Hi everyone!
This semester I’m taking a class in online communities. The main assignment for the class is a case study of a community, and I’m planning to do mine about Milliways. This won’t be research for publishing—-just a study to aid my learning about how online communities work. My paper will be about what the purpose of Milliways is, what technologies it uses (AIM, LiveJournal), and what problems had to be solved to keep the community going. I’ll also be looking at the roles different people play in the community and the identities they create (their pups), and what norms and rules are in place to help everyone get along together.
I’m going to be posting notes about it on my other LiveJournal:
the_croupier Right now I just have a longer version of this message, but please feel free to visit it any time. I should have the first part of the paper posted there later this week. If you have any feedback you’d like to share about it, please feel free to post about it there, or email me at the.croupier @ gmail.com
My paper will be looking at the site in general, not at anyone in particular. I'm planning to post a survey for it here in the Back Room in the next month or so, and I hope to interview some muns and the mods to help supplement that. But if I plan to use a quote or story from one of you, I will be sure to ask your permission first, and I won't use anything you'd rather I didn't.
I hope you guys find this interesting, and thanks in advance for any help you'd like to give!
Rick