Weird.
The Green Party leader came by to post a comment on my personal website the other day. I’ve never had a leader of a federal political party do that before. It was really weird.
I mean, I figured — like you do, perhaps — that the leaders of political parties have lots of better things to do with their time than lurk in weblog chat rooms. But there was May, chatting away.
Like I say, weird.
There are three types of folks who hang out in web chat rooms. First, there are the regular commenters I get on websites like mine — Conservatives, Liberals, New Democrats, the undecided. The ones I get, I like. They tend to be smarter than me and I often find myself relying upon their analysis when I’m thinking about a political issue.
Second, there is a less-intelligent group who pop by, too. We call them “trolls.”
They use false names and fake e-mail accounts and they regurgitate all kinds of hate and dirt. I don’t ever approve their comments.
Finally, there is a third group whose presence we feel online, but don’t often see: The lurkers. They skulk in the background, but never really offer any comments. They just lurk.
Green Party Leader Elizabeth May, I assume, is a lurker, which is kind of weird.
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