From the material this week a community is a place where people can leave and enter into a place of comfort where they can relate to other people and have genuine conversations. However, no one has been able to define an online community because it means something different for every person. The IRL Documents and the interview all agree that there is not a certain definition for community. All of the material this week goes into detail to provide passion and happiness within the speakers about the online community. Each person that was interviews on the documentary spoke with happiness and confident and their face lite up with joy or their tone of voice changed to express excitement. To many people online communities are like a child in a candy store.
I am not sure what the difference between a community and a random group of people. A community would be more like a family. Of course all families have their good and bad so everything will not be good within the community and it will obtain people that would stand out offer protection as discussed in the readings. People get involved within communities to escape the cares of the world and enter into a place where they are understood, have emotional support as well as people that can relate to them as well as they can relate too. For example, in the IRL documentary the female talked about how the community helped her get over depression. Also Baym talks about how people gave money to the lady who lost her child.
I have never been involved in a community. I do not feel that I have time or maybe I do not spend much time online. I do not know anyone that is a member of a community. Therefore unless people reveal that they are part of a community we would never know because it would be a place of comfort so a person would tone out all of their surroundings and emerge themselves within the online community. For example, in the reading the lady tells her boyfriend good bye because she was going to the bronze as if she was leaving and going somewhere.
The IRL documentary of the Bronze definitely emphasized the emotional support and value its members derived from their participation. But it’s not always flowers and sunshine. Just as families and friends get into fights, so too does conflict occur within online communities. On MemphisTigers.org, for example, dialogue often turns into diatribe when discussing controversial topics. However, fights are only tolerated between respected members. If you are new to the community and pick a fight, you are ostracized or banned. It’s like the saying “I can call my brother a name. But I won’t let a stranger do it.”
I agree with Tim, its easy to see from the documentary all of the positives about online communities. In the case of “The Bronze”, members gained relationships and a space to connect with others over a mutual interest. However, from recent news, we can see that groups like Anonymous exist for completely different, and not always pleasant, reasons. As an online community, Anonymous also demonstrates the power that can be harnessed through online communities.
Adding to what you said Tim, it goes back to forming relationships. If you talk to this person all the time and get to know them, a relationship is formed. Some people might even feel emotionally attached to them like family or even more. Whereas, someone you just met, you might not be as quick to stand up for them if they were being called names on a forum.
The bronze shows one side of online community but does not seem to paint the whole picture. Online groups arent formed over night. Its seems there is a lot of outside communication that build strong relationships between a couple people. You could have one person holding the community together and once they step away the whole thing falls apart.
I definitely agree that an online community offers more emotional support for its members than simply an online group. I think groups form all the time, but communities only form after people begin reaching out to each other about things more personal, and less related to the topic the group was originally formed around. I don’t think discussing that initial topic ever stops, but a certain amount of personal conversation also exists within an online community.