An Open Letter to the Ricochet Lurker

 

Remember the first time you dropped by Ricochet? You followed a link from Facebook or Twitter; or maybe it was an email from your college buddy. When you finished that article, you browsed a few others and liked what you saw.

A co-worker recommended the flagship podcast, so you subscribed to that and added a couple of the other podcasts a little later. Much like the articles, you were surprised at the intelligence, humor, and grace, even when dealing with contentious issues. The hosts and guests weren’t screaming at each other like they do on cable news or screaming at you like so much talk radio. Instead, you found something that was missing online: an actual discussion.

That led you to read more posts on the site and dip into the comments now and again. Expecting the usual profane flame wars, you were shocked to discover even more polite debate with smart, entertaining people who thought a lot like you. A lot of these comments were better than the articles themselves. And there wasn’t a troll to be found.

Just when you wanted to add your thoughts, you noticed that only members could comment. That was when you discovered the Ricochet difference. The reason for the refreshing dialogue was the fact each member pays a small amount of money (about a dime a day) and agrees to a basic code of conduct to keep things civil. The members could also post their own articles on that mysterious Member Feed you heard so much about on the podcasts.

It’s obvious you enjoy Ricochet and we’re glad to count you as a fan. Now we want you to give you a free month of membership. You can comment on a few stories, post a few stories of your own, or just keep lurking as you have been. Think of it as a trial run where you can kick the tires and see if you want to stick around.

If you hate it, you can bail. But we think you’ll love it… and you’ll wonder why you remained a lurker for so long.

Click here for your free month.

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  1. Misthiocracy Member
    Misthiocracy
    @Misthiocracy

    “The Ricochet Lurker.”

    Wasn’t that the title of a Kolchak episode?

    • #1
  2. Ricochet Member
    Ricochet
    @JudgeMental

    Misthiocracy:“The Ricochet Lurker.”

    Wasn’t that the title of a Kolchak episode?

    I swear when I saw the headline for a second I thought he was talking about me. Did I do something wrong? I’m new… I didn’t know any better.

    But no, he’s not talking about me. You know, as of yesterday.

    BTW, is it physically possible to say your pen name without a lisp?

    • #2
  3. Ricochet Inactive
    Ricochet
    @PleatedPantsForever

    I found Ricochet via Milt Rosenberg but Gabriel’s posts convinced me to join. OK, Gabriel’s posts, alone, did not convince me to join…..but I do enjoy them even if that Arizona sun causes him to get a bit goofy sometimes.

    I need to go play catch with my son but if any new members join just give a shout and I will give a like – once the kids are in bed – to your comment.

    • #3
  4. Lucy Pevensie Inactive
    Lucy Pevensie
    @LucyPevensie

    Hey, could we have one of those thermometer display things over on the Member Feed, just to let us see the progress? I know for some reason the actual numbers are a state secret, so maybe you could just set 0 as where we are today, and then let us cheer as we see the red line grow. After all, we all have skin in the game. It might motivate us to buy a few gift memberships, too.

    • #4
  5. Ricochet Inactive
    Ricochet
    @PleatedPantsForever

    Creepy Lurker:

    Misthiocracy:“The Ricochet Lurker.”

    Wasn’t that the title of a Kolchak episode?

    I swear when I saw the headline for a second I thought he was talking about me. Did I do something wrong? I’m new… I didn’t know any better.

    But no, he’s not talking about me. You know, as of yesterday.

    BTW, is it physically possible to say your pen name without a lisp?

    CL – If only we could analyze your mind and figure out how to get more conversions. Would you be OK with Gabriel and Meyer submitting you to a battery of psychological tests to figure out how to get more to join? It may be mentally damaging, but it would help Long make this place profitable. Kidding, of course, we are better around here since you joined yesterday.

    • #5
  6. Misthiocracy Member
    Misthiocracy
    @Misthiocracy

    Creepy Lurker:BTW, is it physically possible to say your pen name without a lisp?

    Yes. Yes it is.

