Visitor paranoia

greenspun.com : LUSENET : I'd Rather Eat Glass : One Thread

I'm curious. Lately I've been getting a visitor that shows up no less than 10 times a day, staying for at least a half hour many of those times. Now, I dig getting hits and being read, but this one visitor is beginning to freak me out a little. It also bothers me that they won't write me. I mean, there must be something to say, considering the amount of time they're spending on my site, and the content.

My questions are, do you think this is odd or am I just being paranoid? Maybe I should just avoid my stats and forget about it? Do you guys ever get visitors that make you nervous? Do you say anything in your journals about it or just ignore it?

-- Anonymous, April 13, 2000

Answers

Sigh. This is actually really embarrassing. I...um...I haven't figured out how to read my visitor stats yet. I can't tell who's there, how long they're there, anything. I'm clueless. I'm beyond clueless.

I'm pathetic.

-Meghan

-- Anonymous, April 14, 2000

I do think it is odd, but wouldn't worry about it too much. I sometimes have the same and after a couple of days they are gone again and return sporadically. I think they take the time to really read through it all (and in my and your case it is quite a lot). You have probably noticed me pop up some time too, I have also taken the time to go through everything on your site, and I know you have read more than one page on mine. But I am pretty convinced I don't have stalkers (and secretly am regretting this). Unfortunately I don't have too many regulars (maybe 5 or 6...) but the ones I do have come back just about every other day. I myself have a lot of spare time and an open connection to the web, so I usually cruise by most of my bookmarks at least once a day. You are one of them. And if my boss happens to enter the browser will be hidden behind something else, and could stay open for several hours without me looking at the page that is displayed. Anyway: I do think it is odd, but wouldn't worry about it too much.

-- Anonymous, April 14, 2000

Well, I think its a little disconerning and I can totally see why you are a tad bit upset by this. I don't really know what to say. Perhaps they aren't really looking at the site for that long but leaving the window open and using another window for something that they are doing. How many page views does this person have? Could they possibly be catching up on entries? I'm not sure...I think though that if they read the forum that they are going to know that you are trouble by this. :o) Love, Nicole www.nicole2112.com

-- Anonymous, April 15, 2000

It fully depends. I know that I am that kind of reader. I have way sporadic time chunks in which to do things like check the internet. I know that especially when the whole internet thing was new to me, and I got my very first email address, I checked things twenty times a day. It could also just be that the individual is taking the time that they have to really read the background and such on your site. It could even be someone you know. I'm kind of the type of person who supports a lot of the annonymity of the internet. Not the scary prey on six year old little boys annonymity, but the kind that is just me and the void. For a lot of the sites I visit, I find that I totally jive with what is being said, but have no real desire to make the communication a two way street. I kind of look at it like fan mail. If I wrote a letter to all the authors who have impacted my life in some way, I would never get any work done.

So to make a long story short, there likely isn't anything deliberately malicious about the person. Just silent vicariousness. If you feel strongly and do want ot know who the person is, maybe mention it. Sometimes the person will step forward, especially if there is a strong reason they are checking out your site.

Good luck!

-- Anonymous, April 17, 2000


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