Mad Mick:
Lurkers have view-only access, per the GM menu.
However, some games add them as players so that they can post in the OOC and set their status as Lurker. Others add them to Group Z, where the lurker can read all posts but only post in Group Z.
Hm. I hadn't thought of using Group Z.
I happily accept lurkers in the games I run -- when I invariably reach the limit on players, everyone after that gets offered a seat in the Lurker Pool. I add those who accept, make sure they have viewing access to the right groups, then edit a GM-only post I make that has a list of my lurkers, in the order they were added.
Whenever I have an opening arise, or have something like a recurring NPC or other side character, I go back through my lurker list and offer the spot to them. Basically, lurkers in my games get first dibs when there's room.
But now I might have to look at how Group Z works again. Putting them there might be a better option, giving them the means to comment and chat.
EDIT: I just looked it up, and it doesn't seem to work the way you implied.
Group Z is a special Group. Only GMs may post to this group, and characters in the game may not belong to any other group if they are in Group Z; while in Group Z, they will be able to read it, but not to post to it. Lurkers cannot be placed in Group Z.
This implies that anyone put in Group Z can
only see Group Z, and that they can't post anything to it. That makes it sound like a sort of posting Limbo than a lurker haven. I don't see any way to give lurkers viewing access to groups, while also giving them the ability to post in one group, without giving them posting access.
This message was last edited by the user at 05:53, Fri 02 Feb 2018.