Sue Huckson of the National Institute of Clinical Studies pointed out to me the other day just how negative the term ‘lurker’ is and suggested that we refer to those community of practice members who dwell at the periphery of our communities as ‘tourists’. I like the term. Perhaps we can apply the following metaphor. Those who visit infrequently are tourists (or travellers), those that are there for most of the time are residents, active participants are citizens and the core team become the elected officials. Hmmm, all metaphors break down as some point and I’m uncomfortable with the last step.