> I’ve always felt a bit guilty. That particular feeling in the gut when you owe something to someone.<p>So, firstly, everything this guy got was freely given. There was no expectation of reciprocation, so he doesn't owe anyone anything. That's part of the beauty of the internet gift economy.<p>But, i bet that he has given something back. Maybe not contributing content of his own. But has he ever voted up a post? Voted down a comment? Flagged something? Reported a bug? Enabled usage statistics reporting in some software? All of those are tiny, but non-zero, contributions to making the web better.
Yes, in fact my 2017 website re-write stalled because I wanted to keep a blog, but I'm fundamentally shy about sharing things. These words could have been written by a more confident me. Maybe it's time to have another go.
I have the opposite problem - I worry that I comment too much. It takes a lot of effort for me to recognise which of my opinions are baseless and unworthy (probably most of them), and to leave them unsaid.
In a way, yes. I tell myself somewhat often that I should write more, yet each time I don't. The blog I have sits empty, in large part because I'm not sure how interesting others might find the content.
The internet doesn't create the content, people do.
I feel your guilt is misplaced.<p>You shouldn't be wanting to give back to the internet, you should be wanting to give back to other people.<p>So long as you're a genuine-at-heart and mindful person, this should be a regular occurrence for you regardless.<p>Every human interaction you have is an opportunity to give back :)
I only feel guilty when, through hard work, I find a solution to a problem that I couldn't find online... but then I don't publish the problem and solution.<p>Generally though, I feel I don't have anything profound enough to say to add to the noise that already is the internet. I don't mind people who do add noise (as long as I'm not forced to consume it).
I don't feel guilty, but the topic of writing a blog comes up in my journal quite often.<p>I have a dev blog I post to every 2-3 months. Nothing regular, but if a thing costs me a lot of time to figure out, I'll write a post and hope it'll save others time when they search for that particular topic.<p>I think this is really the only way for most people. Nobody knows me, nobody gives a shit about me, why would they follow me as a person?<p>Giving back to the internet is a good thing, but only if the stuff is read by someone. So either post in a community or have your blog be found through Google.<p>Everything else is just noise.
The problem I have is that I like consuming information so much more than producing it that I never have the willpower to stop reading, watching videos, etc, and start producing something.<p>I do feel that I would have a fair amount to share back of what I learn. However, when I think about the limited time we all have to live, and how nasty people can be online for even the most trivial matters, I always reach the conclusion that my time is better spent learning. As an Italian friend of mine used to say, “my objective in life is to die wise”.
I've been a serial lurker on a few internet communities for a long time. On one or two of them, I've gotten over the initial shyness and in one or two cases even become an extremely prolific contributor.<p>It's quite organic, never a deliberate decision, but I guess if you find a particular community very rewarding over time you may slowly grow comfortable enough to contribute very actively.
I always think about writing a blog. Maybe just rattling about the everyday things I am learning or doing and share it. Just there's a huge mental barrier of "I am still so very novice" and I postpone it to when I will be at some better level. I guess I will say fuck it and start someday.
I lurk on Twitter all the time, but I don't tweet mostly because I don't know what to tweet about, or just forget to do it.
When I have some thoughts about something, putting them on the internet is the last thing I remember about. Maybe it's a matter of habit
> Do you ever feel guilty being a lurker?<p>No, not when it comes to the decision not to have a blog, or a facebook page, or a twitter account, or a non-throwaway HN login.<p>Others may disagree, but I see profound narcissism in the popularity of these (plat)forms of expression, which are mostly about signalling.<p>If you feel guilty about "not contributing" then contribute in some meaningful way. Contribute features, support, and/or bug fixes to open-source projects (or start one from scratch if you've an unreachable itch.) Teach people how to do stuff. And have enough self-confidence not to need to "share" literal or metaphorical selfies.
Heh, I myself was a very quiet internet persona for most of my life, though I've been on the internet for longer than I remember myself as an adult (my parents first got a dsl in 1998). The last two years though... I've been personally affected by Canada quietly denying renewing work permits to a hundred or so Russian nationals and I began to turn way more emotional in internet conversations since then.<p>When I was a child, I was of no high opinion of 30+ plus adult men with families wasting time on vain talks in place where their opinion mean nothing. Now, I myself will soon become one of them.<p>How ironic.