Social interaction in virtual communities: the significance of technology

In this paper, it is argued that supporting technology influences the way interaction occurs in a virtual community. The empirical part of the study comprises interviews with visitors at LunarStorm, the most popular online community among young people in Sweden. The study highlights a specific feature within the software environment of LunarStorm and the empirical data show that this feature strongly influences community life. Based on these findings it is argued that there is a need for further studies that aim for increasing the knowledge about the role of the technology.