Warnock's dilemma, named for its originator Bryan Warnock, is the problem of interpreting a lack of response to a posting in a
virtual community. The term originally referred to
mailing list discussions, but has been applied to
Usenet
Usenet () is a worldwide distributed discussion system available on computers. It was developed from the general-purpose Unix-to-Unix Copy (UUCP) dial-up network architecture. Tom Truscott and Jim Ellis conceived the idea in 1979, and it was ...
posts,
blog
A blog (a truncation of "weblog") is a discussion or informational website published on the World Wide Web consisting of discrete, often informal diary-style text entries (posts). Posts are typically displayed in reverse chronological order ...
s,
web forums, and online content in general. The dilemma arises because a lack of response does not necessarily imply that no one is interested in the topic, but could also mean for example that readers find the content to be exceptionally good (leaving nothing for commenters to add).
On many Internet forums, only around
one percent of users create new posts, while nine percent reply and 90 percent are
lurker
In Internet culture, a lurker is typically a member of an online community who observes, but does not participate. The exact definition depends on context. Lurkers make up a large proportion of all users in online communities. Lurking allows use ...
s that do not contribute to the discussion.
[What is the 1% rule?](_blank)
by Charles Arthur, ''The Guardian'', 20 July 2006 When no users reply, the original poster has no way of knowing what lurkers think of their contribution.
Warnock's dilemma leads to online writers and publishers adopting more provocative writing strategies in order to ensure that they will get a response. However, this can also lead publishers to avoid producing the kind of content that might fail to generate comments due to its high quality. This problem arises particularly with sites that focus on
viral content
Viral phenomena or viral sensation are objects or patterns that are able to replicate themselves or convert other objects into copies of themselves when these objects are exposed to them. Analogous to the way in which viruses propagate, the ter ...
, such as ''
BuzzFeed
BuzzFeed, Inc. is an American Internet media, news and entertainment company with a focus on digital media. Based in New York City, BuzzFeed was founded in 2006 by Jonah Peretti and John S. Johnson III to focus on tracking viral content. Ken ...
'' and ''
Huffington Post
''HuffPost'' (formerly ''The Huffington Post'' until 2017 and sometimes abbreviated ''HuffPo'') is an American progressive news website, with localized and international editions. The site offers news, satire, blogs, and original content, and ...
''.
Original description
Since Warnock's original description of the dilemma in August 2000, the expression has become used in the
Perl
Perl is a family of two high-level, general-purpose, interpreted, dynamic programming languages. "Perl" refers to Perl 5, but from 2000 to 2019 it also referred to its redesigned "sister language", Perl 6, before the latter's name was offici ...
world.
Re: Warnocked?
-- Post to the Perl 6 language list explaining history and uptake of term
See also
* Like button
A like button, like option, or recommend button, is a feature in communication software such as social networking services, Internet forums, news websites and blogs where the user can express that they like, enjoy or support certain content. In ...
Notes
Sources
*{{Cite book, chapter-url=https://books.google.com/books?id=7447kGFNSOgC&pg=PT88, title=Trust Me, I'm Lying: Confessions of a Media Manipulator
, isbn=978-1101583715, chapter=Can't Stand the Silence
, first=Ryan , last=Holiday , year=2012, pages=101–103
External links
Warnock's later explanations
Internet culture
Dilemmas