Poster's: one; Lurker's: one hundred

I was just glancing over the various thread stats, and I noticed that for every written response there are roughly 100 views. That means an awful lot of people must just sign on and read the discussions without adding any comment of their own. I'm not complaining about this, mind you. The Cellar would not be the friendly (sort of), intimate place it is now if there were 500 replies to a thread instead of five.

Still, I'm curious. Granted, everyone who posts here is witty, literate, and intelligent - not to mention a talented writer. No doubt, merely reading the threads is an experience in itself. Still, it seems to me people would be better off going and checking out War and Peace from the public library if they feel like just reading something.

I can't imagine just reading the various threads without jumping in and giving my two cents worth. Maybe I'm just an attention junkie, maybe I'm so deluded that I think I have something worthwhile to say. I don't know. But why would people just lurk? Any thoughts? Lurkers feel free to delurk for a moment with your replies.