Is lurker a bad thing in some cultures?

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I offended an online friend when I asked him if he was still lurking here. He just joined and he is from Holland. He is not on the spectrum. he then asked me why am I so nasty to him and I said I was not. Then we argue about the word and I said it was just a word and nothing wrong with it. He said in Holland a lurker is bad and he is not bad. I said it was just an internet term for someone who reads and doesn't post.


So have you ever heard of this word being bad in some countries and meaning something different? He told me what it meant over there.

Haha--lurking really does have negative connotations. But now it's tech lingo for just reading and not posting in a forum.

But yeah--it's kind of like "creeping."

lurkingpresent participle of lurk (Verb)
Verb:

Be or remain hidden so as to wait in ambush for someone or something: "a killer lurked in the darkness".

(of an unpleasant quality) Be present in a latent or barely discernible state, although still presenting a threat.

From the google/Marriam Webster dictionary.

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Last edited by richardbenson on 11 Jun 2012, 10:17 am, edited 1 time in total.

Different things mean different things in different cultures. What's praised in one culture could be looked down upon in another culture.

Yes "lurking" always had an insidious quality to it even in this culture, until the Internet altered the meaning of the word. I presume in some foreign languages, the word hasn't undergone this change.