Haythornwaite used the Social Network Analysis method to examine the various characteristics of an online community. The exchange, communication and sharing between members of the online community can demonstrate the overall behavior and properties of the group. The three main attributes of SNA are: social networking, common grounds, and reciprocity.
The specific community I (reluctantly) decided to examine is one that has often been derided by various media. The community is an online forum called “Something Awful*.” (Or simply SA) The forum ( http://forums.somethingawful.com ) is divided into multiple sub-forums catering to different interests, such as Games, Debate & Discussion and ADTRW (what does it stand for? You really do not want to know). While anyone can view most of the main forums, one must pay a one-time $10 fee to make any posts and gain permanent, unrestricted access.
The social networking aspect of SA is glaring apparently. Each user has a profile, some even with a profile photo and detailed descriptions of their interests and contact information, à la Facebook. SA members (commonly referred to as “goons”) discuss (a very…tame word for what they actually do) a wide variety of topics, ranging from current events to music to sports. With an additional $10 payment, users gain access to premium features such as private messaging between individual members. With over 100,000 members total and at least 4,000-5,000 members logged on at any given time, the amount of interaction and virtual networking is enormous. Many events, both online and offline are organized through the forums system. Relationships, even romantic ones, are not unheard of in this vast group of eclectic individuals.
Common grounds are easy to identify as well in the SA community. Certain values are shared by the vast majority of the users, although most are stereotyped to be negative ones (e.g. selfishness, disrespect for societal rules, crude sense of humor, and distain for non-members). The title of the main page of Something Awful includes the curiously cynical comment “The Internet Makes You Stupid,” which only goes to further demonstrate the eccentricities of goons. Shared “meanings” are very common as well, with “secret” question/answers (the famous stairs question) and “handshake” catch-phrases (“beep beep I’m a truck”) used to identify other SA users. They are often inane and nonsensical, but these silly customs help to forge incredibly strong bonds.
Reciprocity is natural on the SA forums. The moderators are rarely forgiving and the SA users themselves jump at the opportunity to ridicule, make fun of, belittle, shame, and humiliate those who post anything remotely deserving of criticism. However, the overt amount of insults and arguments are often the source of much humor and entertainment. Ironically, this heavy persecution of non-conformers interestingly leads to many dissenters who simply wanted to incite frustration and distaste from others, for purpose of gaining attention or comedy. In a way, all the name-calling and derisive comments serve as a form of reinforcement for types of behavior that are expected of Something Awful.
The most amazing part about the SA community, and the chief reason I chose it for this assignment, is the extreme online/offline synergy. The generosity and trust between SA members amount to more than even many conventional “real life” communities. An SA member traveling across the country may receive free lodging and help along the way by other members, and a goon in need can find surprising amount of resources and aid from the forums (e.g. technical support, legal troubles, amateur medical diagnosis). The synergy is not always positive, however, as one primary example of disturbing online/offline interaction is quite prevalent in SA – the act of “internet policing.” When one member makes a claim or posts an event that is incredulous or just interesting, others rush to exploit a variety of online and offline resources to find the real life information of those involved. This can lead to serious breach of privacy and embarrassment to those scrutinized, and that is also why I did not go into some of the more “interesting” analytical aspects of this unique community, lest that I become a target of thousands of other SA members (yes, I am one myself, much to my own chagrin I suppose) looking for someone to mock and scoff.
*Something Awful is well known as a big perpetrator of internet memes and trends. Its members range anywhere from celebrities, doctors, college students, professors, to stalkers, ladies of morally questionable occupation, and even murderers (only 2 verifiably identified so far). Wikipedia provides a brief overview on the incredible nature of Something Awful: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Something_Awful
http://comm245brown.blogspot.com/2007/10/7-gaming-community.html#c8460299019665659260
http://comm245brown.blogspot.com/2007/10/72-personality-assessment-joe.html#c9203028493028322089
3 comments:
I've been to Something Awful a bunch of times, usually to look at the hilarious posters mocking the inspirational billboards oftentimes found in elementary school classrooms. However, I never thought to look at the forum, nor was I ever aware that SA correspondence transcended the Internet in any way. This is really interesting and, as far as the murderer-members are concerned, a bit alarming.
Excellent analysis of the Something Awful internet forum. I liked your takes on the "reciprocity" as well as the "Shared meanings" undertaken by SA "goons," or forum members. I was not aware that such massive online communities could also spill over into the offline world. To expand upon your analysis, I would examine how much influence the shared group norms have over the forum content, including the topics and discussion patterns. Do you think that the $10 fee, which registers some kind of payment information with the web site, deters "trouble makers" or any kind of different-minded thinkers, or does it just reinforce the common ground that the SA members have with each other?
First of all, I commend you on your bravery for posting your thoughts about the Something Awful forums. I have been there once or twice and it is certainly not for the faint of heart. I found it interesting that a community of such (generally) negative and pessimistic people would pay a fee to become a member to a place where their opinions and ideas will not often be respected. Such a fee, however, cements you as a part of the community and shows that you want to be there, that you are making a commitment to the community, which is an important element of common ground described by Etzioni and Etzioni that enhances reciprocity and the reinforcement between members. Another interesting aspect about this community is that its members can take advantage of the strength of weak ties for future mobilization of contacts, as you described in the lodging example. The fact that this community, which partly exists for its members to mock each other, could lead to such strong offline synergies really speaks to the social network and reciprocity aspects of community. Anyway, great job on your post – it was very well-written and analyzed.
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