Internet Communities: Otters vs. Possums (2017)

Re:Internet Communities: Otters vs. Possums (2017) by Hayarotle on Friday October 22, 2021 @09:11AM (#28956786)

I disagree with the dichotomy presented. People who like a specific, niche culture aren't necessarily closed to other cultures, and people who like mainstream culture don't necessarily like most cultures and don't necessarily get along with everybody. As such, this is the progression I've watched happen:

- Niche possums and niche otters create a small community focused on a specific culture

- Otters from mainstream culture enter the community, and are welcomed by the niche otters, but this opening is disliked by the niche possums.

- The niche possums either try to moderate the community more heavily, or leave the community.

- The community grows in size, being overwhelmingly filled with otters. Mainstream otters dominate as they are more numerous.

- The community's content and culture gets shifted from niche to mainstream culture.

- Mainstream possums join the community as they identify with the community's new, mainstream culture. This completes the community's shift from niche to mainstream culture.

- Most of what remains of the community's original, niche culture is suppressed by mainstream possums, as it goes against the community's current culture.

- Niche possums create a new community, and the cycle repeats.

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Re:Internet Communities: Otters vs. Possums (2017) by SargeDebian on Friday October 22, 2021 @10:44AM (#28957867)

Yes, I was surprised to see this end with Otters forming a new community. I typically feel like Otters overflow a community, and as you indicate the Possums create a new one. The old one implodes (or sometimes does not) because with losing the Possums, the driving force behind what made the community unique and great is now gone.

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Re:Internet Communities: Otters vs. Possums (2017) by zrav on Saturday October 23, 2021 @02:47AM (#28966297)

I tend to agree. But there is another aspect: Sadly the democratization of internet access has lowered the bar across the board in regards to both form and content of discussions in communities.

I've been a heavy forum user and occasional mod/admin in subject focused communities in the pre-Facebook era (~'98-2005) and I've seen many communities die down from an influx of barely literate (technical or otherwise), low effort, entitled and sometimes rude users. And I don't think this can entirely be explained by the "mainstream otters" concept, and neither have I seen many instances of new niche communities appearing to replace the former. At the risk of sounding like an elitist, I observe that the education level of the average internet user has been dropping.

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