A Look into a Forum of Ice and Fire - Research Paper Example

A Look into a Forum of Ice and Fire A Look into a Forum of Ice and Fire The great Norwegian playwright and poet Henrik Ibsen said that a community is like a ship and that all members must be willing to take charge (Ibsen, 2013). Successful building of an online community requires that its members are willing to contribute and move on the conversation, including the participation of other members as a result. With time, the online forum takes on the sense of a parallel social universe characterized by its peculiar hierarchy, vocabulary, rituals, values, and myths (Rheingold, 2012). The Forum of Ice and Fire is one such example that has become more than an online place with its focus on the mythical world of Westeroos. Getting online forum members to contribute regularly occurs through motivating them to do so, as well as offering them rewards (Howard, 2010). Fans of both A Song of Ice and Fire and Game of Thrones have several motivational factors that encourage them to contribute on the online Forum of Ice and Fire. Such motivations include seeking to build a reputation and gain status in the community, create connections with other members who have similar interests, to make sense and gain understanding of the series, to exchange information, and to entertain and receive entertainment. The main motivation for members of the forum to contribute, therefore, is their interest in the series and books and wanting to connect with fellow fans in order to feel validated and valued. Fans of a Forum of Ice and Fire continue to contribute to the forum because it allows them to build a reputation or gain status within the community. One of the biggest motivators in life is to gain social recognition, which brings instant approval and gratification (Kraut, Resnick, & Kiesler, 2011). Unlike the real world where people with expertise are more likely to be identified where information on a specific topic is required, the forum enables participants to display expertise in a mythical subject matter. By contributing to the forum, it is possible for a fan to establish himself/herself as an expert or authority on the subject of Westeroos politics, for example. For prospective authors or political commentators, on the other hand, such a forum will become a place for them to hone and highlight their skills. Since the tasks involved in the forum are tailored for the participants, they are motivated to continue contributing as their views add value to the forum in their name. These fans can create a positive reputation that they feel can be transferred to the real world if other fans appreciate them. Moreover, even fans that previously had no voice for reasons such as social or educational barriers can enter the dialogue if they are able to create a personal reputation for being right (Kraut et al., 2011). Participants in a Forum of Ice and Fire are also motivated to continue taking part in order to create connections with forum members that share similar interests. A common claim about most web pages is that they are “junk”, yet this criticism is not entirely correct because the relevant web pages have a different context for everyone (Kraut et al., 2011). A Forum of Ice and Fire, which may be dismissed as a fantasy forum, is home to fans that are passionate about A Song of Ice and Fire and Game of Thrones. These fans seek to share their obsessions with like-minded people, which have fuelled the social connections on the forum. Whether in relation to links on the brotherhood without banners or the Dothraki tribe, the fans use the online forum as a way to share fictional lifestyles, hobbies, beliefs, and passions. While message boards have continued to play an essential role in communications mediated by computers, online forums have taken a more prominent role in forging relationships between individuals that share similar passions and beliefs. Indeed, Kraut et al (2011) posit that most of the participants in online forums contend that these forums have aided them in connecting with other individuals and groups who share their interests. Indeed, it has also been claimed that, in a case where people are able to meet those with similar interests in online forums, they care more about the decisions made on the online domain because they feel closer to people with shared passions. The moderators on the forum of ice and fire have been able to use the diverse nature of their fans to differentiate between people who seek to be more involved in the conversation from those who are less involved (Kraut et al., 2011). As a result, the forum has been able to create and develop different appeals for the different kinds of fans on the forum, increasing the chance that the more involved fans will feel motivated to continue taking part. For example, the site has general discussion forums for less involved fans, while other links direct involved fans to such issues as the language used by the Dothraki tribe, while also providing a link for fans to give spoiler alerts for upcoming episodes and books. Moreover, these forums can keep the fans involved by using participation logs that give them an idea of involvement on the forum (Kraut et al, 2011). In this case, the forum of ice and fire offers information on topics and replies as motivation for involved fans that create topics to continue participating. Continuing