Wednesday, November 17, 2010

Practicum 4 - Kasi

For this practicum post, I decided to learn more about the blog feature of the Glee wiki, and see what types of things people were talking about. Wikia describes blogging as a great way to share news, opinions, and creative pieces with the community. The first blog post I found was from Dark Lady who expressed how grateful she was for having a place to discuss Glee since none of her friends were into the show. Although this user used to have one friend who watched it, the friend stopped watching, leaving her with no one to share her thoughts with. In this sense, the Wikia community became a new venue for her to join that could connect her with thousands of other people who also share her love for the show. 
The next couple posts I found weren't as positive as the first, and many of the administrators of the site took time to let everyone know how annoyed/upset they were about users contributing the wiki anonymously (as "A Wikia Contributor") to make rude comments and "mess up" the wiki. One user went as far as saying that people were using their "anonymity to berate and belittle some of our most dedicated and talented editors." I was surprised that many of the users seemed to band together and stuck up for each other like people would do for their best friend. This type of ranting and raving within posts generated a lot more comments than more neutral posts. Ms. Artie Abrams, a 13-year-old user, proclaimed that she might even leave the site altogether because she was so frustrated (see her post below). 
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2 comments:

  1. Jessie VNovember 18, 2010 at 10:35 AM

    This post made me laugh but also made me think about my own practicum project. Although I'm not a part of a wiki that is dedicated to REALLY loyal viewers, I do have to read and post along with those that consider themselves obsessed fans of the Real Housewives. I would agree that the "ranting" posts garner a lot more attention and commentary than more neutral posts about the breakdown of the show. In this sense, the type of users of these websites are similar in that they consider themselves "experts" on different shows and when the show does not meet their standards - they will express their frustrations.

    I never realized the intense fan communities that surround the shows we all watch!

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  2. Lily SchultzDecember 5, 2010 at 10:20 AM

    Wow. She means business. On one hand, it's interesting that people on the Glee wiki unify and defend each other against "haters", but on the other hand it's a little sad that people are getting so worked up about this. I love Glee as much as the next person, but i can't imagine passionately arguing about it (in bolded, italicized caps nonetheless) with random strangers. Perhaps this 13 year old girl should be "working her ass off" on schoolwork, or maybe an extracurricular activity, rather that a Glee fansite...just a thought...

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