“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.” (McMillan
& Chavis 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historical references/stories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