-What is your race?

Hmm - don't like this question at all. "Race" is a social term, it has no biological basis. Please explain why you are asking this question.

-Do you think that there is an explicit hierarchy at wotmania? If so, how does it break down?

No. I think people project a hierarchy onto the site that doesn't, in actuality, exist. If I had to "break it down", I'd say its really based on experience. Not the newbie, whatever, type of titles - but how experienced one is with the internet, chat rooms, message boards, etc. - essentially how web-savvy one is.

-Do you believe that there is a hierarchy at wotmania, but it isn’t officially noted by anyone? If so, how does this hierarchy break down?

By "officially", do you mean publicly sanctioned and endorsed? For example, that for it to be official, Mike has to say,"There is a hierarchy at wotmania."? No. There never will be. Mike works very hard to prevent this - as do the admins. Again, it comes down to being web-savvy. And, more importantly perhaps, how well one can communicate. Since the entire community is based solely on words, it is highly important to use correct English grammer, sentence structure, spelling, etc.

-Do the terms Elder, Midbie, and Newbie actually mean anything for a person, or is it just a title that establishes how long someone has been at the site?

It is important to note that these terms do not exist solely at this site. They cross-cut internet communities. It really has nothing to do with time, either. The reason "elders" occasionally are called "newbies" is because of the perceived inanity of their post. I've noticed that people who use improper grammer, have knee-jerk reactions, and/or are quick to strike out at others are often labeled "newbie" - to me, it indicates a lack of experience with the web - the rules, the etiquiette, etc.

-Do you think that the admins on the site are in higher standing than the other members?

No. They've never acted that way. I remember when many of the current admins were simply posters - Larry, Ras, Aemon, Burr, Dodge., Kit, etc. They are no different now then they were years ago. Again, its the projection of "higher standing" upon these people by some members of the community. If anything, I think that many of the admins keep a much lower profile now than they did when they were just posters. Paul, Pento, Burr, Kit - they all used to post a heck of lot more. For whatever reason (okay, Burr being in the military has something to do with it) they don't post as much anymore. I suspect that they are, in fact, trying not to appear "higher" than others - hence the low profile. ~shrugs~ I think the bigger point here, though, is that the admins are dedicated individuals who do their work for free. They expect nothing in return. So to say they have a "higher standing" is, I think, insulting. If anything, they should be lauded for helping to keep the community alive and kicking. (btw, I've been here long enough to remember when Mike and Pento were the only two admins)

-In your opinion, do those who post on the Community MB think that they are “better” than those on the WoT MB?

I have no idea. Frankly, don't care.

-In your opinion, do those who post on the WoT MB think that they are “better” than those on the Community MB?

See above.

Thank you.

You're welcome.

This post may seem a little rude. However, I think that the questions you are asking presume an outcome. By asking if there is a hierarchy, you are positioning the respondents to say if there is or not. Perhaps a better question would be, "How do you think that this on-line community relates to 'real life' communities?" Its more open-ended. It allows people to independently indicate whether they perceive a hierarchy or not, rather than allowing that to be the only answer. See what I mean?

Anyway, I'd like to see what comes of this. And, I wouldn't have responded if I hadn't thought that this was an interesting survey.

TTFN


Alana

Trying not to choke on hope.