Becoming a Fighting 44

David,

You have done an excellent job describing the basics of your community. Even though I had no idea about it previously, after reading your paper I got a pretty clear picture of the community. 

I especially liked the introduction on how the community came together. The content, and technological affordances of the community are explained well and rituals for newcomers are illustrated in detail. Community belief and values are also communicated clearly. I have a question about roles though. Are there leaders who are not moderators? If so, what is the trajectory for them?

I think you got the joint enterprise and shared repertoire correct.  I’d expect more about how members are held accountable to the joint enterprise. The community definitely has its own shared repertoire. Elements of shared repertoire such as PMing and the jargon helped me understand their joint enterprise better. For example, they didn’t ban the usage of CCB even if they banned other slangs because it has been an important element in the shared repertoire.   

You also describe how learning happens by both saying how the practice has changed over time and discussing how members wield influence through politics of participation and reification.

I really enjoyed reading your paper and I am looking forward to reading others.

Ayça