“Membership is the feeling of belonging or of sharing a sense of personal
relatedness.”
“influence, a sense of mattering, of making a difference to a group.”
“reinforcement: integration and fulfillment of needs … the feeling that members’ needs
will be met by … their membership in the group.”
“shared emotional connection, the commitment and belief that members have shared and will share
history, common places, time together, and similar experiences.” (McMillanChavis 1986,
p. 9)
Specific signs of community??
. . .
a statement of purpose/focus
invocation of shared identity (e.g., demonym)
signs of boundaries and hierarchy
entrance / exit
status differentiation
language, slang, in-jokes
historical references/stories
Anti-/example of community??
What’s a platform?
. . .
online platform
digital infrastructure that hosts one or more communities