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Do you have a link to any of the dissertations? I've always considered forum sociology a fascinating topic.
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No, that's why I said "I was told" this. I used to live near a University and I did check the abstracts once, but couldn't find anything. Then I realized how many disciplines it could be under and gave up. Haven't Googled it in a few years, ought to go do that now that so much is on the 'net compared to ten years ago. It is interesting, though. When I took Primatology in college I spent some days observing at the zoo, they had a nice outdoor habitat for capuchins and it used to remind me of forum behaviors - you know, Alpha Males, even Alpha females on some boards.
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It's a been a few years since I was in the industry, but I think the first major treatment was
Community Building on the Web by Amy Jo Kim.