Mods- I have attempted to contact site admins/mods via private messaging and email with no response. Can you ask the necessary person to approve my research link and/or let me know where I should move this if necessary? I can give you more information concerning this if you want. Thank you for your time and help.

Hey All,
I am a college student at Stanford University in Palo Alto, California and I am doing summer research on the active and enthusiastic members of online forum communities such as this one. If you have a chance, please fill out this 12 question survey: https://onlinecommunityresearch.wufo...y-development/ Any help will be greatly appreciated both by myself and my research group. Thanks for all the help and have a great day.
Regards,
StannyUG

 

Hello All,
I have finished my research for the summer and wanted to thank you all for your participaction. My advisor did not approve the release of my entire report, but I am allowed to share my statistical analysis and conclusion. Thanks again,
StannyUG

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Statistical Analysis- [/b]
Question and response (percentages are within 1% accuracy):
1) How long have you been using online forums?
· 0-1 years- 5% of respondents
· 1-2 years- 9% of respondents
· 2-4 years- 25% of respondents
· 4-6 years- 26% of respondents
· 6+ years- 34% of respondents
2) Describe your first experience participating in a forum.
· Difficult- 1% of respondents
· Confusing- 2% of respondents
· Took some time to figure out- 17% of respondents
· Manageable- 24% of respondents
· After two posts I was coasting- 25% of respondents
· Intuitive and Easy- 28% of respondents
3) Is the forum community the first place you go for advice (when relevant to the specific community)?
· Never- 2% of respondents
· Once or twice- 1% of respondents
· Rarely- 6% of respondents
· Sometimes- 22% of respondents
· Often- 48% of respondents
· Always- 17% of respondents
4) How credible do you find fellow members?
· Not at all; I read for the banter- 1% of respondents
· Very little credibility- 3% of respondents
· I double check their recommendations- 13% of respondents
· Somewhat credible- 3e2% of respondents
· I trust most people who reply to my posts- 47% of respondents
· I trust all people who reply to my posts- 1% of respondents
5) What factors add to a person’s credibility on the site?
· Time on the network- 16% of respondents
· Member status- 18% of respondents
· Number of posts- 15% of respondents
· Interaction with you- 28% of respondents
· Information in profile- 9% of respondents
· Other- 11% of respondents
6) Please rate (1-6) the ease with which you are able to find specific information in the forums.
· 1- 2% of respondents
· 2- 3% of respondents
· 3- 9% of respondents
· 4- 23% of respondents
· 5- 40% of respondents
· 6- 21% of respondents
7) How personally do you like to get to know other members?
· I like the anonymity-6% of respondents
· I only want information that is relevant to the forum- 8% of respondents
· I care to know their bare essentials- 7% of respondents
· Some additional information is helpful- 38% of respondents
· I like to know them pretty well- 30% of respondents
· It’s helpful to know as much as possible- 10% of respondents
8) Do you spend most of your time in one section or do you bounce between sections regularly when you visit this site?
· Only look at one section- 3% of respondents
· I browse 2-4 sections, but focus on one at a time- 39% of respondents
· I browse more than four sections, but focus on one at a time- 12% of respondents
· I switch between 1 and 3 sections regularly- 17% of respondents
· I switch between 4 and 5 sections regularly- 13% of respondents
· I switch between 6+ sections regularly- 13% of respondents
9) How many hours per week do you spend in online communities?
· 1-2 hours per week- 4% of respondents
· 2-5 hours per week- 20% of respondents
· 6-10 hours per week- 33% of respondents
· 11-15 hours per week- 16% of respondents
· 16+ hours per week- 24% % of respondents

Conclusion[/b]
Online communities based in forum software incorporate social norms and interactions to a much greater extent than previously thought. Some sites carry north of 200,000 users and their interactions have shown to be as complex as those in the physical world. For example, the most influential factor in deciding one’s credibility within a forum community is the amount of interaction with other users. Additionally, the average survey respondent will spend more time within the social areas of a forum site than the more information based areas. Seventy-five percent of respondents spend more than six hours a week in online forums, with 32% of those spending more than 16 hours per week in these forums. Furthermore, 66% of respondents will often, if not always, ask for advice in these forums. Finally, a resounding 47% of respondents were found to trust most people they meet on the site. It is clear that these communities incorporate other ways of instilling social value by the use of distinctions and a user hierarchy. There are enforcement mechanisms such as moderators and community ostracizing. Some respondents said they were more trusting of forums users over their “real life friends” because of their shared passions and perceived commitment to the community. Lastly, these social interactions will sometimes extend into the physical world when members meet other members to share experiences. Therefore, it is apparent that online community development has a foundation in existing social norms and that their longevity can in some ways be attributed to the passions of the users and their use of the sites in more than a purely information sharing manner.