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Purpose: The goal of this study was to explore the coping strategies of depression sufferers that have worked for them based on the study of an online depression community. Methods: We conducted a thematic narrative analysis of 120 stories posted by the members in the largest online depression community in China. MaxQDA version 18 was used to code the data, and the analytic approach was consistent with the category-centred approach of grounded theory. Results: The study found that the coping strategies mainly include self-reconciliation (e.g., perceiving/accepting feelings, accepting the present self, and holding hope for the future), actions (recreational activities, physical exercise, and engaging in volunteer work), addressing the stressors and symptoms (e.g., staying away from stressors, seeing the doctor), and seeking interpersonal support (e.g., seeking support from family, friends, and peers). Conclusion: The findings revealed the coping strategies that were helpful and examined how they functioned for the affected members, which make up for the lack of attention to the individual experiences of depression sufferers in coping research. The findings also have practical implications for the related education and consultation, providing useful insights for doctors and patients. These ways of coping are based on depression sufferer' anonymous narratives, which can be convincing to clients. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This issue delves into an intricate interplay of authors, publishers, readers, and binding technologies through two insightful articles. The first, "PURRfection: The Participatory Extension of Humor on YouTube" by Gabriela C. Zapata, investigates how social media platforms enable "produsage" through viewer comments, transforming content and fostering new online social communities. The second, "Eliza: Lessons from Interactive Novels about Publishing in the Era of AI" by Dora Kourkoulou, explores AI-driven content creation and its impact on authorship, narrative, and knowledge generation. These articles reflect the transformative influence of social media, participatory culture, and AI on publishing. They highlight the evolving roles of authors, publishers, and readers and the need for critical discourse to address ethical and accessibility concerns. This issue invites scholars and practitioners to reconsider the boundaries for what is considered in the evolving landscape of publishing, where technology and human creativity intersect to shape the future of media and information in our society. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study focused on the development and validation of the Sense of Online Community Scale (SOCS), which includes 28 Likert-type scale items across six subscales: (a) program community, (b) program academic activities, (c) program social activities, (d) institutional academic activities, (e) institutional social activities, and (f) affiliation. The validation process included an implementation with 293 learners enrolled in online programs at a higher education institution in the eastern United States. The model was evaluated with and without outliers, and results show that the model aligned well with the SOCS. The means of all items except one exceeded 3.5 on a 5.0 scale, ranging from 1 (strongly disagree) to 5 (strongly agree). Time in an online program was not a statistically significant predictor of the validation model, though most of our participants were in the first or second year of their degree programs. Findings demonstrate that the SOCS is a reliable and valid instrument that other researchers may use to investigate community in online environments on both the program and the institutional level. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study analyses how affective stance is used for evaluation and positioning in fan discourse. Adopting a corpus-based approach, the paper focuses on affective stance verbs in an English-speaking popular media fandom on three social media platforms, Twitter, Tumblr, and Reddit. Fans use affective stance to construct positions in relation to the popular media franchise, in this case a popular Japanese manga and anime series. By combining quantitative and qualitative linguistic analysis the study shows that stancetaking verbalises fans' investment in the fictional world of the narrative media, in the franchise production, and in the context of fan productivity. The discursively constructed positions reflect common fan practices such as publicising fan affect and emotions, reviewing the franchise critically, and sharing textual fan productivity. The analysis associates platform differences with the social norms of the fans and the technological affordances that enable their interaction. Because hashtag-based interaction on micro-blogs is primarily indirect, the study argues that the interactive functions of stance can be understood in relation to the general fandom affect. • Stancetaking in a narrative media fandom marks investment in fictional world. • Social media platforms vary in frequency and function of stance verb constructions. • Positions taken through stancetaking reflect the practices of the online community. • Stance as an interactive process occurs in relation to the general fandom affect. