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COMM 4625 <2021-FA> | Office hours | Content |
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TU/FR 1:35–03:15 Richards 235 |
TU appointments at 15:30+ Prof. Reagle, <j.reagle> Comm Studies, 215 Holmes Hall Tip: Enter at 41A Leon St. |
Can online communities be “real”? Yes! People use online platforms to coalesce via enduring group identities, activities, and cultures. Upon successful completion of this course you will be able to explain the dynamics of online communities including joining, governance, conflict, and exit—with scholarly readings complemented by contemporary cases. Furthermore, you will have experience with the development and challenges of online communities via hands-on interventions (including contributions to Wikipedia and an experiment with your own online networks). Our orientation will be that of asking how can one design successful online communities? This could be valuable to you as a participant, as a supporter of a social cause, or as part of your employment. Successful completion of this course enables one to:
“I hear and I forget. I see and I remember. I do and I understand.” – Confucius
This is an active learning course meaning that you will be partaking in class and group discussions, participating in class exercises, and sharing and relating what we learn to the larger world.
I also make much use of the Web. For instance, this syllabus is a Web page that I update; I expect you to bookmark it and to follow links. (If you find a broken link or typo, let me know!) You can easily find things on this page with ⌘+f. You can open links in new tabs with control-click. We will also make use of Google Docs. In emails I often use markdown conventions and respond below your quoted (‘>’) text.
In short, come to class on time and with the readings and assignments completed; be respectful and willing to collaborate. There are no provisions for missed exams or late assignments.
In general, if you have an issue, such as needing an accommodation for a religious obligation or disability, do not plead afterwards. Instead, beforehand, offer proposals that show initiative and a willingness to work.
Academic Integrity is of utmost importance: “The promotion of independent and original scholarship ensures that students derive the most from their educational experience and their pursuit of knowledge.” Violations include cheating, plagiarism, and participating in or encouraging dishonesty. If you cheat on an exam, you will receive zero credit and be referred to the Office of Student Conduct. If you plagiarize seven or more words in a row, the same will follow.
We sometimes use devices in class as part of an activity, but the default policy is for gadgets to be silenced and put away. If you want to use a device throughout the course, email me a device proposal with your intended usage. Device users might also be called upon you to perform tasks such as looking things up or taking collaborative notes. Deviations from classroom professionalism and respect may result in dismissal from class and demerits against your grade. See full course policies for more detail.
There are 1000 points at stake over the term. This is converted to letter grades based on thresholds, without rounding. For example, 870 is a B+; 869 is not. Due dates are included in the schedule.
Because this is a upper-level course, I give greater freedom than in introduction classes where I require things like essay proposals. Being prepared and getting good feedback are still essential to doing well, I just don’t make you do it: you have greater freedom to do poorly. Also, because this is a capstone, I’d like for you to have work products you can be proud of. So if you have a creative idea, please let me know!
(200 pts) Class participation
This entails much more than (even perfect) attendance; participation is not an easy “gimme grade” and is assessed rigorously. Please see the participation rubric for more.
(100 pts) QICs (Question, Insight, Connection)
Ninety minutes prior to class leave a signed Question, Insight, and/or Connection from the readings (around 250 words). Be careful of overwriting others’ edit or losing your own. In this class, QICs are supposed to be a bit easier/quicker than a full reading response, but you should still consult The Craft of Reading and What Makes a Good Response. You must post a QIC for 13 classes during the semester; you may not add them after the fact. You are welcome to add one in response to someone else’s. However, you don’t want to give the appearance of only reading the most trivial of the readings and then piggy-backing on your peers. Please keep careful count and number your QICs.
(200 pts) Essay on user influence and motivation
Write a ~1500 word essay on a chosen topic related to influence and motivation; follow writing requirements below. I strongly suggest you send me an email with a short proposal at least a week before it is due and that you ask one or more peers to give you feedback before turning it in. Exercise class concepts and use a design perspective: how is what we’ve learned about motivation and persuasion used (or not) to build online community? Previous topics included: “Influence and Motivation in Reddit,” “The Online Dating Game,” “Instagram: Instant Motivation,” “Crowd-funding and Motivation,” and “Getting Healthy with Hashtags.”
