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INTRODUCTION |
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9/24
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Introductions and Overview |
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The tools and technologies for online community-building
- such as chat rooms, message boards, mailing lists, membership databases,
and graphic virtual worlds - are becoming easier to use, and more widely
available. But opening a chat room doesn't launch a community -- any more
than purchasing land automatically results in a beautiful garden.
You have to know what you're trying to accomplish, sow the seeds at the
right time, manage the growth, defend against attacks, and (most importantly)
be prepared to improvise.
In this course, we'll study nine fundamental design principles
for growing an online community. We'll explore the real-world roots of
these principles, and learn how to analyze - and design - online communities
within the context of these principles. |
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A Note on the Readings |
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 All
required readings will be available online, and/or as handouts. You'll
notice, however, that several books appear repeatedly on our
"suggested reading" list. I recommend these titles to anyone who's
seriously interested in designing online communities. You can purchase
these books online through Amazon.Com by clicking here. |
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Required
Reading
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Get into the Groove: Designing for Participation byAJ
Kim - Interactions, June 1994 (handout)
Building
Online Communities by Mark Glaser - New Media Magazine, 3/3/97
(online)
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Suggested
Reading
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What
is Community? Michael Krasney - Mother
Jones Magazine (online)
It
Takes a Village to Make a Mall Kevin Kelly interviews John Hagel
- WIRED 5.08 (online)
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2
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PURPOSE, FOCUS & GOALS |
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9/29
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Communicating - and defending - the community's purpose |
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Why is it important for a community to have a purpose? How
is this communicated?
What styles of community are proliferating on the internet?
How do they differ in purpose?
What happens when the purpose and goals of a community are
poorly defined?
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10/1
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the WELL, E-Minds, Edmunds Auto: different communities, different
goals
Guest Lecturer: Jill Davidson - Community Manager,
Edmunds Auto |
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Required
Surfing
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Become a member of the New
York Times web site. Read the following article:
Building
Community in the Age of the Celebrity By Ashley
Dunn
... then search CyberTimes
(KW:
"online communities"), find a relevant article that interests you, and
post a short (2-4 paragraph) summary/opinion. Here are some suggestions
for articles -- but feel free to find something that better meets your
particular interests:
Community: It Takes an Electronic Villageby Jason
Chervokas & Tom Watson
Can Virtual Wilburs and Orvilles Get Online Communities
to Fly? by Jason Chervokas & Tom Watson
Online Communities Build Net Neighborhoods by Robert
E. Calem
Internet Companies Build Free Online Communities by
Sreenath Sreenivasan
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Required
Reading
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Finding
One's Own in Cyberspace by Amy Bruckman (online)
Community, Parts I & II by Jerry Michaelski -
Release 1.0, June/July '93 (handout)
Net
Gain by John Hagel and Arthur Armstrong - Chapter 5 (handout)
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Suggested
Reading
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The
Virtual Community by Howard Rheingold - Ch. 1-2 (paperback)
( online version
available)
MetaWorlds
by Robert Rossney - WIRED 4.06 (online)
The
Great Good Place by Ray Oldenberg - Ch. 1-2 (paperback)
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ARCHITECTURE & DESIGN ISSUES |
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10/6
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Tools, not Edifices: Communications and Construction in Virtual
Communities |
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Which is more important for building community: content,
or communication?
Which communications tools are most appropriate for different
styles of communities? Why?
Why is it important to allow for member-extensible gathering
spaces? How is this accomplished?
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10/8
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Constructions and Community in Cyberspace
Guest Lecturers: Randy Farmer & Chip Morningstar
- Electric Communities |
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Required
Surfing
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Check out at least two of following communities; post
your summaries to the newsgroup:
Online Gaming: TEN,
Mplayer,
Internet
Gaming Zone,
WorldPlay
(on AOL),
etc.
2D Virtual Spaces: The
Palace, Virtual
Places, WorldsAway (on Compuserve),
etc.
MUDs and MOOs (any of your choice)
Chat & Discussions: HotWired,
Parent
Soup, Third Age, ESPNSportsZone,
Talk City, Tripod,
etc.