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Despite the existence of official system-based support in the United States like Independent Living Programs funded under the US Chafee Program since 1999, people who are transitioning or have transitioned out of the foster care system continue to experience disproportionately negative outcomes in relation to their peers. In addition to or in lieu of system-based interventions, some people with lived experience in foster care turn to online communities to seek informal peer-based support and connection. This study is a descriptive, quantitative analysis of qualitatively-coded posts from an online community for people with lived experience in the foster care system. The study provides empirical evidence and insights into some of the benefits and risks of membership in one such community. The results indicate that people with lived experience discussed topics of importance to the transition to adulthood in ways that are distinct from people who have not spent time in the foster care system. Within the discussion by people with lived experience, topics related to risks and protective factors tended to be discussed more negatively and with higher rates of personal disclosure, while topics that moved beyond basic needs were discussed with greater diversity of sentiment and speech acts. The implications of these findings include impetus for establishing guidelines aimed at caregivers, social workers, and tech companies that can allow individuals with lived experience in the foster care system to engage in online communities in ways that ensure access to the potential benefits while mitigating the risks. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Organizing games by categories based on playstyle (e.g. single-player vs. multiplayer) makes sense from a marketing perspective, but when it comes to organizing players into such categories, things get tricky. To illustrate that categorizing players based on preferences for single-player vs. multiplayer games may be problematic, we analysed millions of posts in Reddit for single-player and multiplayer games to see which players use more extroversion (pro-social) words, citing research suggesting that those who prefer multiplayer games should use more extroversion words. We found no noticeable differences between the two groups, although unexpectedly single-player gamers did use more extroversion words in a statistically significant manner. Ultimately, we offer caution that categorization of games and gamers – although useful at times – can oversimplify assumed preferences and, when not critically examined, may lead to the reification of misleading and exclusionary categories of both games and the people who play them. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

People use online communities for knowledge exchange. To uncover the motivations behind individual's online behavior, prior research has examined the shared norms and values among community members from a cultural perspective. However, there remains a lack of unified conceptualization and measurement in this regard. I address this gap by introducing the concept of online community culture and developing a measurement scale from community member's perspective. Following the scale development paradigm, I collected data from a total of 1011 individuals across four surveys to assess the convergent, discriminant, and predictive validity of the scale. As a result, I present a scale that captures two types of cultural values that are expected to be associated with community members' knowledge contributions, namely aggressive culture and supportive culture. Limitations and guidelines for future research are also discussed.

Academic interest in understanding the impact of user-generated content (UGC) on consumer behavior in digital marketing has grown exponentially. However, we know little about the effect of UGC on customers’ online purchase intention from developing country aspects. This underpins the current study to examine the impact of UGC on the purchase intentions of university graduates in Bangladesh. With a convenient sampling approach, a structured questionnaire was provided directly to 400 respondents; 275 usable and complete responses were extracted for data analysis. Data were empirically validated using principal component analysis, reliability test, correlation, and Hayes PROCESS macro for regression and simple mediation analysis. The findings revealed that bloggers’ recommendations, online communities, and social media content positively and significantly influence customers’ online purchase intention. Brand image also directly impacts purchase intention and mediates the relationship between bloggers’ recommendations, online community, social media content, and online purchase intention. The results of this study will facilitate policymakers and online marketers in devising UGC management policies and digital marketing strategies. The study’s results may also help online marketers, sellers, and brand representatives to understand how to enhance brand image and amplify customers’ online purchasing behavior.

This autoethnography explores the use of censorship as a consequential function of social media moderation. Reflections on my time as a community reviewer for a social media platform focus on censorship processes observed on a geographically-based social media platform, OurStreet (a pseudonym). I discovered that censorship occurs through mechanisms that permit subjective overreach of aggressive tactics that create marginalized perspectives and users. Implications focus on the consequences of kangaroo courts within social media platforms.

