Lurkers Vs Active Participants Question.

I often open topics that catch my attention. If I can, I reply to it. If I'm unfamiliar with what's being asked, not interested in replying, or simply don't know what to say, I don't reply. I think that's where most views without replies come from.

Not to mention the reads from unregistered lurkers.

This forum can viewed by anyone on the internet. I remember I was a lurker on this site for about a year until I decided to join. that being said, it does not surprise me that the read/post ratio is where it is.

I too think most people are simply not interested in getting involved in a coin forum or almost anything. Yes they would like to read what others are saying but even if they don't agree, they just don't say so. This is a shame too since the more people that contribute opinions, the more others can and will learn. And although many that do reply to a post may not be in agreement with some or all of what is being said, they are the ones that may be correct. I actually would like to see the statistics reversed so possibly 9 out of 10 people would reply. Of course that could get messy.
I used to belong to the PCGS forum. With so many thousands of members and so many do reply to posts, when and if I would try to say something, it would just get buried with additional replies. And to ask a question, before it could get a true reply the replies that did come up had so little to do with the original post. Guess that is why I'm here.

I talked a fellow coin geek I work with into registering so I could troll his posts. He officially registered about 2-3 weeks ago but has yet to post....

You'll know when he does because I intend to poke fun at him a great deal.

We know the lurkers are here. They're why we're here, to teach them, the next generation of numismatists. We'd prefer they register and join the conversation but we know half the readership, half the total audience, probably never will. That's fine.

I think it can sometimes take a bit before people feel comfortable posting on this type of forum. Even though people are super friendly and very helpful here, people sometimes worry about asking "dumb questions" or unsure how to ask a question. I have seen some forums (some coin-related and some non coin-related) where members love to point out somebody's lack of knowledge and sometimes have a self-righteous attitude so many people take time to realize how welcoming this forum is and then they finally join and become members. Overall I have to say that I have met some of the most generous, kind, knowledgeable, and genuinely helpful people on this site.

I do most of my viewing on my iphone. If an intriguing question or mystery coin comes up, I will go back and froth between browser windows, and the page will often reload. I might add 3, 7, 18 "views" to a thread before I post, if I post at all. I'm probably not the only one.