Under the 1% rule, about 1 percent of a website’s users actively create new content. The remaining 99 percent are described as consumers or lurkers who read, watch, or browse without contributing new material.
The rule is a rough description of participation inequality in online communities, not a law governing every website. It became widely known through Ben McConnell and Jackie Huba’s 2006 writing about citizen participation, although earlier researchers had discussed similar patterns. On a forum, for example, one person might start a discussion while many others read it without posting.
A related model is the 90–9–1 rule: 90 percent consume content, 9 percent edit or modify it, and 1 percent creates new content. Actual participation varies by community design and purpose. A site requiring submissions may have a much higher contributor share, while a large public platform may have many passive users. The rule therefore describes a tendency, not a precise universal measurement.