Were you an extended lurker?

[Ed_L]

Quite a few people have said that they were lurkers for quite a long time before posting. While lurking is good to get a feel for the site, extended lurking is something I'd like to get a handle on. Why did you wait so long before posting? Were you intimidated? Did you feel like your skills weren't up to par? Is the site too hard to figure out? Why was it?

Thanks,
Ed

[Doriedee]

Ed

I can only speak for myself, but I do not find the site at all difficult to navigate. Actually Its pretty simple. And once I began reading the forum I did not find any of you to be intimidating. Just the opposite It seems a pretty friendly and obviously helpful group..

But I will admit to "lurking" for a while just because my experience is only with personal family or friends photos. Though I have read many of the tutorials and even practiced some, I just read for a while trying to figure out the terminology etc..Did not want to come off like a total idiot . If this was not the educational, helpful and seemingly friendly site that it is then quite frankly I probably would have continued to lurk and never have posted at all... Would just have kept on reading and practice practice practice..

Donna S

[Ed_L]

Originally posted by Doriedee

But I will admit to "lurking" for a while just because my experience is only with personal family or friends photos.
Donna S

Got news for you Donna. That's exactly where I was when I came to the site, and I'm still there (that's where I want to be). I will admit that I've learned a lot from the site. Thanks for the reply.

Ed

[Blacknight]

Extended lurking is not something I do at all. I do speed lurking.

I look at the names. I look at the headings in forum sections. I check out profiles. Cool Guy and Rembrandt, nope. Neato Effect and WoW, no. If most profiles chosen at random appear to have no information in them, or nothing but "smart" comments, then no - three strikes yer out, and I move on. There's plenty more out there.

I can usually size up a place or a person pretty quickly. I'm not 100% all the time, but I have a fairly high batting average.

It doesn't take long looking here to see that this is a friendly, helpful place filled with knowlegable, talented people. I wish they all were like this, but I guess if they were how would anyone ever choose.

Now if only the options on the left side of my screen would work on my machine of choice here this would be a perfect place. ~sigh~

[Sanda]

Even though I've been a member for quite a while now I still tend to lurk a bit. I sometimes get lost in some of the technical stuff and sit back and watch and learn. Lurking is not bad as long as you're learning from it.

[DannyRaphael]

As I recall, Ed, I lurked as a guest on and off for less than a week before making my initial post. (It was to a DJ-initiated thread about 3rd party plugins... another of my favorite topics!)

For me I believe it was a function of getting a lay of the land from the perspectives of forums and topics therein + the pleasant distraction of getting immersed into so many current and archived threads of interest. It was definitly a case of "the kid in the candy store."

The fact that just before discovering RP (during a web search for info on "Grain Surgery," BTW) I'd gotten unfairly torched a couple times over at Adobe.com. Had it not been for the fresh memories of getting slaughtered over there, I might have not been quite as gun shy about sticking my toes in the water at RP.

Sure glad I did, however. Reading the consistently positive, constructive and useful threads/posts was an incentive to participate. The environment looked very safe and supportive - and it is!

Having a high degree of interest in the technology and the methods, but not being a "RetouchPRO" by any stretch or even that good w/Photoshop in general, might have caused a little hesitation, too.

~Danny~

[Hydia]

Yes, an extended lurker I was, but no more. I finally jumped in because now I feel comfortable enough to share with you all. I wasn't intimidated but I was working on my skills learning from this site and using Katrin's book.

I tried keeping notes, but I felt it got in the way of learning and it was slowing down the process. So, I guess I had to figure out a way to work the two together.

When I first signed up my skills were no where ready for posting.I think I worked on the bride photos from early post for a long while, but I couldn't get it to look right. So, I kept on working and learning to improve.

Finally, one day I was working on Flora's aunt photo for a couple of days and I was finally saving the work and it started to build up to something I could say O.K. your getting it now. I didn't post it, but I think that was the day I reached my peak to say alright girlie time to start submitting.

Also, I remember looking forward to seeing and reading Sharon Johnston images and reading her descriptions. I can remember her first post and seeing her talents grow right before my eyes. I guess by reading and seeing her work and skills grow helped keep me on track.Well, with in time I will get there soon.

So, thank you Sharon Johnston and everyone else.

[DJ Dubovsky]

It seems like so long ago but NO I wasn't a lurker. I stumbled on the site in my quest to find good PS tutorials and came upon Katrin Eismans site where I found a link to Retouch Pro. I think there was around 20 members back then.
The idea of submitting challenges was so unique to me that I decided I'd give one a try. It was the Restoration Challenge #6 called Pop and Nan as I recall. Once I posted it, my curiosity got the best of me and I had to read the comments. (Needed a boost of confidence I guess) After that I was hooked.
It wasn't long before I made some good friends and got pretty heavily involved with the move to this server. That was when Doug asked me to be a moderator of the Challenges forum. I've never had the courage to really post on other sites. This was my first so I never really had an experience with negative vibs until well after I had this site as an example. There's just no place on the net like it.
DJ

[d_kendal]

I never really was a lurker. I came across this site when I was learning The GIMP and gettig into stuff like the clone tool and curvess etc., and my dad brought me a couple tutorials and a few challenge images from here. I instantly found photo restoration really fun, and worked on my first challenge (restoration challenge #3) for days, then checked the txt file that came with it for the URL of the site (retouchPro), so I came here, checked it out for about a day, sent in my submission and started posting in the forums right away. after i'd been posting for a couple days, I started to read through the threads from the oldest posts onward, while I wasn't reading new threads and posting.

- David

[G. Couch]

I lurked for several days just to get a good idea of how things worked. I felt very welcome from the minute I made my first post. I remember being impressed and amazed at how fast DJ responded to any and every challenge entry!

Like a lot of people, I was wary of internet forums due to some of the silly antics I had seen on other boards, but the amount of effort and care Doug put into this place impressed me from day one. It's one of the best places on the web!

[DJ Dubovsky]

Thanks Greg. You're the 2nd one to mention that. Now when I think that the Challenge entries are getting difficult to keep up with I can keep that in mind.
DJ