Overusing bandwidth is not the only social dilemma members of the Usenet face. Whatever
the goal of the newsgroup, it's success depends on the active and ongoing contributions of
those who choose to participate in it. If the goal of the newsgroup is to exchange
information and answer questions about a particular topic (e.g., alt.comp.sys.gateway-2000),
participants must be willing to answer questions raised by others, summarize and post
replies to queries they have made themselves, and pass along information that is relevant
to the group. If the goal of the newsgroup is to discuss a current event or social issue
(e.g., soc.veterans), participants need to contribute to the discussion and to
encourage its development. Once again there is the temptation to free-ride: asking
question but not answering them; gathering information but not distributing it; or reading
ongoing discussions without contributing to them (termed lurking). Some newsgroups
successfully meet these challenges, others start well and then degrade, and still other
newsgroups fail at the beginning of their existence, never managing to attract a critical
mass of participants.