from the point above, fans on online forums are more likely to continue taking part if they see that others are also taking part and complying with requests on the forum. For example, a forum of ice and fire keeps track of all replies made on their posts by placing the number of replies to different posts. This enables the fans to set concrete goals, such as to come up with their own posts and get as many fans to reply to them. Immediate goals tend to stimulate the fans, especially the passionate ones, to achieve higher numbers of replies by making more effort to capture the attention of the other forum members (Kraut et al, 2011). In addition, to achieve their goal, these fans may also be more persistent than other average fans, while achieving their goals increases their self-efficacy. Together, these aspects enhance their motivation to be active participants on the online forum. Moreover, the forum also seeks to set challenging and specific goals for their fans in order to increase their contribution (Kraut et al., 2011). For instance, they have a link that requires members to make specific predictions of the books they are reading before finishing them, as well as to predict how the next episode of “Game of Thrones” will turn out. By coupling the latter goal with specific deadlines, it is possible to increase participation and contributions on the forum before the episode airs. Online forum members also participate and contribute because the forums offer them rewards by allowing them to be informed by others. Participants in online forums provide information and news about specific issues that are almost impossible to find in mainstream media (Kohn, 1993). Participants on these forums are potential experts on various subjects involved, such as political maneuvering and various group psychologies present in Game of Thrones. The participatory forums offer a great place for the members to find and share rare and obscure information hidden in the text or dialogue of the book or series respectively, while also offering controversial commentary that would not be possible on mainstream media. Such fan forums offer the participants additional room to contribute on new niches that traditional media would find too obscure (Kohn, 1993). Online fan forums like a forum of ice and fire also enables the fans to spread new information extremely fast among the members, possibly because these participatory forums attract connectors that are crucial to information dissemination, both offline and online. Although a Forum of Ice and Fire does not offer any obvious rewards for contributing to the site, other rewards in the form of status also motivate members to continue contributing on the site. For instance, posts that are of high quality will be identified by other participants and the number of replies will give the initial contributor status on the forum and motivate them to continue taking part. As a result, such contributors will conduct their writing to the best of their ability even if there are no material rewards (Kohn, 1993). Additionally, these status rewards may cause some participants to increase their contributions by “gaming the system”, for example through stirring controversy that does not add any value to the community but gives them additional replies. For instance, in a forum for ice and fire, some contributors make posts regarding their hate for specific characters that they know most participants may like, such as Daenerys, which results in numerous posts defending the character. Other members may make numerous short posts that do not contribute much to the post’s development, which increases their contribution counts and gives them status on the forum (Kohn, 1993). As a result, these contributors are able to build on their number of contributions in order to gain status on the forum. In conclusion, it is evident that contributions on a Forum of Ice and Fire are motivated by intrinsic motivations more than extrinsic motivations. These are personal interests of the participants, such as the need for more information, ability to improve their status and reputation on matters related to the series and the books, and the ability to create connections with like-minded participants and to gain acceptance from their peers. It can also be said that the participants on the forum are not significantly rewarded by extrinsic rewards, especially since these are not offered on the forum. Overall, members contribute mainly out of a desire to be considered as experts on the series and to achieve as many replies to their posts as possible, while others reply to as many posts as possible for them to be cited as regular contributors on the forum. Either way, the forum is able to motivate its members to continue contributing to diverse topics. References Howard, T. W. (2010). Design to thrive: Creating social networks and online communities that last. Burlington, MA: Morgan Kaufmann Publishers. Ibsen, H. (2013). An Enemy of the People. Lanham: Start Publishing LLC. Kohn, A. (1993). Punished by rewards: The trouble with gold stars, incentive plans, As, praise, and other bribes. Boston: Houghton Mifflin Co. Kraut, R. E., Resnick, P., & Kiesler, S. (2011). Building successful online communities: Evidence-based social design. Cambridge, Mass: MIT Press. Rheingold, H. (2012). Net smart: How to thrive online. Cambridge, MA: MIT Press. Read More