The management of consumers' community on a website bulletin-board service

In the Internet space, there has been a corresponding increase in the number of websites. The net group or organization is however an unstable one with many sites closing down or becoming inactive while others emerge. One key element for the success of a website can be the creation of a virtual "community" of users and this, in turn, is often fostered through provision for users to communicate with each other through a bulletin board system (BBS) provided by the website. This paper looks at a popular, frequently accessed website founded by a voluntary site-owner and examines how the administrator approached problems as they arose. As the BBS is not an official fan site it is necessary for the administrator to enforce rules frequently and strictly and to act as an intermediary. Network communities can be divided into two types: weak-tied forums (Type F) or strong-tied dialogs (Type D). Paradoxically, although the policy of the administrator is to strongly guide this site towards an F-type, when D-type discussion did appear, with the administrator and participants' refraining from stifling this, the level of discussion was of a higher quality than that usually in the BBS. Though the inherently anonymous and open nature of the network makes it vulnerable, this touchy dynamism has been making the BBS remain popular and enjoyable for its participants.