Online Communities and Social Interaction

For this assignment, I chose to join a forum without a specific topic, more of a general discussion board. I have a friend or two who are members there and they’re always encouraging me to join, so I signed up to see what all the fuss was about.

This particular forum has a very tight-knit group of regulars that it’s difficult to break into. I had it easy, simply by being introduced to the group by one of the established regulars, but for other “newbs,” the place isn’t terribly friendly. There’s definitely a period of hazing or initiation that one has to pass through in order to be accepted. Each user’s post count is displayed on each of their messages, and those with very small numbers are often ignored, and sometimes even flamed (that is, insulted) unmercifully. It’s definitely not an environment that is welcoming to a newcomer. There are some reasons for hostility toward those with low post counts, however. Many new accounts are created for the sole purpose of posting advertising or referral links, so until a new person establishes that they’re there to contribute to the discussion, not advertise for some porn site, they’re generally kept at arm’s length.

The forum also has a “reputation” system. Each user has a “rep” meter that is displayed below their name on each post. The meter is a series of green or red bars that show how much positive or negative rep a person has received. Rep is given by other members of the site. Those with high post counts and a lot of positive rep are able to add or subtract the most rep from other users. Users give positive rep for content they enjoy or when a user posts a particularly funny quip, and they give negative rep for spammers, rude people, or anything they simply disagree with.

The rep system figures prominently in the social component of the site. I knew that I had been accepted when several of my posts garnered positive rep from established members of the site. Conversely, users who post insulting comments or disagree with established forum tenets end up drowning in negative rep quite quickly.

As far as dispute resolution, matters involving explicit rule violations (posting referral links, spamming, threats against a member, posting adult material in a non-adult forum) are usually taken care of fairly quickly by one of the site’s moderators. Users can report posts that violate rules to bring them to the attention of a moderator. Non-rule violations, like rude comments or any behavior that runs contrary to the smooth functioning of the forum, are taken care of in the court of public opinion. Once someone runs afoul of the majority of the site’s users, they are quickly ostracized and insulted. Reputation also disappears at an astonishing rate. Those stupid enough to fight back end up with private messages filled with objectionable material.

There are threads of the forum devoted exclusively to lengthy flame wars between two people or groups of people who disagree. There are also threads devoted to flaming specific people who irritate certain members.

This type of social setting is one that is only possible on the internet. It’s always amazed me that social outcasts, the people who are so often clamoring for equal treatment and speaking against social discrimination, are the first ones to become exclusive and form cliques when they are in the majority. The anonymity of the internet is a kind of equalizing force. Online, the stereotypical nerd’s superior intellect makes him the bully and gives him the power to punish others socially.

It is amazing, though, the friendships that some of the people who post on this forum have formed. Many have made trips to visit one another, even those in other countries. Many count the site’s users among their best friends. It’s almost impossible to imagine how any of these friendships could have ever been formed without the internet.

I wonder, though, if the internet were not available, would these people actually go out and meet people locally or would they be stuck at home forever? Is the internet their social outlet because it’s easy, or because it’s the only way they can connect with the outside world?

Postman worries about technology replacing other forms of interaction and argues that we lose something when computers become our sole source for information or interaction. It’s true, something is lost when people communicate solely online, at least when it becomes a substitute for actual human interaction. But what about people with overwhelming social phobias? People for whom online interaction may be the only way they are capable of forming human connections? Isn’t it possible that for them, replacing face to face communication with CMC is a good thing? It may be a stepping stone into a larger world for them, by helping them gain the confidence to actually go outside and meet an actual person.