Book contents
- Should You Believe Wikipedia?
- Should You Believe Wikipedia?
- Copyright page
- Dedication
- Contents
- Acknowledgments
- Introduction Design and Social Behavior
- 1 Are Online “Communities” Really Communities?
- 2 What Can Online Collaboration Accomplish?
- 3 Should You Believe Wikipedia?
- 4 How Does the Internet Change How We Think?
- 5 How Do People Express Identity Online, and Why Is This Important for Online Interaction?
- 6 What Is Bad Online Behavior, and What Can We Do About It?
- 7 How Do Business Models Shape Online Communities?
- 8 How Can We Help the Internet to Bring Out the Best in Us All?
- References
- Index
1 - Are Online “Communities” Really Communities?
Published online by Cambridge University Press: 13 January 2022
- Should You Believe Wikipedia?
- Should You Believe Wikipedia?
- Copyright page
- Dedication
- Contents
- Acknowledgments
- Introduction Design and Social Behavior
- 1 Are Online “Communities” Really Communities?
- 2 What Can Online Collaboration Accomplish?
- 3 Should You Believe Wikipedia?
- 4 How Does the Internet Change How We Think?
- 5 How Do People Express Identity Online, and Why Is This Important for Online Interaction?
- 6 What Is Bad Online Behavior, and What Can We Do About It?
- 7 How Do Business Models Shape Online Communities?
- 8 How Can We Help the Internet to Bring Out the Best in Us All?
- References
- Index
Summary
Uses ideas from the prototype theory of categories to define what a “community” is. Eleanor Rosch showed that categories in the mind are based on “prototypes” or “best examples”—a robin is a better example of a bird than an emu or a penguin. Similarly, we understand the idea of “community” in relation to prototypical communities in our minds like small towns or church groups. Ray Oldenburg’s work on “third places” shows us why we need places that are neither work nor home, and how these supportive communities are designed. The chapter shows how the detailed design features of online spaces can help them serve as third places. Finally, sociological research sheds light on how online communication has reshaped the kinds of community and strong and weak ties we all rely on in our lives.
- Type
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- Information
- Should You Believe Wikipedia?Online Communities and the Construction of Knowledge, pp. 8 - 31Publisher: Cambridge University PressPrint publication year: 2022