Studying the Forum - Thanks everyone!

[News of St. John]

Hi everyone-

I am finishing up my graduate degree and am currently taking a class on social media. In this class, we have to find a community and dissect it. We have to describe the participants' roles, their behaviors and so on. Well, I chose VIOL and many of you have made appearances in my projects, so a big thank you!

My professor absolutely loves this. Here is one of his responses:
What strikes me is the level of passion and creation that many people have within this community. The fact that so many make an effort to blog or add video and content is a mark of difference from many communities out there.

I'm going to see how the rest of the course pans out and maybe I'll share a bit when I am done.

[cocosmom]

Very neat, hope you can share.

[luvinsun]

that's really cool, Jenn... Congratulations!

You can learn an awful lot on this forum! I love it here!

[jimg20]

What kind of course of study or degree program allows the study of this forum? Is it abnormal psychology? Will you be leading a seminar at the Beach Bar in May?

JIM

[DonnaM]

I hope you checked out the Off Topic forum. Family issues, health concerns, recipe ideas, cool stuff online are all topics that I have read about and participated in. Nice people just wanting to share or needing common sense advice!

[waterguy]

If you need someone for show and tell I raise my hand for I'm addicate to the form.

[needmesomesun]

What kind of course of study or degree program allows the study of this forum? Is it abnormal psychology? Will you be leading a seminar at the Beach Bar in May?

JIM

I would like to attend this seminar.

[loverotties]

I'm game for the seminar too !!!

[News of St. John]

What kind of course of study or degree program allows the study of this forum? Is it abnormal psychology? Will you be leading a seminar at the Beach Bar in May?

JIM

That sounds like a great idea ... over Bushwackers, of course! lol

The project is seriously a lot of fun. Pia is my maven because she knows all and everything St. John. P-600 made a cameo, so did Lprof and Sherban. It's great because I am getting my schoolwork done while dreaming about my happy place! (And because clearly I love all of you!)

(I work in corporate communications and am getting my master's in interactive media.)

[jimg20]

That sounds like a great idea ... over Bushwackers, of course! lol

Of course

JIM

[Agent99]

What a neat idea, please share your findings! I agree that it's a great idea to check out the Off Topic forum as well. There is such positive energy on this forum- that is not the case with all community forums as I am sure you know. The common thread with the people here is their shared love of this beautiful little island. It is truly a unique place and never fails to warm my heart whether from someone sharing their vacation with us through a trip report or the posters here sharing their talents (Food Porn) or the people here just being genuinely kind to each other through tough times. You just don't come across forums like this every day.

[jaybfloyd]

It's amazing how helpful and resourceful people can be when they're talking about something they have a passion for! I bet this forum wouldn't be as lively if it were about something boring like tax codes. Don't know anyone who is passionate about that.

St. John is a wonderful place that will captivate you with one visit. I don't think I've ever met anyone (this forum confirms that) who has been to the island and said that it was just ok or disappointing. It's a place where I can see myself retiring someday and I can't say that about a lot of places. People have told me that I wouldn't feel the same way if I lived down there...grass is always greener syndrome. But I find that hard to believe. I've always enjoyed the simple, laid back, small town life. I hate traffic and the hustle and bustle of the world I live in now. For that reason alone, St. John is the best fit for me.

Congrats on the project. Good luck!

[jimg20]

St. John is a wonderful place that will captivate you with one visit. I don't think I've ever met anyone (this forum confirms that) who has been to the island and said that it was just ok or disappointing.

To be fair, there are people who go to STJ and don't love it. Those people are used to or are expecting the well manucured lawns and extensive staffs of all inclusive resorts. They want someone to bring them a clean towel or a drink. They want to open their front door and walk 50 or 60 feet to the waters edge. They don't expect chickens under their breakfast table. We don't mind that. The people who think that way don't come back to STJ or this forum.

JIM

[54b]

Neat class and count me in the bunch that wants to hear your results...I think these forums are fascinating from a social interaction perspective.

Many of the same archetypes we see in our places of business, neighborhoods, churches and other social organizations are not only present in these online communities, but also much more prolific because people can be less inhibited behind a veil of anonymity.

In fact a lot of the threads on here get the Snow White treatment as I like to call it. In this case, Snow White is an original poster making an allegedly innocent or innocuous comment/inquiry and depending on how engaging or provocative the topic, you'll invariably get some or all 7 Dwarfs coming to the rescue:

Bashful - Humble poster that doesn't purport themselves as an expert and doesn't want to make any waves, so they almost offer their two cents apologetically and with little authority.

Doc - Very surgical in their responses...no fluff. Just the facts handed down with authority and precision. Don't question, just do what I say.

Sleepy - If there's a debate, this is the poster that comes in with, "I don't see what the big deal is, let's just all relax and take a nap on the beach" response.

Sneezy - This poster doesn't mean any harm and doesn't have an agenda, but usually makes waves anyway by throwing out a hot or contrary opinion.

Dopey - The blissfully ignorant poster that didn't come here for an education, they're just happy to be here and appreciate the social aspects of the community...a few laughs and some pretty pictures.

Grumpy - Ah yes, the misanthrope...they will always find a way to locate the rain cloud on STJ...there's always a grey lining with them..."STJ is the most wonderful place on Earth....not for the slaves that used to live here" or "I just totally scored the most awesome villa...yeah, but you can't walk to the beach and there's no AC in the living room."

Happy - Fortunately, we also have posters that always see and find ways to accentuate the positive.

And not everyone falls perfectly into one of these seven archetypes, in fact, there's probably a little of all 7 in each of us depending on our mood that day and reaction to the original topic. And there are probably more archetypes.

But you want to know what else is interesting, I've actually found that it takes all kinds to make an online community like this one truly great. Even the Grumpies. Having just one kind of poster or trying to mitigate the effects or remove another kind of poster doesn't improve the community. In fact, communities are usually at their best when they are addressing a more pressing social issue or problem. The individual may get it wrong, but the community more often than not, gets it right.

Yeah, I know, I've probably thought about this a little too much...and I'm not even taking a class.

[UF Prof]

Credit to your prof for letting you use this forum for your project, and to you for selecting it. Just curious, did you just happen to find this forum by accident or had you browsed here before?

Nice thesis, 54b, are those really the names of the 7 dwarfs?