On social media, the way identity is presented is a misrepresentation of reality, which does not set the proper framework and opens the way for Incel ideology and other equally severe societal problems. Essentially, there is a fine line between having a place to vent emotionally and developing your identity and encouraging beliefs and attitudes that society does not want. The first one is positive, while the second one risks causing harm to others, both physically and emotionally. The anonymity of the internet can promote an aggressive and sometimes borderline violent environment when opinions clash. In fact, the online environment is now a more effective and globalised way of spreading extremist messages and targeting disaffected and marginalised young people to enlist them in violent causes. In fact, the online environment is now a more effective and globalised way of spreading extremist messages and targeting disaffected and marginalised young people to enlist them in violent causes. This article aims to provide an informed understanding of the Incel ideology's scope and nature. The paper considers how the Incel ideology has evolved, including its changing perspective, to demonstrate how members of this community can be a factor in the rise of cybercrime.

The growing use of digital platforms among older adults has brought increased challenges to the design and development process, thus requiring considering age-related needs and changes. Nonetheless, a growing body of research suggests that different types of applications of digital platforms, i.e., digital games, can foster new opportunities to encourage active and healthy ageing (AHA) by promoting knowledge acquisition, developing competences, fostering well-being, and deepening social connections. Therefore, this study aims to assess older adults’ perspectives and participation in digital game-related strategies and how these can foster AHA. A mixed-methods approach was applied, resorting to field notes and a questionnaire, involving 18 participants aged between 63 and 81, at the Ageing Lab (Laboratório do Envelhecimento). Through 10 exploratory digital gaming-related sessions over approximately two months, participants were introduced to game-related strategies and online communities. Overall, this study sustained previous research about the influence of digital games and online communities in the promotion of AHA, by encouraging participation in society, acquisition of new digital competences in the dimensions of information and data literacy, communication and collaboration, and safety; and maintaining one’s health and well-being. Moreover, findings suggest that continued contact with information and communication technologies stimulates digital proficiency, thus further fostering inclusion in an increasingly digital society.

Shifting to negativity is more and more prevalent in online communities and may play a key role in group polarization. While current research indicates a close relationship between group polarization and negative sentiment, they often link negative sentiment shifts with echo chambers and misinformation within echo chambers. In this work, we explore the sentiment drift using over 4 million comments from a Chinese online movie-rating community that is less affected by misinformation than other mainstream online communities and has no echo chamber structures. We measure the sentiment shift of the community and users of different engagement levels. Our analysis reveals that while the community does not show a tendency toward negativity, users of higher engagement levels are generally more negative, considering factors like the different movies they consume. The results indicate a fitting-in process, suggesting the possible mechanism of group identity on sentiment shift on social media platforms. These findings also provide guidance on web design to tackle the negativity issue and expand sentiment shift analysis to non-English contexts.

Abstract Background During public health emergencies, online community users can obtain social support and assistance through information interaction in the online community. This study takes the COVID-19 pandemic as the context and aims to analyze the influence of user information interaction in online communities on the acquisition of social support during this public health emergency. Methods Data collected from help-seeking posts in the “COVID-19 Patients Help-Seeking Dialog” subforum on China’s Sina Weibo were used as the research sample. The influence of the frequency of interaction and responsiveness on help seekers’ receipt of online social support was analyzed, and the moderating effect of help seekers’ identity type and intensity of online community use was explored. Results The results reveal that the frequency of interaction positively impacts informational support (β = 0.367, p

Abstract Introduction Care Opinion is an online feedback platform supporting patients to author stories about their care. It is not known whether authors would be willing to be involved in improving care through research. The aims of this study were to explore the views and preferences of Care Opinion authors about joining an online research community and to pilot new research community functionality. Methods Five hundred and nine Care Opinion authors were invited to take part in an online survey in June 2019. Survey items included questions about participants' willingness to take part in research and their preferences for supporting processes. Data were analysed descriptively. Authors were invited to consent to join a research community and were asked to participate in three pilot studies. Results One hundred and sixty‐three people consented to take part in the survey (32%). Participants indicated they would like to know the time commitment to the project (146, 90%), details about the organization carrying out the research (124, 76%) and safeguarding information (124, 76%). Over half indicated that they did not know how to get involved in healthcare research (87, 53%). Subsequently, 667 authors were invited to join the research community, 183 (27%) accepted, and three studies were matched to their expressed preferences for project attributes or organization type. Conclusion Many people who leave online feedback about their experiences of healthcare are also willing to join a research community via that platform. They have strong preferences for supporting University and NHS research. Eligibility and acceptance rates to join pilot research studies varied. Further work is needed to grow the research community, increase its diversity, and create relevant and varied opportunities to support research. Patient or Public Contribution Four members of the Safety In Numbers patient and public involvement and engagement (PPIE) group advised about survey development.

