In 1996, the vision about virtual communities was starting to shape up. Peter Kollock (UCLA) reflects on some of the insights and dilemmas back in those days, mostly talking about sociological issues concerned. Though in the last seven years some insights have been further developed, reading through his paper is still valuable for all interested in communities and how to make them work:
Whatever the goal of the newsgroup, it's success depends on the active and ongoing contributions of those who choose to participate in it. If the goal of the newsgroup is to exchange information and answer questions about a particular topic (e.g., alt.comp.sys.gateway-2000), participants must be willing to answer questions raised by others, summarize and post replies to queries they have made themselves, and pass along information that is relevant to the group. If the goal of the newsgroup is to discuss a current event or social issue (e.g., soc.veterans), participants need to contribute to the discussion and to encourage its development. Once again there is the temptation to free-ride: asking question but not answering them; gathering information but not distributing it; or reading ongoing discussions without contributing to them (termed lurking). Some newsgroups successfully meet these challenges, others start well and then degrade, and still other newsgroups fail at the beginning of their existence, never managing to attract a critical mass of participants.
The full article can be read on
http://www.sscnet.ucla.edu/soc/faculty/kollock/papers/vcommons.htm
This happened at 2:03:59 PM or
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