Online Communities and Community Building

Encyclopedia of Information Science and Technology, First Edition ◽

10.4018/978-1-59140-553-5.ch388 ◽

2005 ◽

pp. 2203-2208

Author(s):

Martin C. Kindsmuller ◽

Sandro Leuchter ◽

Leon Urbas

Keyword(s):

Online Communities ◽

Online Community ◽

Community Building ◽

Virtual Community ◽

Community Members ◽

Face To Face ◽

Computer Mediated ◽

Real Community

“Online community” is one of today’s buzzwords. Even though superficially it is not hard to understand, the term has become somewhat vague while being extensively used within the e-commerce business. Within this article, we refer to online community as being a voluntary group of users who partake actively in a certain computer-mediated service. The term “online community” is preferred over the term “virtual community,” as it denotes the character of the community more accurately: community members are interacting online as opposed to face to face. Furthermore, the term “virtual community” seems too unspecific, because it includes other communities that only exist virtually, whereas an online community in our definition is always a real community in the sense that community members know that they are part of the community.

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Online Communities and Online Community Building

Encyclopedia of Information Science and Technology, Second Edition ◽

10.4018/978-1-60566-026-4.ch463 ◽

2011 ◽

pp. 2899-2905 ◽

Cited By ~ 5

Author(s):

Martin C. Kindsmüller ◽

André Melzer ◽

Tilo Mentler

Keyword(s):

Social Interaction ◽

Online Communities ◽

Online Community ◽

Community Building ◽

Virtual Community ◽

Community Members ◽

Active User ◽

Bulletin Boards ◽

Technical Functions ◽

Definition Of

In this article, we define and describe the concept of online communities, outline the essential conditions under which they emerge and present some means that foster the building of online communities. “Online community” is one of the buzzwords in the age of Web 2.0. Within this article, we refer to online community as a voluntary group of users who partake actively in a certain computer-mediated service. The term “online community” is preferred over the term “virtual community,” as it denotes the character of the community more accurately: community members are interacting online as opposed to face-to-face. Furthermore, the term “virtual community” seems too unspecific, because it includes other communities that only exist virtually, whereas, an online community in our definition is always a real community in the sense that community members know that they are a part of their community. Nevertheless, there are other reasonable definitions of online community. An early and most influencing characterization (which unfortunately utilizes the term “virtual community”) was coined by Howard Rheingold (1994). He wrote: “…virtual communities are cultural aggregations that emerge when enough people bump into each other often enough in cyberspace. A virtual community is a group of people […] who exchanges words and ideas through the mediation of computer bulletin boards and networks” (p. 57). A more elaborate and technical definition of online community is given by Jenny Preece (2000), which acts as a benchmark for developers since then. She states that an online community consists of four basic constituents (Preece, 2000, p. 3): • Socially interacting people striving to satisfy their own needs; • A shared purpose like an interest or need that provides a reason to cooperate; • Policies in the form of tacit assumptions, rituals, or rules that guide the community members’ behavior; and • A technical system that works as a carrier that mediates social interaction. Not explicitly mentioned in this characterization, but nevertheless crucial for our aforementioned definition (and not in opposition to Preece’s position), is voluntary engagement (see also Janneck, Finck, & Oberquelle, 2005). As Preece’s (2000) definition indicates, the basic constituents of online communities include individual issues, group-related issues, as well as technology-related issues. Online communities thus comprise the participants’ basic individual motivation, the social interaction processes entailed to “bundle” individual needs to increase efficiency, and the implemented technical functions that support these processes. In the light of the aforementioned role of social processes, it is not surprising that, with respect to online communities, findings from voluntary groups of active user communities outside computer-based systems are also a highly relevant source of information (see e.g., Baumeister & Bushman, 2008). In the section devoted to online community building, we will present Kraut’s (2003) suggestion of a highly-sophisticated application of social psychology theory to address some well-known problems in online communities.

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Virtual Hate Communities in the 21st Century

Handbook of Research on Practices and Outcomes in Virtual Worlds and Environments ◽

10.4018/978-1-60960-762-3.ch003 ◽

2011 ◽

pp. 34-53

Author(s):

Glenn T. Tsunokai ◽

Allison R. McGrath

Keyword(s):

Virtual Communities ◽

Hate Speech ◽

Computer Mediated Communication ◽

Interactive Media ◽

Virtual Community ◽

Community Members ◽

Mediated Communication ◽

Computer Mediated ◽

Using Data ◽

And Function

Technological innovations in computer-mediated communication have helped hate groups to transform themselves into virtual communities. Likeminded individuals are now able to unite from all parts of the globe to promote hatred against visible minorities and other out-groups. Through their online interactions, a sense of place is often created. In this chapter, we explore the content and function of online hate communities. Since bigotry tends to be the cornerstone of virtual hate communities, we highlight the legal debate surrounding the regulation of Internet hate speech; in particular, we address the question: Does the First Amendment protect virtual community members who use the Internet to advocate hate? Next, using data collected from the largest hate website, Stormfront.org, we also investigate how Stormfront members utilize interactive media features to foster a sense of community. Finally, we direct our attention to the future of online hate communities by outlining the issues that need to be further investigated.

