Online Communities - Chat Rooms and Discussion Boards Essay example --

Online Communities - Chat Rooms and Discussion Boards To those who have never experienced an online community they may seem pointless, a waste of time or simply childish. However, for those that have expanded beyond the traditional means of communication such as, talking on the telephone or conversing face-to-face, online communities offer a new and exciting means of communication. They offer a chance to meet others, gain advice, voice an opinion, defend an argument, or to simply relax and have a little fun. Acknowledging both points of view, I decided to explore the world of online communities for myself. For my online community I decided to enter a Yahoo, country music, chat room. Through Yahoo, there were many different chat rooms you could enter ranging from sports, to current events. However, I choose to enter the country music room because I have listened to country music all my life and I thought who I would best relate to those that would be in a country music room. Within the country music topic there were fourteen different rooms; I choose room four because it contained the most people: 44 active members. Therefore, I assumed that it would be the most active. Inside the chat room I was surprised at what I found. The first thing that I noticed was the names of the chatters. Each had some sort of country name such as, â€Å"rodeocowgirl† or â€Å"bullridingcowboy.† While looking through the conversations that were occurring I noticed that no one was discussing country music. In fact, the entire time I was in the chat room the topic rarely even appeared. I tried writing a post that said, â€Å"Does anyone know who sang the song ‘Thunder Rolls’?† About five minutes later, I received a response that said â€Å"Garth ... ...meone could become obsessed. Everyone seemed to know each other so well and it seemed as if chatting through this chat room was their way of socializing. Granted these individuals were not gaining an educational aspect from the chat room, however, they were gaining a sense of being part of something. They could express feeling, express viewpoints, vent anger or simply socialize with out being judged. No matter what was said within the chat room participants returned the next day eager to socialize. Chatting online is a huge part of these people’s lives; online communities are their source of interaction. Some people value face-to-face communication and some turn to more recent forms of technology. In my opinion your communication selection should fit your own personal needs. You should use whatever source you find most convenient, efficient, and comfortable.