Hi guys. I really need your help for two research papers I'm writing on wotmania. This is part one. If you could take five minutes and fill out this survey, it would be incredibly helpful.

-What is your race?

I list Caucasian on my forms.

-Do you think that there is an explicit hierarchy at wotmania? If so, how does it break down?

Explicit? No. Implicit? Yes. Gosh, I'd had to think/write a bit on this, but I would say it's a hierarchy based on a combination of perceived status (length of time here, services done - as in the case of the Admins) and perceived ability (how friendly the person is, how they manipulate others' emotions to affect community attitudes).
There's a lot more I could say on this given the time.

-Do you believe that there is a hierarchy at wotmania, but it isn’t officially noted by anyone? If so, how does this hierarchy break down?

It's noted, but isn't really a conscious noticing. Like I said above, this hierarchy would fall along lines of worth/status in terms of services perceived.

-Do the terms Elder, Midbie, and Newbie actually mean anything for a person, or is it just a title that establishes how long someone has been at the site?

It's a very irritating title to me, because there are connotations of perceived worth implicit in those labels.

-Do you think that the admins on the site are in higher standing than the other members?

In many senses, yes. Some of the things we do get a different reaction than if another would do it, just because of the "office" we hold. However, we also tend to draw more criticism at times and some have claimed that we have used our "position" to leverage for more "power." Hrmm... "power" displays on an online board...that'd make for an interesting paper. Oops, didn't mean to give you more to write about!

-In your opinion, do those who post on the Community MB think that they are “better” than those on the WoT MB?

I think it's a small but very vocal minority that thinks so. Usually such comments come from those who've been active here 7-20 months and haven't posted much (if at all) on any of the other MBs. It seems a lot of these comments are done in a "pack" format (following the lead of someone else, maybe a "leader" here) with little variance in the message or tone.

-In your opinion, do those who post on the WoT MB think that they are “better” than those on the Community MB?

Although a few might think so, from what I've noticed from my visits there is that most tend to view this site as a more communal place for the discussion of a book series that they enjoy. In other words, since they have a more defined and focused reason for visiting this site, they don't tend to get caught up as much with the "status" things as Com MB people are perceived to do.

Thank you.

You're welcome. Hope what I wrote makes sense.


Dylanfanatic

Illusions fall like the husk of a fruit, one after another, and the fruit is experience. - Narrator, Sylvie

OF Blog of the Fallen