Noisy Idiot Dilemma: Chapter 3 – Methodology
- by cathcw
Here is the next installment of my thesis The Noisy Idiot Dilemma. The methodology section outlines the groups I studied and how I studied them. In summary, my main aim was to absorb myself in the ebb and flow of conversation, to find out the recurring themes, the personalities and the general tone of the discussions. Think of it more as a high level ethnographic approach rather than a detailed, purely quantitative analysis.
3. Methodology
This paper seeks to observe online discussion and conversations that span a wide range of topics, with a variety of moderation methods. In doing so, qualitative observations will be tethered to quantitative analysis such as group size and length of threads. Specifically, the dynamics of the group will be considered and the impact on the level of Noisy Idiot behavior. The paper will discuss techniques that worked well in forums: success stories help to improve existing models. Just as above where the State Department’s online presence is discussed as a successful use of social media, this research seeks similar ‘grade A’ techniques.
Six groups were selected for initial observation (described below). Studying conversations in an online forum and providing measurable results is challenging. In order to obtain results in order some kind of quantitative analysis could be achieved, the method of analysis employed was as follows:
- On the day of analysis, pick the top 6 threads at the time, and if analysis takes more than a day, continue observing those conversations selected initially on the first day of analysis.
- When observing conversations, note the number of participants in the thread, and the times different people post.
- Look for arguments, inflammatory behavior, personal attacks, note how many of the 6 conversations have some kind of dispute.
- Where there is dispute, note how it is dealt with – by one person, by many? In a provocative manner or by ignoring it?
- Note the subject matter of the conversation.
By following this approach, data is provided on the following:
- How the topic matter affects the behavior of the group, do certain types of subject matter provoke increased Noisy Idiot behavior?
- Does the size of the group affect the Noisy Idiot behavior, or the way it is dealt with?
- Are the same people exhibiting Noisy Idiot behavior?
- Are the same people dealing with the Noisy Idiot behavior?
- Does the construction of the forum (level of moderation, rules, geographic spread of participants, age of participants, anonymity) affect the level of Noisy Idiot behavior?
In addition, in undertaking the first study on this type of behavior [1], it should be noted that many of the observations were purely qualitative and yielded much insight into behavior. With this in mind, in addition to the above metrics, there are extensive notes of general qualitative observations.
3. 1 Groups Studied
A brief description of the 6 groups selected for study follows:
3.1.1. Urban Baby
UrbanBaby.com is a forum for parents (mostly mothers posting) to discuss matters relating to raising children. The site was launched in 1999 as a resource for parents in urban areas. Since its launch by the husband and wife team Susan and John Maloney, the site was taken over by CNET Networks in 2006. UrbanBaby has three main areas: [2]
- Talk: the message boards are a key component of the site. Threads cover all aspects of parenting.
- Buzz: ‘Parenting and product news & tips.’ [ibid.]
- Local: In depth and local information for parents in New York and San Francisco.
This thesis study focuses on the Talk section. The most interesting difference between this site and every single one of the others studied is that postings here are completely anonymous. Registration is required to reply to threads, however sign up is extremely basic (email and password), and the main reason for such a sign up looks to be to get users signed up for UrbanBaby newsletters.
3.1.2 Gossip Rocks
Gossip Rocks is a huge archive of celebrity profiles, as of April 18, 2010, the archive size [3] was:
- Celebrities: 2,283
- Pictures: 111, 099
- Ringtones: 4,509
- Wallpapers: 4,311
The site on the face of the above description would appear to be a kind of one-stop-shop for information on celebrities, however on looking at the archives many seem out of date. The site’s main draw looks to be the enormous forum section. The Gossip Rocks forum community is vibrant and lively, they discuss and dissect every piece of news and trivia around celebrity news. In addition, there are also forums on non-celebrity issues such as:
- Plastic surgery
- World news and issues
- Daily life, for example: food and cuisine, health and fitness
By far, the biggest section of the section of the discussion in the forum section is the ‘Latest Gossip’ section. Anyone can browse discussion threads without registering. In order to post, a user must register, user names will suffice. Profile creation is encouraged. Interestingly, once registered, but before being authorized to make a first post, the new user must say ‘hello’ in the New Members forum. In doing so, the new user’s account is authorized and they can then post on other boards. This ‘initiation’ is friendly but persistent. Upon registering, the new user is sent 2 emails: one confirming their registration details and the other reminding them to introduce themselves in the new members forum. An additional pop-up reminder appears on first login. This is all an attempt at acclimatising the newbies and in community building. The site has a strong hierarchical system with respect to status of members, for example ‘Elite Member,’ ‘Friend of Gossip Rocks,’ ‘Bronze Member,’ ‘Gold Member.’ The number of posts looks to correlate to level of status. There is also the ability to list other members to your ‘friend list.’
