Spontaneous but Long-lasting Online Communities — A Case Study
This is the paper I have submitted to the conference Towards a Sustainable Online Community at Hochschule Bochum.
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The outline of the paper is below (after the Related Links)
Related Links:
xkcd 1190 "Time" Replay viewer
The ONGfolding bOTTeriada story as seen by Balthacarius
Outline
Introduction
Background — Challenges to Sustainability
Internet has great promise but "disappointments" too
People seeking complete agreement → Narrowly-focused groups → Political polarization
Ghetto culture; Balkanization; Inefficiency
Flame wars and trolling
We need sociological sustainability to achieve environmental sustainability
The OTT as a case study
Establishment
Introduction to "xkcd", its fora, and Time comic
Time engineered to require group effort to achieve full appreciation
How the cadence of the ONGs forced self-selection of a certain type of person
The Transitions of the 5th Day
Mod Madness — typically drives many away
Madness affected OTT less after xkcd staff intervened
Weekend — different people were online
Frames slowed down to 1/hour
Unclear which of these events had an effect, or how
A Puzzle-Solving Culture and Specialization
Time story gradually more mysterious, requiring specialists to solve riddles
Complex culture evolved
Other specialities included artistic expression, peer-moderation
The Transitions of the 5th Month
OTT far outlives Time, does not want to end
This transition was anticipated
OTT "rebooted" itself via the artistic expression culture
17 more months — demonstrably a Sustainable Online Community
Speculation
What do we learn from this?
Many questions are suggested; some will be hard to dismiss
There are other such communities but they are rare
Appendix: Additional Notes
The OTT as an "Accidental Outlaw" Thread
OTT Mirrors and Backups
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