Lurkers, or as defined in this research, Legitimate Peripheral Participants (LPPs), have been a fundamental aspect of online communities and more research is needed to better understand them. This paper, therefore, examines lurkers in a mixed-method study through the lenses of Transactional Distance, Interaction Types, and Self-Determination Theory and aims to identify their defining features. The findings show that the degree of engagement of any particular LPP is influenced by different aspects of distance and interaction. Time, as an external factor, and lack of interest, as an internal factor, emerge to be the most influential considerations; but a combination of these factors can also lead learners to be an LPP. Characteristic words to define LPPs seem to be ones that have positive connotations and indicate that LPPs learn through less active and visible methods than other learners.

潜伏者，或本研究中定义的合法外围参与者（LPP），已成为在线社区的基本方面，需要进行更多的研究才能更好地理解它们。因此，本文通过事务距离，交互类型和自决理论的视角，对混合方法研究中的潜伏者进行了研究，旨在识别潜伏者。研究结果表明，任何特定的LPP的参与程度受距离和相互作用的不同方面的影响。时间是一个外部因素，而缺乏兴趣是一个内部因素，已成为最有影响力的考虑因素。但这些因素的综合作用也可能导致学习者成为LPP。