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Required
Reading
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The
Lessons of LucasFilm's Habitat by Chip Morningstar & F Randall
Farmer (online)
Social
Dimensions of Habitat's Citizenryby F Randall Farmer (online)
Communicative
Subtlety in Multimedia Chat by John Suler (online)
Conversation on the Net by Jerry Michaelski - Release
1.0, Jan '97 (handout)
Shared Virtual Spaces by Jerry Michaelski - Release
1.0, Nov '95 (handout)
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Suggested
Reading
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Buddy Lists by Jerry Michaelski - Release 1.0, June
'97 (handout)
Multi-user Virtual Environments, Parts I & II
by
Jerry Michaelski - Release 1.0, Jul/Aug '94 (handout)
The
Virtual Community by Howard Rheingold - Ch. 4-6 (online
version also available)
Commerce
& Society in CyberSpace by Electric Communities (online)
The
Economies of Online Cooperation by Peter Kollack (online)
TextTalkby
John Suler (online)
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MEMBERSHIP & IDENTITY |
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10/13
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Getting to Know You: Persistance and Evolution of Virtual
Identity |
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Why is persistant identity so important for building community?
How is identity communicated in various onoine environments?
What role do objects and publications play in establishing
and developing identity?
How can the evolution of someone's identity within a system
be expressed?
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10/15
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Liminal Spaces in LambdaMOO
Guest Lecturer: Christina Allen - Electric Communities |
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Required
Surfing
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1. Create your profile on the CS377B newsgroup.
2. Choose an online community for your final project.
There are two acceptable types of communities for this project:
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A community that you're part of (or soon to be part of),
and wish to analyze
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A community that you're involved in creating and/or
running
Post a short summary of the community in the Final Project
newsgroup by Monday Midnight (10/20). |
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Required
Reading
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The
Dragon ate my Homework by Kevin Kelly and Howard Rheingold - WIRED
1.3 (online)
Johnny
Manhattan Meets the Furry Muckersby Josh Quittner - WIRED 2.03
(online)
Understanding
Comicsby Scott McCloud - excerpts from Ch 2 (handout)
Constructions
and Reconstructions of the Self in Virtual Reality by Sherry Turkle
(online)
Avatars: Motion and Emotion Online by Jerry Michaelski
- Release 1.0, May '96 (handout)
Online Identities: Recreating Ourselves by Jerry Michaelski
- Release 1.0, Apr '96 (handout)
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Suggested
Reading
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Life
on the Screenby Sherry Turkle - Intro, Ch. 7-10
Sex,
Lies and Avatars: An Interview with Sherry Turkle by Pamela McCorduck-
WIRED 4.04 (online)
The
Design of Social Environments for Eectronic Communities by Judith
Donath (online)
Identity
and Deception in the Virtual Community by Judith Donath (online)
Electropolis:
Communication and Community on Internet Relay Chat by Elizabeth
Reid (online)
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LEADERSHIP & HOSTING |
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10/20
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Hosted vs. non-hosted conversations and places |
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What role does hosting play in developing a community?
What skills are necessary for a good host?
What is the best way to recruit hosts? How are they trained
and managed?
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10/22
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Online Meeting - Ritual Reality chat room & LambdaMOO |
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Required
Surfing
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Create - and host - a new topic on the CS377B newsgroup -
something that's meaningful to you
Post in AT LEAST 3 of these newsly created topics.
Write a short summary of your first week hosting your topic
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Required
Reading
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Cyberspace
Innkeeping by John Coate (online)
Online
Community-building Concepts
by Gail Williams (online)
The
WELL Hosts manual (Section 2) (online)
Nine
Principles for Making Virtual Communities Work by Mike Godwin
- HotWired (online)
Making
Virtual Communities Work by John Suler (online)
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Suggested
Reading
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The Great Good Place by Ray Oldenberg - Ch. 5-10
(paperback)
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CONFLICT MANAGEMENT |
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10/27
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Defending the Boundaries, Developing the Culture |
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What are the most common conflicts that arise in online communities?
how are they best handled?
Why is it so important to have a "code of conduct" established
up-front?
What role do "family dynamics" play in conflict resolution?
How does the community's purpose influence the appropriate
conflict management style?
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10/29
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Conflict and Culture on the WELL
Guest Lecturer: Cliff Figallo, former WELL Community
Manager (tentative) |
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Required
Surfing
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Post the "Code of Conduct" from your Final Project community.
