signing off....

The time has come to sign off. To look back on a blog experience that started at the beginning of this module. And it has been quite the ride. It was interesting keeping a blog again. Though it also showed me that keeping a blog is more work then i expected. It's fun to share your thoughts with the world, yet it's so easy to loose track. Becoming part of a community was fun though and to really delve into it instead of lurking and standing on the side lines so to speak.

The community i became part of during the past weeks was the community on fangoria.com. I have always been a fan of horror and i like to stay up to date on all things horror. Especially news about upcoming movies and reviews. This 'hobby' had lead me to the website of Fangoria before, but i never got as far as their main page. After i got this assignment i noticed they had a message board, so that made the choice to pick a community a little easier. This way i could emerse myself in the world of horror, a hobby of mine, and at the same time complete this assignment. A win-win situation.

The registration process wasn't difficult. It is quite easy to join this community and it only requires little personal information such as a name, username and password to join. I think they were wise doing this, because it might scare potential members away when they have to give out lots of information about themselves in order to join. Once you become a member you can update your profile with your own tagline and date of birth, hobbies etc. So Fangoria still gives members the oppertunity to create their own persona on the message board. Which i think is a wise choice because this can make it easier to connect to other members.

Which, by the way, was something they handled well too. On the message board they had thread where newcomers could introduce themselves to the community. By starting a topic about yourself you could show the other members who you are and why you joined the community. I think this a good way to introduce new members since it can be overwhelming having to participate in already ongoing converstations. Especially on a community that's filled with 'regular' users. Which fangoria has its fair share of. I could introduce myself and be welcomed into the community before starting to post in the other threads.

The first weeks on the message board were a little weird. This because it took some time getting used to the way of posting from other members. I had to go with the flow. I started posting my opinions on reviews, which lead to some discussions with other members. I liked the fact they were responding to my post, because that gives you the feeling you're part of the community.
That was also the reason why i kept going back. The more i posted and the more active i was, i could see and experience i was becoming a part of the community. To me, i think that's essential in creating a good community. Give users the feeling they're part of the community and they keep coming back for more.

Looking back on my involvement in the community i can say i was a regular participant. I tried to be active on a daily basis posting a comment or create my own topic from time to time. I found that creating own topics is the best way to get other users involved and get in touch with them. At this point i can't really say i got real friends out of it, but there's certain members i can relate to.

The only thing i missed was moderators that would react to certain profanities. I've been on other message boards before but those times i was mostly a lurker. Nevertheless, i could see how moderators would react in certain situations. Especially when newcomers would get involved in discussions and regular members would gang up on them. I think fangoria's moderators should invest more time in making sure this doesn't happen. This shows that even a topic to introduce yourself isn't enough to put yourself out there. That was one of the things i would change should i be running the community.

The organization of the community itself was working well. I mean, they have moderators and it is possible to reach a certain status inside the community. The community was divided in several categories and subcategories which made it easy to find threads and information to your liking. So for a newcomer it was pretty easy to find my way around the community and get familiar with the way they organised it.

In conclusion i can say that i enjoyed the time i spend on fangoria. It was a different experience from being mostly a lurker to being actively involved in a community. It can be a rewarding and fun experience, but you have to be willing to invest time in it. I liked the way the community was set up and how things were organized and can see me going back in the future.
All in all it has been an interesting time keeping a blog and getting to know the fangoria community.

I hope you enjoyed my posts because the time has come to... sign off.