The hardest part of this assignment for me was choosing what type of community to join. The only online communities I have been a part of in the past were ones that were for expecting moms, which I joined during each of my pregnancies (then no longer had time to participate in once I had a newborn in the house) or that had something to do with my children. I decided right away that I would join something that I was interested in that didn't involve my children. Since many of my interests and activities (and life in general) revolve around my kids, this was easier said than done. I found I liked the format of the message boards on iVillage and felt most comfortable joining a group of parents on a message board called “Reality TV Junkies”. I thought this was a good fit since I love reality shows and this assignment happened to fall around the time Big Brother 11 I thought it was a good choice to assimilate myself with others that were just as crazy about these shows as I was.

I spent a few days lurking on the board, taking the advice from Virginia Shea in our Wood & Smith reading, to “Lurk before you leap.” (page 135). I wanted to make sure it was a message board that I would feel comfortable posting on and that had people with similar interests as I did. I also wanted to find out how and where on the board people introduced themselves so I didn’t look like a complete newbie! I posted my introduction, told about myself and which reality TV shows were my favorites and expressed my excitement for the upcoming Big Brother season, I also mentioned that I loved the great “siggys” everyone had and asked how to get one. I had many people respond to my post to welcome me to the board and show me where to go to meet other Big Brother fans. I was also referred to some other message boards to find someone to make me a siggy, which I quickly did…afterall, everyone else had one! Once I was welcomed and had my custom signature so I felt like I “looked” like less of a newbie, I joined in conversations and posted my opinions and comments on the current topics. I felt like I was quickly accepted into the group because people responded to my posts, laughed at things I said and related to me as a person. I think what really made this group work so well is that while the main common interest was reality TV, they also had a section of the board where they talked about their personal lives, problems, other interests and tried to really get to know each other in other ways as well. I felt very comfortable posting and while there were many disagreements about topics, it was done in a respectful way that wasn’t negative. I also found that while many people like to find out “spoilers” (information about the show that can spoil the surprise or suspense) and post them, they had a section of the board just for this so others didn’t have to read them by mistake, I thought this was very considerate to the people who wanted to wait until the show aired to find out.

I think that joining this internet community showed me a lot about people and how they interact with others with common interests. I found that the majority use the same standards that are used in the real world and try to respect others, I think the netiquette rules found in the Wood & Smith text were followed on the message board I joined and it made it a very enjoyable experience for me. I plan to stay active on the Reality TV Junkies message board since I really enjoy the community and being able to talk to others with similar interests.

Also, I just wanted to share my message board signature since I was so happy with it and really felt it helped to make me a REAL person to the others on the board.