Newspapers and Discussion Boards
Online Communities or Social Networks?

by Glenn Scott and Cassandra Imfeld

Preliminary Results

STRUCTURE
USA Today
Oregonian
The Times Picayune
Knoxville News-Sentinel
Port Huron Times Herald

Does the newspaper include a purpose statement or objective about the discussion board?
No
No
No
Yes
Yes*

Does the newspaper include a link to or post rules for participating in the discussion board?
No
Yes
Yes
Yes
Yes*

Are there any explicit consequences for users who do not follow the discussion board's rules?
No
No
No
No
No

Are the discussion boards expressly moderated?
No
No
No
Yes
Yes*

Does the newspaper include parameters on who can join discussion board?
Yes
Yes
Yes
No
No


CONTENT
USA Today
Oregonian
The Times Picayune
Knoxville News-Sentinel
Port Huron Times Herald

When was the last post on the discussion board?
(1) Within the last 24 hours
(2) Within the last week
(3) Within the last month
(4) A post has not been made in more than 30 days
3
Middle East
1
Oregon Forum
1
Sports - Boxing
1
Main Article
1
Main Article

Is the first thread listed on the discussion board with more than 10 posts dominated by a few posters?
Yes
- mebadgett
- ben2
No
Yes
- banner
- JUNGLEFAT
No
No

What is the level of activity on the entire discussion board?
(1) High volume = 500+ posts in the last month
(2) = moderate volume - 250-499 posts in the last month
(3) low volume - 0 - 249 posts in the last month
Low
High
High
High
High

What level of conflict or disagreement is evident in the postings?
(1) High
(2) Moderate
(3) Low
High
Middle East
Low
Oregon Forum
High
Sports-Boxing
High
Main Article
High
Main Article
Do users address each other directly? (Including 'you')
Yes
Yes
Yes
Yes
Yes