    • #6
  7. Lucy Pevensie Inactive
    Lucy Pevensie
    @LucyPevensie

    To any lurkers out there, by the way, the Member Feed really is worth the price of the membership.  It is so interesting.  There’s always something to read. The “Most Popular” list on the Main Feed page is a small fraction of the number of posts on the Member Feed.  And even when I think I’m not interested in the topic of a post, I often dip into the comments and find myself fascinated by the interaction, learning new things, or laughing out loud.

    • #7
  8. Ricochet Member
    Ricochet
    @JudgeMental

    Pleated Pants Forever:

    CL – If only we could analyze your mind…

    I don’t know… it’s a dark, scary place.

    • #8
  9. Eeyore Member
    Eeyore
    @Eeyore

    With the number of these pitches I’ve seen in the last couple of pages, we’re likely only moments away from an auto-start audio when you come on the site:

    CB: Gosh, Jon, there is only one day left in the Ricochet Spring Membership Pledge Drive.

    JG: That’s right, Claire. And if you join now at the $1000 level, EJHill will sign your complimentary tote bag. At the $10,000 level, you’ll receive an all-expenses-paid colonoscopy from DocJay. Annnd, at the $50,000 level, Simon Templar will remove at least one …”inconvenience”…from your life.

    CB: That’s great, Jon! And remember, every membership pledge today will enter you into the drawing for a trip to the Faculty Lounge at the Ricochet University School of Law, where you will be astonished by your intellectual inadequacy.

    JG: That’s so true, Claire. But there will be McRibs!…

    • #9
  10. Misthiocracy Member
    Misthiocracy
    @Misthiocracy

    Creepy Lurker:

    Pleated Pants Forever:

    CL – If only we could analyze your mind…

    I don’t know… it’s a dark, scary place.

    Yabbut, I bet there’s some really interesting artwork on the walls.

    • #10
  11. kelsurprise Member
    kelsurprise
    @kelsurprise

    Creepy Lurker:

    I swear when I saw the headline for a second I thought he was talking about me.

    Right?  Having just read some of the commentary on your post, I thought the same thing, for a second – – maybe this post would highlight some recent signups, like you.

    But then it dawned on me that, much as I love your handle,  even a warm “welcome” post calling you out by name on the Main Feed might not be the best marketing ploy.    Sure, I could be wrong, but I think the headline,  “Open Letter to the Ricochet Creepy Lurker” could prove to be a bit off-putting to anyone was on the fence about joining.

    • #11
  12. user_82762 Inactive
    user_82762
    @JamesGawron

    The Lurker

    Mr Creature

    The Lurkette

    Ms Creature

    Ricochet is a place for us.

    Kinda makes you feel good (or something).

    Regards,

    Jim

    • #12
  13. Ricochet Member
    Ricochet
    @EustaceCScrubb

    I heard about Ricochet from National Review Online. Where did others hear about it first?

    • #13
  14. Limestone Cowboy Coolidge
    Limestone Cowboy
    @LimestoneCowboy

    Eustace C. Scrubb:I heard about Ricochet from National Review Online. Where did others hear about it first?

    Same.

    • #14
  15. RushBabe49 Thatcher
    RushBabe49
    @RushBabe49

    Join Ricochet, one of the few homes on the Web for happy people.  Yes, we can remain happy in the face of all the crap taking place around us.

    I found Ricochet through Hillsdale College.  I read Dr. Paul Rahe’s bio on one of their free online courses, and it said he was a contributor to Ricochet, so I thought I’d check it out.  It took me about five minutes to decide to join, and hubby and I both joined the same day.

    • #15
  16. Eeyore Member
    Eeyore
    @Eeyore

    RushBabe49:Join Ricochet, one of the few homes on the Web for happy people.

    And some others…

    • #16
  17. Simon Templar Member
    Simon Templar
    @

    Eeyore:With the number of these pitches I’ve seen in the last couple of pages, we’re likely only moments away from an auto-start audio when you come on the site:

    CB: Gosh, Jon, there is only one day left in the Ricochet Spring Membership Pledge Drive.