If one doesn't yet exist, write a first draft. |
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Required
Reading
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A Rape
in Cyberspace by Julian Dibbell (online)
HEARTS,
CLUBS, DIAMONDS, SPADES: Players who Suit MUDs by John Bartle (online)
The
Bad Boys of Cyberspace by John Suler (online)
Managing
the Virutal Commons by Peter Kollack and Mark Smith (online)
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Suggested
Reading
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Conflict
Management in Virutal Communitiesby Anne Smith (online)
The
Logic of the Virtual Commons by Mark Smith (online)
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NEWCOMERS & OLDTIMERS |
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11/3
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Newbies aren't dumb - they're just clueless |
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What are the best design strategies for including newscomers
into a community?
What kinds of opportunities, rewards and challenges will
keep old-timers interested?
What role does self-representation play in the formation
of relationships between newcomers and old-timers?
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11/5
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Role-playing in MUDs: Not what you'd think
Guest Lecturer: Diane Schiano - Interval Corporation |
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Required
Surfing
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Invite one of your friends to log onto a community of your
choice, and show them around.
Post a short summary of this experience to the newsgroup.
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Required
Reading
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The
Natural Life Cycle of Mailing Lists author unknown (online)
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Suggested
Reading
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The
Epic Saga of the WELL by Katie Hafner - WIRED 5.03 (online)
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MEMBER-CREATED SUBGROUPS |
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11/10
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Loyalty Through Social Construction: clans, guilds, clubs, gangs,
SIGs |
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What role do member-created subgroups play in growing a community?
Why is it so important to facilitate the development of these
groups?
What social structures typically emerge within these groups?
What implications does this have for system design?
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11/12
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Clans and Guilds in Online Gaming
Guest Lecturer: MikeSellars - Archtype Interactive |
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Required
Surfing
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Check out at least 5 clan pages from among the following
resources, and post your impressions.
Meridian59
- Guilds
Ultima
Online - Guild Halls
Yahoo!
- Recreation:Games:Computer Games:Titles:Role Playing:Ultima:Ultima Online:Guilds
Yahoo!
- Recreation:Games:Computer Games:Titles:Strategy:Warcraft Series:Multiplayer:Clans
Yahoo!
- Recreation:Games:Computer Games:Titles:Simulation:MechWarrior Series:Clans
Yahoo!
- Recreation:Games:Computer Games:Titles:Action:3D Games:Quake:Multiplayer:Clans
Mplayer...
Quake Clans
ScreenLife:
PodLife
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MARKING THE PASSAGE OF TIME |
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11/17
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Building Habits through cyclic rhythms
Regular events, meaningful holidays, and news-filled
publications |
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What role do regular events - daily, weekly, monthly, yearly
- play in building an online community?
Why are regular, archived publications important for
developing a community?
How do meaningful holidays (both shared, and personal) influence
the development of online culture?
What implications do these issues have for the design of
community platforms ?
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11/19
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Cyborganic: Community On and Off the Net
Guest Lecturer: Jonathan Steuer - Cyborganic |
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Required
Surfing
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Attend a regularly-scheduled event within your community-of-choice,
or one of the following communities. Post a short summary of your experience.
@Go
Tuesday (online)
Parent
Soup Chat Calendar (online)
Talk City
Chat Calendar (online)
Third
Age Chat Calendar (online)
Tripod Chat
Calendar (online)
Mplayer
Events Calendar (online)
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Suggested
Surfing
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Thursday
Night Dinners (online)
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SUMMARY: TIMELESS PRINCIPLES FOR COMMUNITY DESIGN |
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11/24
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A Manifesto for the Design of Online Community Platforms |
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What are the most important social design principles for
growing an online community?
What implications do the ideas we've explored here have for
platform designers?
Guest Speaker: to be announced |
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11/26
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No Class - Happy Thanksgiving! |
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Required
Reading
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Growing an Online Community: Timless Design Principles
by
AJ Kim - Web Techniques, Jan '98 (manuscript)
Design
Principles for Online Communities by Peter Kollack (online)
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Suggested
Reading
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A Pattern Language by Christopher Alexander et al
(on
reserve)
Net Gain by John Hagel and Arthur Armstrong (on
reserve)
Out
of Control by Kevin Kelly
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