Projects
Each of the following projects includes a written and debrief component. The ~1500 word written reports must follow the writing requirements and specific instruction below. Again, exercise class concepts and use a design perspective.
Social media breaching experiment (analysis = 200pts; presentation = 50pts)
Choose one or more breaching experiments that will allow you to offer a strong thesis (novel argument or explained mystery), make use of course content, and written in prose that is concise, clear, coherent, and cohesive. Follow the writing requirements of a traditional essay and the ethical requirements associated with a class-only report of a confidential space that you disguise. Hand in your printed assignment in class and on Canvas. On the debrief day you each will be give a 5 minute (maximum) presentation with Q&A at the end of the session. See my tips and rubric for presenting; it’s best to present from my Chromebook, make your deck public—to everyone, not just Northeastern—and link to your slides in the Slides Doc.
Wikipedia contribution (article = 100pts; reflection= 150pts)
Reflect upon your contributions to Wikipedia in light of what we’ve learned about online community, especially the management of newcomers, moderation, and community governance. Write this on a subpage of your Wikipedia User page—not your User or Talk page. Although you will be writing in the first person about your experiences, be analytical and engage class concepts, have a thesis (explanation or argument) and structure your reflection accordingly. Follow the ethical requirements associated with a public report of a public space.
Your Wikipedia contribution will be assessed on the basis of Wikipedia’s perfect article criteria, your reflection will be assessed via my writing rubric. Additionally, your reflection should make use of Wikipedia features such as Wikipedia citations and links to article versions and specific contributions (or “diffs”) as part of your discussion; see my user page Link section for a demo. Instead of a paper copy and Canvas version, email me a link to your reflection—and among its links there must be a link to your article. For the debrief, we will discuss rather than have presentations.
TRACE (2pts)
Our college requires all students to complete TRACE evaluations at the end of the semester even if you (anonymously) opt-out of completing the survey. Those who send me evidence of completing TRACE receive a bonus-point.
Assignments must be double-spaced, 12 point font, 1-inch margins. (One page contains approximately 250 words.) Pages must be numbered and stapled together. Citations must be in the APA style. No APA cover page is required. Include your name.
I recommend your writing be reviewed by two peers relative to the writing rubric. Make use of Hacker’s Pocket Manual and my writing tips handout. On the due date, assignments are due at start of class (print copies must be submitted in class and the electronic version must be submitted via Canvas). If you have permission to revise a written assignment for re-assessment, please see these revision instructions.
Communication Studies courses are expected, on average, to have a GPA of no more than a 3.3 (B+); this means those receiving an A or A- are in the minority. The course rubric notes that “A” students have all of the following attributes.
Please review the grading scale and specific participation rubric and writing rubric.
Many links to my public wiki are found through-out this syllabus (remember, ⌘+f is your friend), but I’ve gathered some of the most important ones below.
Most readings are linked to from this page, if not check this password protected zip file (the password is my dog’s name in lowercase).
You should also have a copy of a college writing handbook, such as:
Like other skills, bibliography is something you learn to do well. Technology can make it easier, I recommend the free browser-based Zotero. NU makes RefWorks and EndNote available to students.
Note that for selections, I specify the chapter (ch=) or pages (pp=) to read.
We learn each other’s names, review the course objectives.
Wikipedia task 1
Before class, start the Wikipedia Essentials and Editing Basics trainings (35 + 25 = 60 minutes). Upon completion, you will have created an account, made edits in a sandbox, and learned the basic rules of the Wikipedia community. I recommend you add the pages Help:Cheatsheet and Help:Wiki markup as the first (of many to come) bookmarks in a new folder on your browser. If you are in need of quick help, head over to the English Wikipedia chat channel.
Enroll on our Wikipedia dashboard. Following the “enroll” link should work, if not, “Join course” on our WP dashboard—under “Actions”—using passcode “ncrtumis”.
