TWOP forums: Taking the pulse of an online community

This paper describes a case study of the Television Without Pity (TWOP) forums community in an effort to better understand status and hierarchy in text-based online communities. It builds upon prior studies on Usenet groups to suggest how advances in technology are affecting online interactions and communities. Applying offline ethnographic techniques to a written social setting, the author engaged in participant observation online, becoming an active member of the forum in order to gauge how its members determine status, influence, and authority. The typical offline status indicators of gender, race, and class are superseded by online status indicators of post frequency, direct address or citation by others (in their own posts), and humor. The findings imply that moderators are generally given respect and authority to enforce rules and penalize infractions, that status markers of length of membership and frequency of contribution can determine rank and therefore influence, and that wit and sarcasm are valued by the community and can be used to gain status. Although the TWOP forums are by no means representative of all online communities, they provide a good example of an organized and active participatory online community.