Lurking
- “what is lurking online”
- “is lurking bad”
- “lurker meaning”
- “how many people lurk”
:: COMPARE ::
LurkingvsShadowban
The short answer
Both produce an invisible user, but lurking is invisibility you CHOSE. A shadowban is invisibility done to you without telling you. The lurker knows; the shadowbanned user doesn't.
Side by side
| Aspect | Lurking | Shadowban |
|---|---|---|
| Chosen | Yes | No |
| You know | Yes | No |
| Reversible by you | Instantly | Not at all |
| Harmful | No | Debated |
Which one you meant
Readers who land here meaning Lurking rather than Shadowban are usually searching for phrases like “what is lurking online”, “is lurking bad”, “lurker meaning”.
Shadowban
- “what is a shadowban”
- “am i shadowbanned”
- “shadowban vs ban”
- “do platforms shadowban”
Which came first
Lurking. mid-1980s — The term enters bulletin-board culture. Because a lurker occupied a phone line without contributing, system operators often banned them outright.
- mid-1980sLurkingThe term enters bulletin-board culture. Because a lurker occupied a phone line without contributing, system operators often banned them outright.
- mid-1980sShadowbanCitadel bulletin-board software implements a 'twit bit' — a flag letting a user keep reading and posting while their messages stay invisible to everyone else.
Read either one in full