Distance education is increasingly becoming a major alternative to traditional education with higher institutions vying for global students over the past decade. This article assesses students’ readiness for information and communication technology in distance learning in Ghana. Students from higher institutions were surveyed using the cluster sampling method. The SPSS version 21 software was used to analyse the data and generate both descriptive and inferential statistics such as cross-tabulation, chi-square and one-way ANOVA. The findings of the study included low computer literacy of computer-based online learning systems, high expenditure on internet data, and low but effective online study community using social media. Online resource usage categories were found to differ between students for different institutions. Also, confidence in using computer to learn does not correlate with internet usage history. The study concluded that solid foundation in computer literacy at the preceding educational level is critical to easy adoption and integration of ICT at the tertiary level. Finally, we recommend the promotion of more online learning communities for learners and with their lecturers. Résumé : L'enseignement à distance devient de plus en plus une alternative majeure à l'enseignement traditionnel, les établissements d'enseignement supérieur se disputant les étudiants du monde entier au cours de la dernière décennie. Cet article évalue l'état de préparation des étudiants aux technologies de l'information et de la communication dans le cadre de l'enseignement à distance au Ghana. Les étudiants des établissements d'enseignement supérieur ont été interrogés à l'aide de la méthode d'échantillonnage en groupes. Le logiciel SPSS version 21 a été utilisé pour analyser les données et générer des statistiques descriptives et inférentielles telles que les tableaux croisés, le chi-carré et l'ANOVA à sens unique. Les résultats de l'étude comprennent une faible connaissance informatique des systèmes d'apprentissage en ligne basés sur l'ordinateur, des dépenses élevées en données Internet, et une communauté d'étude en ligne peu nombreuse mais efficace utilisant les médias sociaux. Les catégories d'utilisation des ressources en ligne diffèrent d'un étudiant à l'autre en fonction de l'établissement. En outre, la confiance dans l'utilisation de l'ordinateur pour apprendre n'est pas en corrélation avec l'historique de l'utilisation de l'internet. L'étude conclut qu'une base solide de connaissances informatiques au niveau éducatif précédent est essentielle pour faciliter l'adoption et l'intégration des TIC au niveau tertiaire. Enfin, nous recommandons de promouvoir davantage de communautés d'apprentissage en ligne pour les apprenants et leurs professeurs

This study focused on the development and validation of the Sense of Online Community Scale (SOCS), which includes 28 Likert-type scale items across six subscales: (a) program community, (b) program academic activities, (c) program social activities, (d) institutional academic activities, (e) institutional social activities, and (f) affiliation. The validation process included an implementation with 293 learners enrolled in online programs at a higher education institution in the eastern United States. The model was evaluated with and without outliers, and results show that the model aligned well with the SOCS. The means of all items except one exceeded 3.5 on a 5.0 scale, ranging from 1 (strongly disagree) to 5 (strongly agree). Time in an online program was not a statistically significant predictor of the validation model, though most of our participants were in the first or second year of their degree programs. Findings demonstrate that the SOCS is a reliable and valid instrument that other researchers may use to investigate community in online environments on both the program and the institutional level.

