What is the importance of community participation?
Originally answered Jul 12, 2017
At a minimum, community members should pay attention to the community’s discussions and events. And some will post, reply, present, and speak up on calls. Those who do none of these are join-only members, and they may as well not have joined, as they get nothing out of being a member.
Those who don’t post, reply, or speak up on calls can still get value from community membership. Often derided as “lurkers,” they are merely part of the 90% of members who aren’t active. But as long as they pay attention, this is to be expected, and there is no problem with it. They will learn about the community’s topic, and that is an important form of community participation.
It’s also important to ask questions, answer questions, share useful content, and participate in conversations and calls. The 10% of members who do so provide a great benefit to the other 90%.
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