Some online communities struggle to remain active, but others have had consistent engagement for over a decade. Is there a secret to their success?

In an era typified by chatrooms and social media channels dedicated to many kinds of topics, it’s easier than ever to find like-minded people online with the same niche interests. But, while finding like-minded people has become easier, many creators, video game guild leaders, and would-be group admins have struggled to keep their communities active—and sometimes they even struggle to find members willing to be active in the first place. So, what is the key to building a strong and active online community?

THE RESEARCH 

In their research article “​​Understanding Why Players Engage in Massively Multiplayer Online Role-Playing Game (MMORPG) Guilds: From the Perspective of Core Community Commonalities,” Jen-Ruei Fu and I-Wei Lu investigated what kept members of a video game guild invested and engaged in the community. After surveying 309 players in an online guild from a massively multiplayer online role-playing game (MMORPG), the researchers discovered that the primary motivator for community engagement wasn’t from extrinsic sources such as enjoyment and trades, as might be expected. 

Instead, the researchers found that reputation enhancement (being perceived favorably by others) and reciprocity (giving help because you expect help later) were the primary motivators of community engagement. The researchers investigated these results through social identity theory, which can suggest that “the absence of social cues in computer-mediated communication environments” tends to increase focus on social identity and group identity (73). 

Notably, several survey questions measured reputation by focusing on whether players were willing to answer questions from other players; other questions measured reciprocity by focusing on whether players perceived any benefits from answering other players’ questions. This approach to measuring reciprocity and reputation indicates one method of building engagement in online communities: asking questions of other community members and reliably answering community members’ questions. The researchers also recommended informing members of group rules and regulations to ensure that the community indeed fosters a shared moral responsibility.

“This study concurs with the proposition of SIDE and demonstrates that the core community commonalities could be utilized as essential community-based processes of social influence to motivate members’ engagement behavior in fictional environment.”

Jen-Ruei Fu and I-Wei Lu (2020)

THE IMPLICATIONS

As the internet becomes more important as a center of community, players looking to create an online identity for themselves will look toward online groups, but retaining these players’ attention comes from encouraging them to both ask and answer questions. Facilitating the growth of reputation and reciprocity in this way creates a sense of individual responsibility in players, a sense that will affect the way players engage with the guild and other online communities. By establishing clear community rules and creating reciprocity through the asking and answering of questions, community managers can help foster a strong group identity that will ensure members of the community find belonging. And, ultimately, it’s this sense of responsibility and belonging that makes a community more likely to remain active. 

To learn more about creating an active community online, read the full article:

Fu, Jen-Ruei and I-Wei Fu. “Understanding Why Players Engage in Massively Multiplayer Online Role-Playing Game (MMORPG) Guilds: From the Perspective of Core Community Commonalities.” Management Review 40 (2021): 71–93. https://www.management-review.org/uploads/pdf/paper/mr_2021_3_jul_03.pdf. 

—Merlin Blanchard, Netiquette

FEATURE IMAGE BY BROOKLE CAGLE

Find more research

Take a look at Karlie Kelsch’s Netiquette article for more tips on how to improve interactions online: “Step up to the Blame Plate: Improving Online Interactions by Increasing Accountability.”

Read Xiao-Ling Jin et al.’s (2016) article to find out more about user reciprocity in answering and asking questions: “Why users keep answering questions in online question answering communities: A theoretical and empirical investigation.” International Journal of Information Management, 33, no. 1: 93–104. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ijinfomgt.2012.07.007.