Yo Robin

I like that "No offence intended kitchenpiper but," start to a trolling session! Is that responsibity deflector or what?

I think its great that people can ask/post questions to anyone/anywhere ... but the fabric of this can be endangered when someone takes the pseudo intellectual high ground to belittle another's offering.

Seeing as you have started this though, just a couple of points / questions....


"I am appalled - unless that sort of basic material has yet not been covered, but it is so basic that it should have been supplied within the first week or two - at the standards of the Instution initiating your study process..."
What basic material? Are suggesting that there is a universally recognised paper about mmudcat? Or are you suggesting that ALL online communities are identical? Should this "basic material" remain gospel ... or can it be challenged by new research? surely experiential resources/data have the same validity as inherited ones - especially seeing as the definitions of "community"and the cultural narrative of "on-line" constantly evolve as opportunuities develop.

Finally.....

Also, I am rather bemused that one is allowed to do a Masters level in an area of technical expertise with no relevant previous background... no wonder we had the rather volatile thread here about Academics recently, and no wonder some people were rather excited...
1, How do you know KP doesn't have the allegedly requisite technical expertise or background? 2, "technical" infers that an understanding of on-line communities depends upon primary knowledge of programming et al. "Communities" per se are based around the social relationship between people regardless of forum or medium. In the same way .... in order to drive my car ... I need to know how to interact with all the other people on the road ... and know how to control my car to do that. I don't really need to know what that red wire under the dashboard does. (what does it do? apart from deliberately catching on my key ring every time I get out).

All of this may of course be rubbish ... I know nothing about on line communities (though I do work for a company that designed Oracle's Think.com .... which is, I think, still the largest secure community in the world with membership in the millions).

Have a nice day