough or have something valuable to contribute, and don't want to sound stupid, so they keep quiet. Another big reason that keeps people from posting is they don't want to get flamed, especially when the owners/moderators don't seem to care what goes on in their groups and conversations can get downright nasty and turn into free-for-alls. And some people are just shy, period. Some group owners I know feel that they MUST have regular participation from their members and will remove inactive members without hesitation. Others are more laid back about it, and some don't care at all whether someone participates or not. I personally don't have any sort of participation requirement on my lists, as I have a pretty laid-back philosophy and feel that if they're interested enough to stay on the list they must be getting something from it, and that's all right with me. Now, I haven't participated much here on Ice Horses because I don't know a great deal about Icelandics and didn't have anything to contribute in the way of adding to the information about them... nor did I have any brilliant (or not-so-brilliant) questions to ask, and I'm not much for throwing out one-liners, so I only speak up when I have something to say that I feel is pertinent or useful, or a question that I just can't resolve in my mind, such as the situation with the horse with the long mane. And after that I'll probably go back to lurkdom, and just pop up again when I feel I have something to contribute... not just chatting for chat's sake, which of course is perfectly fine in its own right for those who enjoy and look forward to that. Bottom line is people join lists for different reasons, and use them differently, as best suits their needs and personalities. I think I'm using up my verbiage quotient for today :) Denise Peicasa Art: http://stores.ebay.com/Peicasa-Fine-Animal-and-Nature-Art We make a living by what we get, we make a life by what we give. Sir Winston Churchill
