PhD research: "Adopt" a N00b?

[Inevittable]

I would be grateful if you could take some time to join this discussion to help me gather data for my thesis. There is a thread here which you are very welcome to join to discuss the research project or ask questions. To help keep this thread on topic, I'll respond to queries about the project as a whole there.

“Adopt” a n00b
As most of you will be aware this forum has been in existence for some time. A while ago I started a discussion thread about the early days of this forum and how things have changed since the TV show started. Some of the responses inferred that there was a period of time during which the “older” (for want of a better word) forum members were actively trying to integrate new members into the forum, one person (Gertrude) even mentions an “adopt a floob” programme. You can see the whole thread here.

Is this right? Was there a feeling of a joint effort to bring n00bs into the fold? Could you tell me what was happening around that time? How did the “adopt a floob” programme work? What are the important things that a new forum member needs to learn about the forum while they’re being “integrated”? Is it still possible to “adopt” a noob? If you joined the forum since the TV show started, what were your experiences like?




Some small print...
I am currently studying towards a PhD in Media, Culture and Communication at Keele University. My project title is An online ethnography of the fan community of the A Song of Ice and Fire novels and the Game of Thrones television adaptation and my aim is to investigate the history and current practices of the fan community of A Song of Ice and Fire and Game of Thrones.

With the permission of the owners of this website I am initiating this thread to try and encourage discussion about the topic described above. This topic is just one part of a much larger research project, and you may notice other threads around the forum.

An information sheet is available here, which will hopefully address any questions you may have about the research. The information sheet contains information about the research process, and also information about how your posts to this thread will be used. You are under no obligation to take part, however your help in the project would be much appreciated.

By posting in this thread you are agreeing to the statements on the consent sheet which is part of the information sheet linked to above. By posting in the thread you are agreeing that you are over 18.

If you have any queries please let me know.


Many thanks,
Inevittable