3.1.3 The Coffee Party USA
Completely fed up with the large amounts of press the Tea Party were getting, Annabel Park created a Facebook page at 1.30 am on January 26 2010. More than 155,000 people joined in less than six weeks. Park noted, ‘the Facebook page had become a townsquare, where people could talk, learn, engage, share, serve and be part of the community.’ [4] The explicit aims of Coffee Party USA are to ‘reinvigorate the public sphere drawing from diverse backgrounds and diverse perspectives, with the goal of expanding the influence of the People in America’s political arena … We encourage deliberation guided by reason amongst the many viewpoints held by our members.’ [5]
This site is particularly interesting as a forum for conversation, given the whole aim is diverse discussion, one would expect the level of Noisy Idiot behavior to be lower. However, the discussions are likely to be about politics, which traditionally is a topic of conversation that draws those with strongly held issues and often loud people.
3.1.4 Topix Pasadena-Star Forum
The Pasadena Star-News Forum is a forum for people to comment on stories featured by the Pasadena Star-News. The newspaper serves the San Gabriel Valley community in California, and is one of the three daily newspapers in the area. The paper claims to have over daily 289,000 readers and over 318,000 Sunday readers, 4.8 million monthly page views and 917,000 online monthly visitors. [6] The forum is hosted by the Topix: ‘the leading news community on the Web … the site links news from 50,000 sources to 360,000 lively user-generated forums. Topix also works with the nation’s major media companies to grow and engage their online audiences through forums, classifieds, publishing platforms and RSS feeds.’ [7]
This forum is interesting to study as there is likely to be a geographical link between participants in the forum. The extent to which this affects the level of Noisy Idiot behavior within the forum will be considered. Many sites studied link participants by shared interests or experiences – for example UrbanBaby, but the linking of members by geography is expected to be the strongest shared tie between the members of this forum.
3.1.5 The Student Room
The Student Room is the UK’s largest online forum for young people. The site has over 250,000 members and more than 16,000,000 posts on it’s forum: its big. In addition to the forums, the site has a wiki containing study notes, sample college admission statements and articles of interest to young people. Any age students are welcome, but registration is required to post in the forums. The moderation system is run by a hierarchical system of unpaid volunteers. [8]
3.1.6 The Wall Street Journal Community
The Wall Street Journal Community is part of the WSJ’s online presence described as ‘a marketplace of ideas for Wall Street Journal readers. Exchange opinions, ideas and tips on subjects ranging from the economy to the business of life.‘ [9] First impressions on looking at this community is that interaction and networking between members is strongly encouraged. The site lists the benefits of creating a profile as helping people to find you, and to give context around your posts. [10] The sense of a forum to encourage networking amongst members is strongest here than any of the other forums studied. Discussion often revolves around a daily question for example, a current affairs issue of the day. [11]
Footnotes:
[1] Modifying an existing online group: European Union – Debate Europe or What to do about Noisy Idiots, White, C., March 2009
[2] Urban Baby about page, http://www.urbanbaby.com/pages/about, accessed April 23, 2010
[3] Gossip Rocks, http://www.gossiprocks.com/, accessed April 18, 2010
[4] Why I started Coffee Party USA, CNN Opinion, Annabel Park, March 18, 2010, www.cnn.com/2010/OPINION/03/18/park.coffee.party/index.html, accessed April 18, 2010
[5] The Coffee Party USA, http://coffeepartyusa.com/content/about-us, accessed April 18, 2010
[6] 2009 Scarborough Report, Rel. 1: ABC Audit; 2009 Omniture, quoted in Pasadena Star-News Contact webpage, www.pasadenastarnews.com/contactus, accessed April 18,2010
[7] About Topix, www.topix.com/about, accessed April 18, 2010
[8] The Student Room, FAQ: About The Student Room, www.thestudentroom.co.uk/faq.php?faq=tsr_cat, accessed April 18, 2010
[9] The Wall Street Journal Community FAQs: http://online.wsj.com/community/faq, accessed July 9, 2010
[10] The Wall Street Journal Community FAQs Profiles: http://online.wsj.com/community/faq#Profiles, accessed July 9, 2010
[11] The Wall Street Journal Community, Question of the Day, http://online.wsj.com/community/groups/question-day-229/topics/, accessed July 9, 2010