On your user page introduce yourself to the community—but you need not disclose personally identifiable information. Make sure to include the following:
As part of [[User:Reagle]]'s online community class, I will be contributing to Wikipedia and reflecting on the experience on a user page here.
Look ahead to the class where you pick a topic and start thinking about what you’d like to write an article about. For example, students recently contributed Richmond Newspapers, Inc. v. Virginia and Friends of the Public Garden.
We begin with motivation: What is some of the science behind motivation?
We begin understanding the Wikipedia community and make a slight digression to consider one of the dominant means of online design (A/B testing). Bring your device.
Wikipedia task 2
What are the types of motivation and to what extent are they exploited?
Note, we will do much of this assignment in class, so bring your device. Before class, make sure you have at least four reliable sources on your topic and experiment with how to make Wikipedia citations on your sandbox subpage. We’ll be working with guests Amanda Rust and Brooke Williams, Northeastern librarians.
No need to write a QIC.
Wikipedia task 3
Is it possible for extrinsic motivators to “crowd out” intrinsic motives? Kohn has concerns about the extrinsic motive of rewards. Gittip was a crowd-funding site, like Patreon, focused on supporting open source software developers by way of recurring user contributions. Yet, might this type of extrinsic reward engender resentment?
Consider reflections on Wikipedia’s challenges at it’s 20th year anniversary.
Wikipedia task 4
Consult the “Help out” section of the Community Portal do one of each:
While I will not be asking you to conduct formal interviews it is still important for us to consider the ethical implications of studying online communities. Do you think Facebook and OkCupid were ethical? Should academics be held to a higher standard?
Due: Essay on user influence and motivation
Let’s continue reading about community regulation and norms. Garfinkel is summarized well in the Wikipedia article and I provide the PDF in the zip file for use in your assignment. After today’s class, begin your own breaching experiment.
In one reading we look at Wikipedia’s collaborative culture and ask if there is something there that contributes to its success? We also consider the affect of Wikipedia on research, and a short example with respect to feedback.
Wikipedia task 5
Let’s dig into more recent happenings at Reddit, which is not easy to moderate. In this collection of readings we can see how Reddit’s character can be both delightful and awful. What could they change to make things better? Do banning fake AI generated faces and legal gun sales help? Find an example of a weird subreddit and an uplifting one for class discussion.
Let’s focus on questions of governance, specifically: how are decisions made? Also, what kind of sanctions and decision making processes are available to censure users?
What options are available for the moderation of online communities?
Moderation has legal impetuses and consequences. Consider the spectrum of Barlow’s laissez-faire in the 90s to the government interventions (and politics) of today. Where do you think the balance should be struck?
Wikipedia task 6
In many regards, having newcomers to a community is a good problem to have. Nonetheless, it can be a problem. How do successful communities keep and integrate newcomers into their fold? I’ve also asked you to read about two gateways to new membership in an online gaming guild and a humorous take on Wikipedia socialization. Bring your device for editing Wikipedia.
Why do people sometimes feel such an affinity for groups that abuse them?
Wikipedia task 7
Newcomers are sometimes explicitly (or implicitly) expected to learn rudimentary knowledge before joining the community. But is it alienating to ask them to first “read the fucking manual”? Can you find an example of a “FAQ slap” in which someone is told the equivalent?
We again focus on that sense that if one doesn’t join a community soon, one might be left behind. Is this something online communities and marketers should take advantage of? Or do you think it unethical? Bring your device.
Today we will consider the role of gratitude within a community.
What do we think of the Wikipedia community and experience?
Wikipedia task 9
Due: Wikipedia reflection
Although many scholars and practitioners focus on recruiting and retaining community members, what about exit? Beyond
the celebrities who quit
Twitter, consider why people leave. Check out some of the user pages that use Template:Retired
.
Bring your device for a class
activity.
DUE: Evidence of TRACE completion due via email at 12:00 ET.
© 2014-2022 Joseph Reagle. Please reuse and share!