Rather than '
hiding'
irl, I think it would be better to associate it with
eavesdropping. There are various methods of lurking. Specifically to
IRC, you can lurk
off channel or
on channel. Using the +i
mode, you can be
invisible to all but
server operators while you sit in *, which means to say you'll not have joined any channel. Nobody will be aware of your
presence online unless you specifically
chatted to them. In this way you avoid most online
friends but chat only to the ones you really want to chat to. To lurk on channel is much less
surreptitious, since you can be seen, but you remain
quiet and
maybe say hello in
greeting back somebody who greets you on the channel.
You can also do it in ICQ by changing to Private status, or even lurk for a while on E2 before your nick is shown in the Other Users box. Heck, you can lurk pretty much on any online chat system on which the status of members or users can be viewed and/or hidden.