    JG: That’s right, Claire. And if you join now at the $1000 level, EJHill will sign your complimentary tote bag. At the $10,000 level, you’ll receive an all-expenses-paid colonoscopy from DocJay. Annnd, at the $50,000 level, Simon Templar will remove at least one …”inconvenience”…from your life.

    CB: That’s great, Jon! And remember, every membership pledge today will enter you into the drawing for a trip to the Faculty Lounge at the Ricochet University School of Law, where you will be astonished by your intellectual inadequacy.

    JG: That’s so true, Claire. But there willbe McRibs!…

    Correction:  That should read – at the $50,000.00 (plus expenses) level…

    • #17
  18. Ricochet Inactive
    Ricochet
    @JohnPaul

    I joined to support the podcasts. Ricochet is “right of center” but has and encourages viewpoint diversity, which is why I’m staying. Also, Claire Berlinski.

    • #18
  19. Ryan M Inactive
    Ryan M
    @RyanM

    @eustace: also NRO, which was only just becoming a cesspool for comments back then, but the difference was already stark.

    • #19
  20. TKC1101 Member
    TKC1101
    @

    I found ricochet somehow through Instapundit.  Mr Reynolds has introduced me to several good things.

    To yon lurkers:

    It is a scurvy lot here, always ready to battle at the drop of a wit, or sometime only half.

    If you like to read and are not afraid of writing, this is a good place to while away the precious moments of your life.  You occasionally get interaction and sometimes even grudging praise. If you want constant re-enforcement of your shallow thoughts, this might not be the right place, maybe try that Facebook thing or Salon.

    • #20
  21. iWc Coolidge
    iWc
    @iWe

    I tried to explain to someone on Ricochet recently that I am actually a very, very busy person and a workaholic, and I never take time to just schmooze during the week.

    And the entire time, in the back of my mind, I realize it must be quite hard to believe. After all, this person sees me posting and commenting all the time. How can I possibly do that while “working so hard”?

    How does one explain that, really, time spent on Ricochet is not really time spent at all? It is like calories that don’t count.

    Yeah. That’s it.

    • #21
  22. kelsurprise Member
    kelsurprise
    @kelsurprise

    Eustace C. Scrubb:I heard about Ricochet from National Review Online. Where did others hear about it first?

    I stumbled on the flagship podcast, through my “Stitcher” phone app and loved it, so I joined the website soon after.

    • #22
  23. Basil Fawlty Member
    Basil Fawlty
    @BasilFawlty

    Maybe if we could attract more than one . . .

    • #23
  24. Patrickb63 Coolidge
    Patrickb63
    @Patrickb63

    I first heard abour Ricochet through James Lileks site, Lileks.com.  I first heard about James through Hugh Hewitt.

    • #24
  25. Fake John Galt Coolidge
    Fake John Galt
    @FakeJohnJaneGalt

    Simon Templar:

    JG: That’s right, Claire. And if you join now at the $1000 level, EJHill will sign your complimentary tote bag. At the $10,000 level, you’ll receive an all-expenses-paid colonoscopy from DocJay. Annnd, at the $50,000 level, Simon Templar will remove at least one …”inconvenience”…from your life.

    Correction: That should read – at the $50,000.00 (plus expenses) level…

    Does the (plus expenses) include bar tabs?  Because I have heard the stories and I am not sure the even the Koch brothers could handle your bar tabs…..

    Also do you give group discounts.  I have a few “inconveniences” that need to be dealt with.

    • #25
  26. HeartofAmerica Inactive
    HeartofAmerica
    @HeartofAmerica

    Just like Jon mentioned, I found my way here through a link to a blog that Pat Sajak had written here on Ricochet. Four years later and still here.

    Best money I’ve ever spent.

    And for those of you still thinking about it….as good as it is right now….it gets even better in the months before the election. The Live-Chat during the debates is worth the price of admission alone.  Quick minds, witty writers….it makes the debates watchable, quotable and downright hilarious.

    • #26
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