Objectives: This paper evaluates a collaborative intervention between public health professionals and local social media administrators, in which the social media site Facebook was used with a view to strengthening engagement with and, dissemination of, core messages and building trust and resilience within local communities during the COVID-19 pandemic. Study design: A qualitative design was used, exploring the research question: how does collaboration between public health professionals and local social network group administrators create community engagement during a global crisis? Methods: Fourteen semi-structured interviews were conducted with public health staff and online group administrators. Data was analysed using framework analysis. Results: Collaboration between public health professionals and local group administrators created both opportunities and challenges. Local group administrators had wide reach and trust within the local community, but message credibility was enhanced through local authority involvement. Such collaborations contain inherent tensions due to perceived risks to social capital and independence but can be successful if receiving strong risk-tolerant support from the local authority. Findings are discussed in the context of Bourdieu's theory of social capital to examine how public health information can be delivered by trusted social media actors in communication tailored to the local community. Conclusions: Social media provides new channels of communication for delivery of public health messages, enabling new ways of working which create long-term engagement and community building. Although the intervention was developed quickly in response to the COVID-19 pandemic, participants felt it could be mobilised to address a wider range of issues.

Online communities provide ample opportunities for user self-expression but generally lack the means for average users to exercise direct control over community policies. This article sets out to identify a set of strategies and techniques through which the voices of participants might be better heard through defined mechanisms for institutional governance. Drawing on Albert O. Hirschman's distinction between "exit" and "voice" in institutional life, it introduces a further distinction between two kinds of participation: effective voice, as opposed to the far more widespread practices of affective voice. Effective voice is a form of individual or collective speech that brings about a binding effect according to transparent processes. Platform developers and researchers might explore this neglected form of voice by introducing mechanisms for authority and accountability, collective action, and community evolution. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Brand fandom refers to a collection of consumers with strong emotions toward a brand. Studying the dynamics of brand fandom can help brands understand which services or strategies influence their consumers to become a part of brand fandom. However, existing literature on fandom in the last three decades has mainly used qualitative methods, and there is still a lack of research on fandom using quantitative methods. Specifically, previous studies lack a framework for locating fandoms from online textual data and analyzing their dynamics. This study proposes a framework for exploring brand fandom dynamics based on online textual data. This framework consists of four phases based on the design thinking model: Preparing Data, Defining Fandom Categories, Generating Fandom Dynamics, and Analyzing Fandom Dynamics. This framework uses techniques such as social network analysis and process mining, combined with brand personality theory. We demonstrate the applicability of this framework using case studies of two Korean home appliance brands. The dataset contains 14,593 posts by consumers in 374 online communities. The results show that the proposed framework can analyze brand fandom dynamics using textual customer data. Our study contributes to the interdisciplinary research at the intersection of data-driven service design and consumer culture quantification. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Creating brand posts that stimulate customer interaction in online communities is both vital and challenging to marketing managers. Using social communication process theoretical framework (i.e. SMCR), the current study examines the impact of brand posts in online brand communities on students’ responses in ways that potentially co-create value for universities and illustrate the moderating role of community types. Results show that source credibility and argument quality of online posts are positively associated with both cognitive and affective response, thus motivating brand co-creation activities, while information quantity has insignificant effect on affective response. Additionally, members of communities managed by different parties (student-created vs university-created communities) exhibit a different tendency to develop community and contribute to brand value. Thus, different digital strategies depending on the type of community host are suggested to capture the highest possible co-creation value from these communities. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract Majority opinions are often observed in online environments. Previous studies have demonstrated that majority opinions are constructed because people with minority opinions have fear of isolation, which forces them to be silent. However, we often observe that online users with different minority opinions fight each other, even though there are only a few. To explain this phenomenon, we developed a new theoretical model and examined it through the analysis of Reddit data. The results show that users in small communities expressed relatively homogeneous and less negative opinions, and constructed majority opinions that were not as strong as those in large communities. Contrarily, users in large communities showed relatively heterogeneous and more negative opinions, and built majority opinions more strongly than those in small communities. This implies that the model can properly explain why and how majority-opinion users are silent and why minority-opinion users are loud. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

