Something about forum communities and how they develop over time

[aoEAF2FBvC0MIo2Q 3,673]

I'm just going to paste something interesting I found. Here's the source.
 

Got something new to bring to the table. Well, internet forums are places to discuss things and get feedback. Well, that's what they are for first and foremost, right? I've seen some forums really push for being a community. That could mean a lot of things, couldn't it? What I'm referring to specifically is a forums whose members try to focus on being a large group of friends where discussing stuff and getting feedback comes second.

Really, I'm seeing something quite bizarre... At a certain forums, the staff kinda treat themselves as celebrities where some of the members seem to follow suit. There is a lot of pride from the community -- certain members in particular -- towards the site and its community. The greater the pride, the more sensitive one becomes to shame and that's what I'm seeing there. So much so that I'm actually wondering if a community could become like a fanbase of itself. Could that really be a thing? I know that sounds bizarre but that's the exactly point.

This doesn't sound healthy in the least. If this community gets as self-absorbed as it is, even its target demographic is going to end up alienated which will make it all the more difficult for them to keep new members. We're not even talking about a forums with a large active userbase either.

Has anyone else seen this happen elsewhere? Surely this is not a unique case.

Something Awful? NeoGAF? Reddit? 4chan? Those last two aren't exactly forums, but they function largely the same regardless. They all, however, have a sizable portion of their userbase acting like elitist, self-aggrandizing, insular assholes. You tend to find similar attitudes on other large forums, especially those of any appreciable age, but I've yet to find an entire forum community guilty of propagating such behavior. The internet's great for that though. It's real easy to establish a clique and gradually force everyone else to the wayside. It's not the right thing to do, but then again, not much on the internet is.

The things you start to notice when you start paying attention...

Heh... What it shows me is you don't really know what you're doing right until you realize how other people are doing it very wrong. All that "forums pride"... phrasing it like that makes it sound silly if not full-blown retarded, doesn't it? Humility is something I mentioned in the OP but I just couldn't have imagined the extent of what the opposite would show.

Personally, I imagine that such places would crumble to dust but from what I'm getting from you, Apothem, is that they might endure but just attract others who want to be part of the club.

That's what we on "The Internet" like to call circlejerking. You'd think such dickery would shoo people away, and it does, but it also invites plenty of others to join in on the mutual masturbation of their collective ego. It's the same fundamental mentality as school yard cliques. A lot of people just don't grow up.

So... any thoughts on this? I myself am still trying to process all of this and figuring out what it truly means. It just seems so... vague. Can anyone point out what the holes are? What questions it leaves open? Incomplete answers? Anything?

Edited May 25, 2014 by SunBurn

[Passion 3,484]

Nope.

 

Nothing to add, nothing to subtract I guess.

 

As you're saying, these are just vague contemplations. They leave plenty of questions unanswered simply because these questions are not asked here. But issue is, to verify any and all assumptions one would have to conduct a long-term research on a variety of different forums to come with any interesting conclusions. Without that, these conversations can remain only hypothetical.

 

Of course, we all have our experiences as well. I personally once attended a forum which seemed to have developed that way. Started out mighty fine and, with time, turned into quite an 'elitist' environment. But even when I mention this, I'm not entirely sure if what I'm saying is true, or maybe I'm just being a bit biased.

 

"Forums pride"... I see no issue with forums' having their certain pride. It all depends on how is this pride perceived. Being proud may hold various meanings, and not always does it mean something bad. A bit of pride never hurt anybody, it becomes an issue only when it starts becoming an 'exaggeration', to a point where you believe that you're proud because you belong somewhere where others do not.

 

Plus, "the size does matter". I mean, the smaller the amount of active users, the greater the chances that they will form a certain 'circle of mutual adoration', as I like to call it. With greater amount of users you possess something precious, what's called 'diversity'. People will bond with each other, they will fight with others, disagree, quarrel, form friendships, converse, discuss. Because they'll all be different and will have different expectations from the forums. And while you might not be able to talk your way into knowing some groups of people, there will always be others who'll understand your point of view better.

 

 

For all I know, since I believe some will be asking themselves this question: I doubt that this conversation can, currently, be applied to these forums. Sure, there are cliques here and there, but that's only natural. You'll find them all-over the world in every corner, so I doubt it's unnatural. But, at least for now and judging from outside, for me the forums do not seem to have taken the shape discussed in this conversation.

 

Elitism can be pure evil, but I hardly find elitism present on around here. I mean, it's not like we should expect everyone to keep in touch with everyone else around with a community of such size. There is a certain limit to how many people can one keep in contact with at once. I hardly can call keeping a close circle of forum friends elitism

 

And I'm writing this in the evening, what means my mind is derped