Key points are not available for this paper at this time.
What makes computer-mediated groups tick and/or stick? To what degree are computer-mediated discussants really sustained “groups”? Does the grouping quality reflect anything beyond technical structure? Are technical structure and grouping related? How do threads define groups, or vice-versa? Does any of this change between academic and commercial networks?
Rafaeli et al. (Fri,) studied this question.