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MOOS as Virtual Communities

Encyclopedia of Virtual Communities and Technologies ◽

10.4018/978-1-59140-563-4.ch061 ◽

2011 ◽

pp. 329-333

Author(s):

Shannon Roper ◽

Sharmila Pixy Ferris

Keyword(s):

Virtual Worlds ◽

Online Community ◽

Virtual Communities ◽

Virtual Community ◽

The Internet ◽

Social Constructs ◽

Book Series ◽

Definition Of ◽

Defined Culture

Many researchers have observed that the Internet has changed the concept of virtual communities (Barnes, 2001, 2003; Jones, 1995, 1998; Rheingold, 1993). A unique example of virtual communities is a MOO—a specialized interactive online community that is usually based on a work of fiction such as book series, theater or television (Bartle, 1990). MOOs share many of the features of multi-user dimensions (MUDs) in that both allow participants to create their own virtual worlds, but some researchers consider MOOs to be “more sophisticated” (Barnes, 2001, p. 94). In a MOO community, the participants or “players” create their own virtual communities—fantasy communities complete with world structures, interpersonal norms and social constructs. Individual participants create characters complete with environment, history and personality constructs. The characters interact and influence each other and their environments, just as do the members of real-world communities. The MOO discussed in this case study is based on acclaimed fantasy author Anne McCaffery’s book series set on the fictional world of “Pern.” The players on DragonWings1 MOO create and develop characters over long periods, often many years, leading to the establishment and creation of a strong MOO. In this article we provide a case study of the DragonWings MOO as a unique virtual community. Because the concept of virtual communities is evolving with the Internet, and no definitive understanding of virtual community or virtual culture yet exists, we have chosen to structure our analysis of DragonWings MOO around the classical anthropological definition of culture and community. A seminal definition of culture, first articulated by Tylor (1871), provides the springboard for a number of anthropological definitions widely used today. Building on Tylor, White (1959), a prominent cultural scholar, defined culture as “within human organisms, i.e., concepts, beliefs, emotions, attitudes; within processes of social interaction among human beings; and within natural objects” (p. 237). He also identified symbols as a primary defining characteristic of culture. White’s simple yet comprehensive definition yields clear criteria that lend themselves to our analysis of MOOs. At the broadest level, an application of the criteria provides support for the acceptance of the Internet as a distinct and unique culture. At a more particular level, they provide a convenient tool for the analysis of a MOO as a virtual community. In the remainder of this article, we will utilize the definition outlined above to demonstrate the features that make DragonWings MOO a unique example of a virtual community.

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Sense of Virtual Community

Virtual Communities ◽

10.4018/978-1-60960-100-3.ch108 ◽

2011 ◽

pp. 101-115

Author(s):

Blanchard ◽

Blanchard

Keyword(s):

Virtual Communities ◽

Computer Mediated Communication ◽

Virtual Community ◽

Future Research ◽

Mediated Communication ◽

Face To Face ◽

Virtual Groups ◽

Computer Mediated ◽

To Come ◽

Or Organization

Sense of virtual community is an important component of successful virtual communities. Defined as members’ feelings of belonging, identity, and attachment with each other in computer-mediated communication, sense of virtual community distinguishes virtual communities from mere virtual groups. Sense of virtual community is believed to come from members’ exchange of social support as well as creating their own identity and learning the identity of others members. It is believed to lead to positive outcomes such as increased satisfaction and communication with the virtual community as well as to greater trust and social capital in the larger face-to-face community or organization. Future research will be able to further develop the theoretical and empirical contributions of sense of virtual community in computer-medication communication research.

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Sense of Virtual Community

Handbook of Research on Computer Mediated Communication ◽

10.4018/978-1-59904-863-5.ch025 ◽

2011 ◽

pp. 325-338 ◽

Cited By ~ 2

Author(s):

Anita Blanchard

Keyword(s):

Virtual Communities ◽

Computer Mediated Communication ◽

Virtual Community ◽

Future Research ◽

Mediated Communication ◽

Face To Face ◽

Virtual Groups ◽

Computer Mediated ◽

To Come ◽

Or Organization

Sense of virtual community is an important component of successful virtual communities. Defined as members’ feelings of belonging, identity, and attachment with each other in computer-mediated communication, sense of virtual community distinguishes virtual communities from mere virtual groups. Sense of virtual community is believed to come from members’ exchange of social support as well as creating their own identity and learning the identity of others members. It is believed to lead to positive outcomes such as increased satisfaction and communication with the virtual community as well as to greater trust and social capital in the larger face-to-face community or organization. Future research will be able to further develop the theoretical and empirical contributions of sense of virtual community in computer-medication communication research.

