> > The article linked to below is long but absolutely fascinating and of relevance to the community here. It's interesting because the basic premise is that online social groups are their own worst enemy, and yet it winds up effectively explaining why the community here at RinkWorks works.
>
> You're right, Sam, it's long. I just skimmed a few paragraphs, but with my slow reading rate and this close to suppertime, I don't think I'm ready to read it all.
>
> However, I have noticed how well RinkWorks works.
> One reason might be the general nature of the discussions. You rule out a few things like profanity, but it's more or less a forum about anything.
>
> I also post on a motor scooter forum where the main topic is of course motor scooters. We get along very well and there is a lot of information exchanged. Sometimes we joke and pull little tricks on each other. Tall tales are common and there are a few disagreements. We tend to bicker about keeping vintage scooters as near to original as possible, vs souping them up and customizing them. Or. . . should you replace old tires even if you don't plan to ride very fast.
> When people disagree about something they are passionate about, they sometime get mad, so we have had members insult each other and leave in a huff.
>
> This kind of behavior is rare on Rinkworks. Most of the posts are light hearted and/or downright funny. Posters on RinkWorks tend to be intellectuals whereas the ones on the scooter forum lean toward mechanical things. Both groups seem to attract mostly smart people. But overall, RinkWorks works much more smoothly.
>
> The fact that RinkWorks is a much younger group doesn't seem to make much difference, unless it's just that young people seem to know when someone is just kidding.

Was this addressed in the article? Howard brought up a really interesting point, to me, and I just read the article, but I don't remember it mentioned there.

But, basically, RinkWorks regulars are here for the other regulars. We love your site, Sam, but I don't think any single one of us (even Sam himself, if I can make that assertion) can say it's the sole reason we visit the chat room or the message board. We come here for each other.

There's a degree of that in more topical gathering places, like Howard's scooter list, because there will be a group of people who find they get along well and may elevate themself to (to use the article's term) the "core group," but everyone's still there to talk about scooters. They care more about scooters than they do about the people talking about scooters; they're going to defend their opinion.

And I know it from experience. When Sosiqui and I (and a few of the friends who stuck with me from that community) were involved with Petz stuff, we were all gathering on self-created message boards to talk about the program. All our websites were about the program. It was the program we primarily cared about, not the other people using it.

RinkWorks doesn't have that. It's a bunch of people who love RinkWorks gathering at RinkWorks. RinkWorks is a humor site; I can't think of many topics broader than "humor." So we end up being a group of people who get together to talk about... nothing, really. There are no goals. So it's a purely social group, where all there *is* to do, really, is enjoy one another's company, to grow closer to one another.

So naturally we're going to be protective of each other, and we're going to make extra effort to keep the group from falling apart. We disagree on things; this is seen as a natural disagreement between friends, not really a big offense to an indivudual (or even a a subgroup). It's no big deal because we don't care about the issue; we care about each other.

... and talking about subgroups, when Rinkies divide, it's not to violently support some cause or opinion. It's just the natural, friendly division between friends. We're not dividing to oppose one another. There are just differing degrees of closeness, and there's no hostility there.

So I guess what I'm saying is that RinkWorks works because our focus is each other, not some external element. And I'm sure someone else will come and say it more concisely or prove me wrong, but that's what struck me reading Howard's reply. So there you go.

Ria