Learning in a digital age/LiDA102/Digital environments/Online communities

In this section we contrast and compare online communities with offline communities. We consider the research on online communities to derive practical advice on how to join and contribute constructively to these digital communities. If you don't have much experience with online communities, participate in the OERu course forums and become an active member of the OERu learning family.

Research on online communities
Research on the efficacy of online communities provides insights on selecting productive communities and how to engage. Community contributors can be classified into three types (Mocus et al 2002 ):
 * 1) Core members are responsible for guiding the development of the community and have usually been involved with the community for a long time. These members have made significant contributions to the community's evolution and have earned leadership status. Frequently they also play an active role in moderation of the group.
 * 2) Active members make regular contributions to the community.
 * 3) Peripheral members occasionally contribute to the discussions and the periods of engagement are short and sporadic. "Lurkers", that is individuals seeking answers without making contributions, are normally associated with this group.

The nature of engagement in a community is influenced by the community's life cycle stage (A. Iriberri and G. Leroy 2009 ):

Additional factors identified by the research to keep in mind include:


 * Network cohesion, that is the overall level of connections indicated by the network density has a positive impact on the core group as well as the success of the community (Toral et al 2010 ).
 * Network structure. Successful communities need a critical mass of contributors, however there is no fixed number that determines success. Most communities can expect between 45 - 90% of non-active members, but communities with a strong and experienced core group will have a positive impact on success (Toral et al 2010 ). Moreover, the positive effects of network structure on participation persist irrespective of the life cycle stage of the community, and activity participation influences network structure (Igl 2014 ).
 * Centralization. Communities with a high degree of centralisation and control exerts a negative impact on all participation variables. (Igl 2014 ).

Practical implications
There are many online communities, and it will be worth your effort in doing a little online research to determine the network cohesion and network structure of the community. You will be able to determine this by reviewing the archive history. Avoid communities with overly centralised control, in the long run, they are not likely to be productive.

When joining an online community, try to identify the life cycle stage by scanning the archive of posts. Young communities are likely to be more tolerant of newbie questions, as responses to these questions will provide support resources for new members in the future. It's a good idea to search the forum for your answer before posting a question. Don't be surprised if newbie questions go answered in mature communities, they may can even attract curt rebuttals. If you're a long standing member of the community, post a tactful reply, for example, "Your question has already been answered" and post a link to the appropriate reply.

The best advice when joining a new community is to lurk for a while before introducing yourself so that you can become familiar with the culture and practices of the community. Fill out your profile page on the forum site, rather than posting a biography in the main discussion threads. Of course, if the community is in the creation phase, you may want to play a more active role in building the community and becoming part of the core contributors.