Why do people use internet forums? (original) (raw)

The analysis above was based on a discussion in the first Swedish BBS, KOM, which was started in 1978 and got is peak usage in 1987 with about 1500 regular users. KOM was severely critised in TV and newspapers in Sweden in 1986-1987 for misuse (slander and racial prejudice in a small number of messages, which TV and newspapers wrongly presented as representative of how KOM was used). As a reaction to this, the KOM users started a discussion about the benefits of KOM, and the quoations below come from that discussion.

"KOM is like a living encyclopaedia, where you usually get many answers in a short time."

"You can even put a question in the middle of the night and get reply within a few minutes."

"We could not get the Swedish national characters printed on our printer. This plagued us for months, until I put in a question in KOM. Within a few hours, I had the solution."

"If you have special interests, you may only be able to talk about them to yourself. KOM has for me become the channel for contacts with alike-minded bout within and outside of my work."

"KOM is something of an elite group: everyone of importance in the computer area can be found in KOM. You can reach people of importance. I have regular contact with some of the most qualified experts in the country through KOM."

"The contacts through KOM got me into my work as computer consultant."

"I have contact with like-minded people, with the same burning interest for computers as I have. These contacts have several times grown into personal contacts with new friends."

"You regularly meet people you did not know before, and exchange very much information."