Online spaces that enable shared public interpersonal communications are of significant social, organizational, and economic importance. In this paper, a theoretical model and associated unobtrusive method are proposed for researching the relationship between online spaces and the behavior they host. The model focuses on the collective impact that individual information-overload coping strategies have on the dynamics of open, interactive public online group discourse. Empirical research was undertaken to assess the validity of both the method and the model, based on the analysis of over 2.65 million postings to 600 Usenet newsgroups over a 6-month period. Our findings support the assertion that individual strategies for coping with “information overload” have an observable impact on large-scale online group discourse. Evidence was found for the hypotheses that: (1) users are more likely to respond to simpler messages in overloaded mass interaction; (2) users are more likely to end active participation as the overloading of mass interaction increases; and (3) users are more likely to generate simpler responses as the overloading of mass interaction grows. The theoretical model outlined offers insight into aspects of computer-mediated communication tool usability, technology design, and provides a road map for future empirical research.

Turnover in online communities is very high, with most people who initially post a message to an online community never contributing again. In this paper, we test whether the responses that newcomers receive to their first posts influence the extent to which they continue to participate. The data come from initial posts made by 2,777 newcomers to six public newsgroups. We coded the content and valence of the initial post and its first response, if it received one, to see if these factors influenced newcomers' likelihood of posting again. Approximately 61% of newcomers received a reply to their initial post, and those who got a reply were 12% more likely to post to the community again; their probability of posting again increased from 44% to 56%. They were more likely to receive a response if the y asked a question or wrote a longer post. Surprisingly, the quality of the response they received---its emotional tone and whether it answered a newcomer's question---did not influence the likelihood of the newcomer's posting again.

Online communities depend upon the commitment and voluntary participation of their members. Community design—site navigation, community structure and features, and organizational policies—is critical in this regard. Community design affects how people can interact, the information they receive about one another and the community, and how they can participate in community activities. We argue that the constraints and opportunities inherent in online community design influence how people become attached to the community and whether they are willing to expend effort on its behalf. We examine two theories of group attachment and link these theories with design decisions for online communities. Common identity theory makes predictions about the causes and consequences of people’s attachment to the group as a whole. Common bond theory makes predictions about the causes and consequences of people’s attachment to individual group members. We review causes of common identity and common bond, and show how they result in different kinds of attachment and group outcomes. We then show how design decisions, such as those focused on recruiting newcomers versus retaining existing members, constraining or promoting off-topic discussion, and limiting group size or allowing uncontrolled growth, can lead to common identity or interpersonal bonds among community members, and consequently to different levels and forms of community participation by those so motivated.

What is the network form of online discussion groups? What are the topological parameters delineating the interaction on such groups? We report an empirical examination of the form of online discussion groups. We are interested in examining whether such groups conform to the Small World and the Scale Free models of networks. Support for these expectations provides a formal expression of growth, survival potential and preferential attachment in the connection patterns in discussion groups. The research questions were tested with a sample of over 8,000 active participants, and over 30,000 messages. We find that the social network resulting from discussion groups is indeed a Scale Free Network, based on In, Out and All Degree distributions. We also find that, for the same sample, discussion groups are a Small World Network too. As expected, the clustering coefficients for these groups differ significantly from random networks, while their characteristic path lengths are similar to random networks. Implications of the topology for the design and understanding of discussion groups include the stability and control of such groups, as well as their

The asymmetry of activity in virtual communities is of great interest. While participation in the activities of virtual communities is crucial for a community's survival and development, many people prefer lurking, that is passive attention over active participation. Lurking can be measured and perhaps affected by both dispositional and situational variables. This work investigates the concept of cultural capital as situational antecedent of lurking and de-lurking (the decision to start posting after a certain amount of lurking time). Cultural capital is defined as the knowledge that enables an individual to interpret various cultural codes. The main hypothesis states that a user's cultural capital affects her level of activity in a community and her decision to de-lurk and cease to exist in very active communities because of information overload. This hypothesis is analyzed by mathematically defining a social communication network (SCN) of activities in authenticated discussion forums. We validate this model by examining the SCN using data collected in a sample of 636 online forums in Open University in Israel and 2 work based communities from IBM. The hypotheses verified here make it clear that fostering receptive participation may be as important and constructive as encouraging active contributions in online communities.

The success of Wikipedia as a large-scale collaborative effort has spurred researchers to examine the motivations and behaviors of Wikipedia’s participants. However, this research has tended to focus on active involvement rather than more common forms of participation such as reading. In this paper we argue that Wikipedia’s readers should not all be characterized as free-riders – individuals who knowingly choose to take advantage of others ’ effort. Furthermore, we illustrate how readers provide a valuable service to Wikipedia. Finally, we use the notion of legitimate peripheral participation to argue that reading is a gateway activity through which newcomers learn about Wikipedia. We find support for our arguments in the results of a survey of Wikipedia usage and knowledge. Implications for future research and design are discussed.

The World Wide Web is not merely an information system; it is a social space where people interact. One central form of interaction consists of asking and answering questions. This chapter focuses on question answering sites and examines why people provide answers to others, usually to complete strangers, with very few – if any – apparent incentives. We provide an overview of the structural characteristics of question answering sites that shed light on the nature of their activity and persistence, followed by an explanation of several intrinsic motivations, such as perceived ownership, commitment to a social role and various affective motivations for participation. To these are added a variety of extrinsic factors, including ratings, monetary incentives and social gratification. We explain why free riding and lurking are an organic part of question answering sites and conclude by offering several directions for future research.

Virtual communities have become an important new organizational form and yet relatively little is known about the conditions which lead to their success. In an attempt to address this knowledge gap, a particular subset of virtual communities- open source software project communities- is investigated and four hypotheses are asserted which relate social network structure to community success. The hypotheses, which are based on social network theory and related research, suggest that success is supported by high levels of affiliation with other communities, moderate levels of density within the network of community conversations, moderate levels of density in the communications between peripheral members and core members, and low levels of density in the communications between administrators and the rest of the community. Empirical research is underway to test these hypotheses based on a sample of over 200 open source software project communities.

Online communities depend upon a core of committed members who participate, contribute, and stick with the group. To encourage commitment, community design has to accommodate people’s motivations for being in the community and unleash the social forces that cause people to feel attached to the community, to feel responsibility for the community, and to experience net benefits for staying in the community. By designing with these social forces in mind, we can increase members ’ attachment and loyalty to the community and build a committed core. 1.

Online communities are increasingly important for both the businesses and the general public that uses them. However, current IS research on online communities has a limited view of these groups, treating them primarily as information repositories, where people participate by seeking or contributing knowledge. This paper argues that online communities are also social systems with which people form relationships and repeatedly interact over time. This paper proposes a relational model of online communities that emphasizes the social, bi-directional, and dynamic nature of the interactions in online communities and the way that these interactions build and maintain the relationship between individuals and the community. Hypotheses derived from the relational model are tested by examining the 22-month history of 28,869 newcomers who initially posted to 98 Usenet groups between May 15, 2003, and February 23, 2005. First, taking the newcomers ’ point of view, we examine how the community’s response to their posts influences their subsequent participation in the community. Then, taking the community’s point of view, we examine how the nature of individual members ’ participation in the community influences the community’s willingness to interact with them. Consistent with the relational model, the results show that the social nature of interactions, including the social status of the repliers and the use of welcoming, inclusive