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The growing use of digital platforms among older adults has brought increased challenges to the design and development process, thus requiring considering age-related needs and changes. Nonetheless, a growing body of research suggests that different types of applications of digital platforms, i.e., digital games, can foster new opportunities to encourage active and healthy ageing (AHA) by promoting knowledge acquisition, developing competences, fostering well-being, and deepening social connections. Therefore, this study aims to assess older adults' perspectives and participation in digital game-related strategies and how these can foster AHA. A mixed-methods approach was applied, resorting to field notes and a questionnaire, involving 18 participants aged between 63 and 81, at the Ageing Lab (Laboratório do Envelhecimento). Through 10 exploratory digital gaming-related sessions over approximately two months, participants were introduced to game-related strategies and online communities. Overall, this study sustained previous research about the influence of digital games and online communities in the promotion of AHA, by encouraging participation in society, acquisition of new digital competences in the dimensions of information and data literacy, communication and collaboration, and safety; and maintaining one's health and well-being. Moreover, findings suggest that continued contact with information and communication technologies stimulates digital proficiency, thus further fostering inclusion in an increasingly digital society. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Incels, or involuntary celibates, are a community of typically heterosexual young men who wish to, but do not, have sexual and romantic relationships with women. As a community, they have previously been characterised by their hatred for women and violent acts against members of society who they believe prevent them from having relations with women. In this paper, we highlight the pervasiveness of metaphor in incel communication, so far unaddressed in the budding studies of incel language. Specifically, using a sample of circa 22,500 words from the banned incel Reddit forum r/Braincels, we focus on how members of this community use metaphoric expressions to dehumanise gendered social actors, both as individuals and as groups. We discuss our findings against the backdrop of metaphor approaches to language, gender, and sexuality, and the relevance of dehumanising metaphorical rhetoric for online misogynist groups. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The Narratives of Neurodiversity Network (NNN) is a neurodivergent academic, creative, and educator collective that came together with allies during the Covid‐19 pandemic to create a network centred around emerging narratives about neuro-diversity and exploring new ways of learning and socialising. The network focuses on exploring the roles of written, spoken, and visual narratives across cultural locations about neuro‐atypical experiences in generating improved agency and self‐advocacy for those who have been subject to pathologization through neuro‐normativity and intersecting oppression. During the last year, widening access to digital platforms has provided a space to explore these issues outside of traditional academic spaces. We run a monthly “Salon,” our mixed‐media “reading, listening, and watching” group, in an effort to find positive representation within contemporary culture. Discussions have moved beyond mimesis and into a consideration of how narrative and storyworlds can question the supposed naturalness of certain ways of being in and perceiving the world. This article interrogates the network’s core principles of nonhierarchical co‐production, including the roles of creativity, community, identity, and emancipatory research which were animated by the new techno‐social context. We consider the cultural lives of neurodiversity in the West and beyond, including ethical and aesthetic dimensions. We share a faith in the power of storytelling to inform new social identities for neurodivergent people and to inform scientific understandings of atypical cognition. In exploring this, we speak through a porous first‐person plural narrator, to unsettle the idea that there is a hegemonic “we” speaking on behalf of all neurodivergent people.

While online communities may enhance firm performance, they commonly fail to retain members. To address this challenge, scholars and managers call for the use of gamification. However, despite gamification's growing use in online communities, insight into its effect on member experience and behaviours remain limited. We hypothesise that gamification affects member-perceived distributive and procedural justice. In experimental studies, we assess the impact of in-gamification perceived justice on member contributions. We find that while high in-gamification perceived procedural justice acts as a necessary prerequisite for member contributions, high distributive justice can reduce game-related uncertainty, thereby rendering gamified practices less fun, particularly for low-engaged community members that tend to value rewards. We add to the literature by (a) pinpointing the core role of perceived justice in the persistence of online communities, and (b) unveiling that high distributive justice can lead gamification to backfire in online communities by affecting member experience and contributions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: During public health emergencies, online community users can obtain social support and assistance through information interaction in the online community. This study takes the COVID-19 pandemic as the context and aims to analyze the influence of user information interaction in online communities on the acquisition of social support during this public health emergency. Methods: Data collected from help-seeking posts in the "COVID-19 Patients Help-Seeking Dialog" subforum on China's Sina Weibo were used as the research sample. The influence