Hi AOIRites (apologies for x-posting), I'm at the beginnings of a project on internet lurking and have a question for the polyglots among you. What are the terms used in languages other than English for lurking, which I understand to refer to the practices of reading online without writing? Bonus points for etymological guideposts. For example, the contemporary English "to lurk" is tied to words having to do with scowling, lowering, working, and scheming, whence the familiar eavesdropping connotations. It is also linked to shrugging off one's work responsibilities. In French (at least here in Québec), they use the terms "badauder" (verb), "badaud" (individual), and "badaudage" (practice). These are all linked to words having to do with stupefaction, surprise, and involuntary astonishment. So, in the two languages I speak, two very different sets of etymological baggage. Thanks in advance for enlightening me to terminology in languages you speak, either on- or off-list. Scott Kushner scott.kushner@gmail.com