Do you find (in your experience) that online discussion groups tend to go through a noticeable life cycle?

That's what I've seen, but my experience is too limited to generalize. Lots of excitement and enthusiasm early on, lot of interesting content, new people arriving. But then something happens .

. It's never the same again. People become predictable in their contributions, hostility begins to prevail over content, people leave.

Others stick around hoping for a return of the good old days. But the spirit has departed. What is your experience or opinion?

Asked by Willette 24 months ago Similar questions: find experience online discussion groups tend noticeable life cycle Science > Animals.

Similar questions: find experience online discussion groups tend noticeable life cycle.

New people always change a discussion group and sometimes for the best. I think you are correct about online discussion groups. I have been on askville for over two years and people come and go.

We have good days and bad days here just like in real life. Many of the people have been here long enough that I know when I see their avatar in a DB exactly what they are going to say. I find that opinions never change no matter how much we yell at each other and try to change minds.

The people that are left here now are very strong in their opinions (me included). I miss many of the people that left. A few of them were so active here and disappeared over night for no reason.

I could never figure out why some leave and just never come back. I could see if they were angry and left mad but that was not the case for many of them. They just left without a word and did not look back.

When people talk of the "good old days" here they forget that not everything was good. There have always been trouble makers here and fights going on. This is something like being raised by parents that were abusive, you only remember the good parts and conveniently forget about the abuse..

1 Many discussion groups reach a kind of steady state. I've known online discussion groups that went on literally for years (decades, even). If there was an initial "honeymoon" period, it's so far in the past that few remember it.

Nonetheless, new people come in and find it worth participating in. Others simply peter out. The first Internet discussion forums, "Usenet", used to be restricted to a fairly small community.It wasn't any less fractious than today (if less spam-ridden), but it's considered The Good Old Days before the Internet became available to everybody.

They noticed that their boards had a shake-up every September, when college freshmen got their first Internet accounts, before they learned how to be polite online and how to contribute usefully. By November, they'd either get bored or turn into polite citizens. But now, it's always September.

Many discussion groups reach a kind of steady state. I've known online discussion groups that went on literally for years (decades, even). If there was an initial "honeymoon" period, it's so far in the past that few remember it.

Nonetheless, new people come in and find it worth participating in. Others simply peter out. The first Internet discussion forums, "Usenet", used to be restricted to a fairly small community.It wasn't any less fractious than today (if less spam-ridden), but it's considered The Good Old Days before the Internet became available to everybody.

They noticed that their boards had a shake-up every September, when college freshmen got their first Internet accounts, before they learned how to be polite online and how to contribute usefully. By November, they'd either get bored or turn into polite citizens. But now, it's always September.

2 I agree. I used to be a regular on an online discussion forum till it got overrun by trolls. I have seen that happen in several other online communities.

People who start off as polite and friendly change colors when you disagree with them.

I agree. I used to be a regular on an online discussion forum till it got overrun by trolls. I have seen that happen in several other online communities.

People who start off as polite and friendly change colors when you disagree with them.

PamPerdue replied to post #2: 3 In my experience, the communities that survive always have some form of moderation. Even the fabled 4chan has a moderator, though primarily to remove postings which are actually illegal. The flame wars there are the whole point of the site.

The moderator always has to walk a line between encouraging vigorous conversation and keeping it from degenerating into name-calling. "Trolling", in my use of the term, is when people deliberately set out to draw angry comments. It's different from simply responding to perceived slights with more vigorous insults, though that's also a problem.

Every person has some point at which an insult will bother them and they'll respond, and some people have buttons easier to push than others. Trolls are people who enjoy pushing those buttons. As before, moderation is a matter of walking a line, telling some people to lighten up and others to quit prodding them.

Some self-moderated communities work pretty well, with the right technology and the right membership. The "line" is then a kind of community agreement as to what the right level is to be; the thin-skinned and the trolls find themselves moderated away. But it takes the right technology to keep them from banding together to abuse the self-moderation system.

Wikipedia, surprisingly, works pretty well. It's enough to give you some hope that the large majority of people are actually fairly reasonable.

In my experience, the communities that survive always have some form of moderation. Even the fabled 4chan has a moderator, though primarily to remove postings which are actually illegal. The flame wars there are the whole point of the site.

The moderator always has to walk a line between encouraging vigorous conversation and keeping it from degenerating into name-calling. "Trolling", in my use of the term, is when people deliberately set out to draw angry comments. It's different from simply responding to perceived slights with more vigorous insults, though that's also a problem.

Every person has some point at which an insult will bother them and they'll respond, and some people have buttons easier to push than others. Trolls are people who enjoy pushing those buttons. As before, moderation is a matter of walking a line, telling some people to lighten up and others to quit prodding them.

Some self-moderated communities work pretty well, with the right technology and the right membership. The "line" is then a kind of community agreement as to what the right level is to be; the thin-skinned and the trolls find themselves moderated away. But it takes the right technology to keep them from banding together to abuse the self-moderation system.

Wikipedia, surprisingly, works pretty well. It's enough to give you some hope that the large majority of people are actually fairly reasonable.

4 Newness is always exciting...but just like any relationship...it becomes predictable and people are stuck on certain topics in opinion. People change in life by experience...trial and error...no one can change anyone else. I have seen Askville evolve....I think people could not handle so much time on the computer.

Newness is always exciting...but just like any relationship...it becomes predictable and people are stuck on certain topics in opinion. People change in life by experience...trial and error...no one can change anyone else. I have seen Askville evolve....I think people could not handle so much time on the computer.

I am looking for support groups on the internet for various life issues. Do you have any experience with online-support" "How do I find the little discussion groups towards the bottom of some pages? " "What are the discussion groups for Jewelers?

I am looking for support groups on the internet for various life issues. Do you have any experience with online-support.

I cant really gove you an answer,but what I can give you is a way to a solution, that is you have to find the anglde that you relate to or peaks your interest. A good paper is one that people get drawn into because it reaches them ln some way.As for me WW11 to me, I think of the holocaust and the effect it had on the survivors, their families and those who stood by and did nothing until it was too late.