of the frequency of interaction and responsiveness on help seekers' receipt of online social support was analyzed, and the moderating effect of help seekers' identity type and intensity of online community use was explored. Results: The results reveal that the frequency of interaction positively impacts informational support (β = 0.367, p < 0.001) and negatively impacts emotional support (β=-0.240, p < 0.001), and the responsiveness of other users toward help-seeking posts positively impacts emotional support (β = 0.145, p < 0.01). Moreover, help seeker's identity type and intensity of online community use significantly moderate the relationship between the frequency of interaction and the emotional support obtained by the help seeker. Conclusions: The study highlights the impact of user information interaction on obtaining help-seeking information from online communities for social support. The initiative would facilitate the resolution of issues related to users' information help-seeking during public health emergencies. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In precision marketing for online communities, the existing text-based methods of user positioning cannot position new users rapidly, and they have low positioning efficiency when there is a large number of users. This research proposes a systematic method for the positioning of online community users. In this method, text mining and clustering algorithms are combined to cluster users, and then the user clusters are effectively matched with users' basic attributes through a multinomial logistic regression model. By this means, efficient positioning under the circumstances of a rapid increase in new users and a large number of users can be achieved. Calculation results from a real world example show that this method can effectively solve the problems found in traditional user positioning methods and provides a productive new approach to community user positioning. The study also offers suggestions for user classification management from the perspective of precision marketing. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Introduction: Patients are increasingly turning to other sources for their health information. Social media has become mainstream, and the easy access to online communities, health professionals, and shared experiences of other patients has made social media a place where many patients turn to. Methods: In this qualitative report, 2 patients who have had breast cancer describe the reasons why they use social media, what they perceive the advantages and disadvantages are, and what the impact of social media has been through their cancer treatment and beyond. Results: The reasons why patients turn to social media are varied. These can include information gathering, peer support, shared experiences, and advocacy. There appear to be advantages and disadvantages; however, overall, the impact seems to be a positive one when used judiciously. Discussion: It is clear that social media has a role to play in healthcare, whether by providing meaningful social connections, delivery of information, or psychological support. Healthcare professionals perhaps should consider the importance of social media in their practice. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study seeks to foreground the concept of 'affective mediation,' which is defined as an interventionist process in translation wherein affect is matched, managed, and modulated between communicating bodies. Situated in the context of fan translation, this study utilizes a multimodal analysis of the subtitling practice of Hiddles' Translation Army of China, a Chinese internet-based, celebrity-oriented fan translation group, and identifies three ways its fansubbers mediate affect toward the object of fandom, i.e., British actor, Tom Hiddleston. The findings suggest that the fansubber's mediation is conducive to restructuring the affective configuration in the target text and creates a site for emotive performance in fansubbing. The study also argues that affect-mediated fansubbing opens a new space outside the diegetic zone for an imagined interaction and relationship between the entire fandom community and the object of fandom. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Introduction: Despite previous attempts to identify types of social support among postpartum mothers, researchers have overlooked how and why postpartum mothers seek and offer social support as well as the dynamics of participation in online communities. Objective and Methods: The objective of the current study was to explore possible answers through grounded theory approach of interviews with 24 mothers who have experienced postpartum depression and psychological distress. Results: The primary motivation to join the community was a desire for connectedness and reassurance. Initially engaged to seek information, users began to share not only informational and tangible support, but also emotional and esteem support as they gained comfort with their membership in these groups. Conclusion: Findings suggest that affirming normalcy while coping with postpartum distress is an integral part of the social support shared among postpartum mothers. Moreover, the findings indicated that to maximize the sustainability as well as the effectiveness of online communities for postpartum mothers, motivating silent users to participate and reciprocate is crucial. Significance: What is already known Many postpartum mothers have joined online communities to exchange information and social support with fellow moms in the group. Previous studies have found various motivations for postpartum moms joining online communities and what types of social support they share. However, what motivates postpartum mothers to get involved, stay in or leave online communities based on level of satisfaction with those communities remains unclear. What this study can add to the literature Two major motivations among postpartum mothers to join online social support groups were a need to communicate to end their sense of isolation and a desire to gather information from experienced people. After gaining a sense of group reliability, they began posting to seek and provide support. Through experiencing and observing the exchange of support within the community, postpartum mothers felt more attached to the group. They also developed the need to reciprocate support through empathy based on their development of in-group identity. In addition, the motivation to reciprocate stemmed from enhanced confidence in their own knowledge of postpartum symptoms. