Virtuella Communities
Sociala faktorer i digitala miljöer
DatavetenskapComputer science - effects on societyArbetsvetenskapHuman work science - generalComputer science - artificial intelligenceVirtuella communitiesSociala faktorerIrcBottar
Virtual Communities is an increasingly common phenomenon on the Internet. Most
of the Virtual Communities are operated and maintained on a non-profit basis
with a direction towards entertainment. However, as more state administrated
and commercial services become web-based, we believe that the number of Virtual
Communities with a community-based or commercial direction will increase in a
near future.
In this thesis, we describe our participation in, and studies of, a
number of Virtual Communities with focus on the IRC-channel ?3dfxsweden?. On
the basis of our experiences, we describe the social elements that form the
foundation on which the Virtual Community rely on. Based on this, we give
suggestions on how to consider social factors in the operation of a Virtual
Community.