Hi All,
I know you're probably getting tired of this topic but Bernard Barber
offered his insight and inspired me to the following ....

Main Entry: lurk
Pronunciation: 'l&rk
Function: intransitive verb
Etymology: Middle English; akin to Middle High German luren to lie in
wait
Date: 14th century
1 a : to lie in wait in a place of concealment especially for an evil
purpose
   b : to move furtively or inconspicuously
   c : to persist in staying
2 a : to be concealed but capable of being discovered; specifically :
to constitute a latent threat
   b : to lie hidden - lurk·er noun
synonyms LURK, SKULK, SLINK, SNEAK mean to behave so as to escape
attention. LURK implies a lying in wait in a place of concealment and
often suggests an evil intent <suspicious men lurking in alleyways>.
SKULK suggests more strongly cowardice or fear or sinister intent
<something skulking in the shadows>.
 SLINK implies moving stealthily ften merely to escape attention
<slunk around the corner>.
SNEAK may add an implication of entering or leaving a place or
evading a difficulty by furtive, indirect, or underhanded methods
<sneaked out early>.

Well, that's pretty convincing... Who wants to be a lurker??
Monitor perhaps??

Main Entry: 1mon·i·tor
Pronunciation: 'mä-n&-t&r
Function: noun
Etymology: Latin, one that warns, overseer, from monEre to warn
Date: 1546
1 a : a student appointed to assist a teacher
   b : one that warns or instructs
   c : one that monitors or is used in monitoring: as
        (1) : a cathode-ray tube used for display (as of television pictures
        or computer information)
        (2) : a device for observing a biological condition or function <a
        heart monitor>
2 : any of various large tropical Old World lizards (genus Varanus of
the family Varanidae) closely related to the iguanas
3 [Monitor, first ship of the type]
   a : a heavily armored warship formerly used in coastal operations
having a very low freeboard and one or more revolving gun turrets
   b : a small modern warship with shallow draft for coastal
bombardment
4 : a raised central portion of a roof having low windows or louvers
for providing light and air
- mon·i·to·ri·al /"mä-n&-'tOr-E-&l, -'tor-/ adjective
- mon·i·tor·ship /'mä-n&-t&r-"ship/ noun

Not too bad but no, monitor won't work for me,  (don't wish to be
associated with bombardment, or warships, or lizards)

How about Bernard's suggestion - observer?

Main Entry: ob·serv·er
Pronunciation: &b-'z&r-v&r
Function: noun
Date: circa 1550
: one that observes: as
   a : a representative sent to observe but not participate
officially in an activity (as a meeting or war)
   b : an expert analyst and commentator in a particular field
<political observers>

Nope, let's leave out war and politics.....

Bernard also suggested peeper??  I'm leery of this one already...

Main Entry: 1peep·er
Pronunciation: 'pE-p&r
Function: noun
Date: 1591
1 : one that makes a peeping sound
2 : any of various tree frogs that peep shrilly; especially : SPRING
PEEPER

Hmmmm, not so bad, but nope, we "lurk" without a peep.

How about another of Bernard's suggestions - looker?

Main Entry: look·er
Pronunciation: 'lu-k&r
Function: noun
Date: 14th century
1 : one that looks
2 a : one having an appearance of a specified kind b : one that has an
attractive appearance : BEAUTY

Not bad, but we'll probably have excess drool from the males
contemplating 1800 "lookers".

Watcher?

Main Entry: watch·er
Pronunciation: 'wä-ch&r, 'wo-
Function: noun
Date: 1509
: one that watches: as
   a : one that sits up or continues awake at night
   b : WATCHMAN
   c (1) : one that keeps watch beside a dead person
      (2) : one that attends a sick person at night
   d : a person who closely follows or observes someone or something
<a Supreme Court watcher> --often used in combination
<celebrity-watchers> e : a representative of a party or candidate who
is stationed at the polls on an election day to watch the conduct of
officials and voters

Nope, this one won't do either......

Reader??

Main Entry: read·er
Pronunciation: 'rE-d&r
Function: noun
Date: before 12th century
1 a : one that reads
   b : one appointed to read to others: as
        (1) :LECTOR
        (2) : one chosen to read aloud selected material in a Christian
Science church or society
   c (1) : PROOFREADER
        (2) : one who evaluates manuscripts
        (3) : one who reads periodical literature to discover items of
special interest or value
   d : an employee who reads and records the indications of meters
   e : a teacher's assistant who reads and marks student papers
2 British : one who reads lectures or expounds subjects to students
3 a : a device for projecting a readable image of a transparency
   b : a unit that scans material recorded (as on punched cards) for
storage or computation
4 a : a book for instruction and practice especially in reading
   b : ANTHOLOGY

Now we're getting closer to what I'm looking for....

Main Entry: stu·dent
Pronunciation: 'stü-d&nt, 'styü-, chiefly Southern -d&nt
Function: noun
Usage: often attributive
Etymology: Middle English, from Latin student-, studens, from present
participle of studEre to study
-- more at STUDY
Date: 14th century
1 :SCHOLAR, LEARNER; especially : one who attends a school
2 : one who studies : an attentive and systematic observer

Now this I really prefer... call me a student, a scholar, a learner..
much, much better than being a "lurker".

All the very best gang, from an attentive and systematic observer...
your student ............ murray

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