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Introduction: Care Opinion is an online feedback platform supporting patients to author stories about their care. It is not known whether authors would be willing to be involved in improving care through research. The aims of this study were to explore the views and preferences of Care Opinion authors about joining an online research community and to pilot new research community functionality. Methods: Five hundred and nine Care Opinion authors were invited to take part in an online survey in June 2019. Survey items included questions about participants' willingness to take part in research and their preferences for supporting processes. Data were analysed descriptively. Authors were invited to consent to join a research community and were asked to participate in three pilot studies. Results: One hundred and sixty‐three people consented to take part in the survey (32%). Participants indicated they would like to know the time commitment to the project (146, 90%), details about the organization carrying out the research (124, 76%) and safeguarding information (124, 76%). Over half indicated that they did not know how to get involved in healthcare research (87, 53%). Subsequently, 667 authors were invited to join the research community, 183 (27%) accepted, and three studies were matched to their expressed preferences for project attributes or organization type. Conclusion: Many people who leave online feedback about their experiences of healthcare are also willing to join a research community via that platform. They have strong preferences for supporting University and NHS research. Eligibility and acceptance rates to join pilot research studies varied. Further work is needed to grow the research community, increase its diversity, and create relevant and varied opportunities to support research. Patient or Public Contribution: Four members of the Safety In Numbers patient and public involvement and engagement (PPIE) group advised about survey development. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objective: To evaluate the online social support obtained by parents of children with autism. Methods: The social network location and post text features of the members in the online community were selected as model indicators to build a quantitative evaluation model of online social support. Two autism microblog communities were selected for analysis, and two parenting micro-blog communities were used as controls. Totally 408 parents of children with autism and 550 parents of normal children were included. Social network analysis and text analysis methods were used to explore the location of social networks and the characteristics of post texts, and the evaluation model was used to analyze the online social support acquisition of parents of autistic children. Results: The results of social network analysis showed that the closeness centrality of parents of autistic children in online communities was significantly higher than that of parents of normal children (P <0.001). The results of text analysis showed that there were no significant differences in text characteristics among different communities (P>0.05).The model evaluation results showed that the online social support scores of different communities were significantly different (P <0.001),and the online social evaluation scores were higher in parents of children with autism than in parents of normal children (Ps <0.001). Conclusion: Parents of children with autism form tight groups in the community and receive more online social support than parents of normal children. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objective: This article explores the interactions and digital practices of people involved in an online community dedicated to surrogacy and egg donation in the province of Québec, Canada. Background: Sociodigital networks, with the emergence of platforms such as Facebook groups, provide a space to discuss assisted reproduction, seek advice, offer support, and connect with other Internet users to negotiate and establish a third‐party reproduction agreement. Method: This study is based on a long‐term ethnographic field within a Facebook group, and individual interviews conducted with 22 members of this community. The data collected were analyzed inductively according to the principles of grounded theory. Results: Three themes emerged from the online interactions and stories of the women we met. First, the publication of intended parents' testimonies is the preferred method of finding a surrogate or egg donor match and is reminiscent of the language and rituals associated with dating sites. Second, the expression of legal and financial concerns occupies a prominent place in the group discussions, given the lack of a legislative framework in this Canadian province and the variability of interpretations of the current legal framework. Third, the choice made by surrogates and donors to be involved in an online community is not random and sometimes indicates of a desire to establish a sense of control over the process and to negotiate the modalities without the presence of an intermediary. Conclusion and implications: Facebook groups dedicated to infertility and assisted reproduction appear to be more than simply matchmakers, as the interactions that occur there perform various functions. In the absence of a formal organization dedicated to parents, surrogates, and donors in Québec, the online community becomes a place for information sharing, support, and networking. This offers avenues of intervention for professionals who need to reflect on and consider how online communities dedicated to third‐party reproduction may influence their practice. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]