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Virtual Hate Communities in the 21st Century

Cyber Behavior ◽

10.4018/978-1-4666-5942-1.ch067 ◽

2014 ◽

pp. 1312-1331 ◽

Cited By ~ 1

Author(s):

Glenn T. Tsunokai ◽

Allison R. McGrath

Keyword(s):

Virtual Communities ◽

Hate Speech ◽

Computer Mediated Communication ◽

Interactive Media ◽

Virtual Community ◽

Community Members ◽

Mediated Communication ◽

Computer Mediated ◽

Using Data ◽

And Function

Technological innovations in computer-mediated communication have helped hate groups to transform themselves into virtual communities. Likeminded individuals are now able to unite from all parts of the globe to promote hatred against visible minorities and other out-groups. Through their online interactions, a sense of place is often created. In this chapter, we explore the content and function of online hate communities. Since bigotry tends to be the cornerstone of virtual hate communities, we highlight the legal debate surrounding the regulation of Internet hate speech; in particular, we address the question: Does the First Amendment protect virtual community members who use the Internet to advocate hate? Next, using data collected from the largest hate website, Stormfront.org, we also investigate how Stormfront members utilize interactive media features to foster a sense of community. Finally, we direct our attention to the future of online hate communities by outlining the issues that need to be further investigated.

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Sustainability disclosure through virtual community: the case of the wine sector

British Food Journal ◽

10.1108/bfj-07-2019-0481 ◽

2019 ◽

Vol 122 (8) ◽

pp. 2513-2530 ◽

Cited By ~ 2

Author(s):

Monica Fait ◽

Demetris Vrontis ◽

Amedeo Maizza ◽

Federica Cavallo

Keyword(s):

Online Community ◽

Virtual Communities ◽

Virtual Community ◽

Wine Industry ◽

Community Members ◽

Content Type ◽

Sustainability Disclosure ◽

Wine Sector ◽

Pro Social Behavior ◽

Engagement System

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to observe how the motivational engagement system of the consumers should be established so that communities of practice became a driver to reducing the informative asymmetries of sustainability. Design/methodology/approach The paper proposes a conceptual framework called connection, discussion and influence (CDI), along which the motivational dimensions to disclose sustainability can be formed. The framework has been tested on 200 firms in the Italian wine industry. A correlation analysis proved to be suitable for identifying groups of representative variables representing the engagement motivations that characterize participation in sustainability-oriented virtual communities. Findings The findings of this paper suggest that the pro-social behavior represented by the exchange of knowledge oriented toward sustainability is enhanced by the engagement of online community members. This happens when the online community is structured so as to activate a virtuous circle between CDI. Research limitations/implications The main limitation of this study is the interviewees do not actually participate in a virtual community, but have only been asked if they would be potentially interested in participating in one, and about the importance they give to specific motivations. Practical implications The paper provides important reflections for companies operating in the wine industry that have been called to intervene in the disclosure of sustainability. Originality/value The virtuous circle described here is the main contribution of the paper, as it can serve as a driver for managers of virtual communities that choose to disclose their idea of sustainability to reduce informative asymmetries and to engage consumers.

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Conflict and Co-Operation in the Virtual Community: eMail and the Wars of the Yugoslav Succession

Sociological Research Online ◽

10.5153/sro.180 ◽

1998 ◽

Vol 3 (3) ◽

pp. 84-97 ◽

Cited By ~ 7

Author(s):

Paul Stubbs

Keyword(s):

Case Studies ◽

Cultural Change ◽

Virtual Communities ◽

Computer Mediated Communication ◽

Virtual Community ◽

Mediated Communication ◽

Computer Mediated ◽

Bulletin Boards ◽

The Relationship

This article focuses on the use of computer-mediated communication (CMC) during the wars of the Yugoslav succession, through three case studies of particular eMail networks, discussion groups and bulletin boards: zamir; APC/Yugo/Antiwar; and the Soc/Culture/Croatia and Soc/Culture/Yugoslavia newsgroups. The text addresses the relationship between ‘real’ and ‘virtual’ communities and looks, in particular, at the role of eMail as a tool for social, political and cultural change. Despite the rhetoric of CMC as an inherently liberating and democratising medium, the suggestion is that power relations remain crucial in understanding all of the case studies. eMail may be most effective when part of a local discourse and practice of social change. The article concludes with a consideration of the link between different kinds of trust, or social capital, within the eMail world.

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Understanding the Virtual Community of Gamers

Encyclopedia of Networked and Virtual Organizations ◽

10.4018/978-1-59904-885-7.ch226 ◽

2011 ◽

pp. 1714-1721

Author(s):

Shafiz Affendi Mohd Yusof

Keyword(s):

Computer Mediated Communication ◽

Virtual Community ◽

Geographical Distance ◽

Discussion Forums ◽

Chat Rooms ◽

Time Zone ◽

Mediated Communication ◽

Face To Face ◽

Computer Mediated ◽

Bulletin Boards

Virtual community can be defined as “a group of people who may or may not meet one another face-to-face and who exchange words and ideas through the mediation of computer bulletin boards and networks” (Rheingold, 1993, p. 1). With the use of computer-mediated communication (CMC) technologies such as listservs, bulletin boards, discussion forums, and chat rooms, the time zone differences become less critical and geographical distance and limitations diminish.

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