The thing about blogging about weaving is that it cuts into your weaving time. This may explain why, though there are 200-400 people logged into the Weaving Today website at any one time, only a scant handful of them are signed in as members. I was the only one tonight, and one of as many as eight during the past couple of weeks. Members signed in are identified by username, so for the next few weeks I'll take a sample of how many folks total are represented.. Although there is no way of checking, I suspect that there are regular users who don't sign in, since it seems that guests can access pretty much anything on the site anyway.
Of the identifiable users (those who have posted) a reasonably clear picture emerges. Users fall into a couple of categories: People who spend a lot of time talking about weaving, and people who spend a lot of time weaving and go online for specific answers. Of the latter group, many are from other countries, although self-declaration is the only way to tell.
In my favorite forum, general weaving questions are posted and answered. Most often, threads run to a few posts, a starter question, followed by an answer from Madelyn, followed sometimes by a thank you from the original poster. In a few cases, someone other than Madelyn answers, in which case Madelyn corrects them or expands on their answer. In a very few cases, such as the thread involving using non-weaving tools for weaving applications, threads run longer.
Threads, for the most part, consist of questions by intermediate weavers who are exploring a new technique, using a new fiber, or are experiencing a difficulty they have not previously encountered. Also well represented are brand new weavers who have a loom they don't understand or who are seeking advice about what loom they should use as they begin to weave.
Before my next post, I plan to post a question to my favorite forum with a question designed to collect a number of responses. But right now, I need to go weave.
Becky, I appreciate the tone and style of your blog; it is creative and entertaining yet informative and insightful. In particular, the title of this blog post “But We’d Rather Be Weaving” captures a perceptive observation regarding the purpose of your research site: Weaving Today supports an activity that is primarily conducted offline. This purpose is very different than, say, World of Warcraft where the primary activity is experienced and conducted online.
ReplyDeleteYou identified two categories of users: those who converse about weaving and those who use the forum to find specific answers. Both types of users are engaging in socially-situated literacy practices, but it seems that they are using the Weaving Today site to participate in different types of practices. Is there any evidence to demonstrate how each user type participates in the site? Is there a discussion thread that demonstrates how the first group of users—those who converse about weaving—are contributing and exchanging ideas? Likewise, you mentioned your favorite forum and the exchange of information that occurs between novice or intermediate users and experts, specifically Madelyn. Is there a specific discussion thread that represents your assessment?
Your plan to post an explicit question and analyze the data should yield interesting results. I look forward to ascertaining your outcomes.