Zoklet: A venture into the world of

virtual community

Why are people actively involved in using the Zoklet forum?

Research Report

Vincent Francesco Research Project AUT University

 Abstract

Whilst most research on message boards tends to focus their functions or services,
this research addresses the online message board medium itself. The current study
surveyed motivation behind active involvement in the Zoklet forum using an online
questionnaire. The research findings indicate various motivational factors, which
many members share. Whether or not there is an essential motivation responsible
for active involvement in online message boards is something that requires further
research.
 Zoklet: A venture into the world of virtual
community

Literature concerning concepts of both traditional community & online community

were surveyed. Traditional concepts of community were reviewed through
Oldenburg’s (1997) “third place” community, Durkheim’s (as cited in Moore, 1997)
organic community, Tonnies’ (as cited in Bell & Newby, 2005) Gemeinschaft
community and Wood & Judikis’ (2002) requisites for community. The general outline
of community is proximal, personal and intimate. Wood & Judikis (2002) however,
further conceptualized community as a social contract pre-defined by certain terms
and conditions.

Online community was reviewed through various virtual mediums of communication,

which includes message boards 1 (Ransom, Guardia, & Woody et.al, 2010, William &
Copes, 2006), social networking websites2 (Harrison & Thomas, 2009, Orr, Sisic &
Ross et.al, 2010, Stuart, 2002) and online games 3 (Adams, 2009). The
overwhelming theme was that message boards pertain to knowledge, social
networking sites pertain to socialising and online games pertain to meaning making.

Whilst knowledge is said to be essential to the online message board, William &
Copes (2006) also found that the concept of the “outsider” is pivotal to the livelihood
of message boards. In this way motivation centres on knowledge, however
motivation must at least in part stem “outside” of knowledge. Because of this, the
literature review did not answer the research question, meaning primary data needed
to be collected.

Primary data was collected online via the Zoklet forum. The participants were sent
via private message a questionnaire asking why they used the Zoklet forum and
what they got out of it. Furthermore a content analysis was conducted, which found
various motivational factors were prominent.

Method/Methodology

Participants

Participants were selected for involvement on the basis of their Zoklet membership 4.
Both purposive and systematic sampling techniques were used. Purposive sampling
was used on the basis of erudite familiarity5. Systematic sampling was used on the
basis of high post count6. The researcher contacted fifty three users in total, though
only fifteen chose to participate.

Procedure

Information was collected via the internet, specifically within the Zoklet forum using
private messaging. The private message used for all participants contained the
recruitment script, information sheet and questionnaire. This initial data collection
was conducted from 17th-25th June, 2010. Data collected was individually interpreted,
which was subsequently contently analysed. The data analysis was conducted from
27th June- 1st July 2010.

Instrumentation

The data collection instrument was a questionnaire, specifically an online mail

questionnaire. This consisted of five questions, some of which contained pre-emptive
segments. All of the questions were open ended, with the exception the few pre-
emptive segments (i.e. questions 2a], 2b] ). The questionnaire was designed to flow
from individual motivation to communal motivation. Specifically the questionnaire
inquired regarding initial attraction to the forum, the appeal of sub-forums7,
perception of benefit, personal and extra personal meaning, and the nature of Zoklet
as a community. Information which was garnered from the questionnaire was refined
using a content analysis (Nueman, 2006)

Results

From the content analysis, a host of motivational factors emerged. Motivational

factors were compartmentalized into “common” and “minor” according to the
prominence within the participants responses. The common motivational factors
were TOTSE8, recreation and knowledge. The minor motivational factors were global
aspect, trolling9 and non-persection.

Key motivational factors

TOTSE
TOTSE is a message board which pre-dates Zoklet. The TOTSE message board
began in 1997 and ceased transmission in January 2009. To give context to the
relationship between TOTSE and Zoklet: Zoklet began in 07-18-2003, Zoklet
membership rose from 58 on January 12th 2009 to 1,758 by January, 31st 2009. The
influx of 1,700 users in 19 days was the result of TOTSE closing, and its founder
“Jeff Hunter” posting a link to Zoklet on the main page; heralding Zoklet as TOTSE’s
reincarnation. The Zoklet forum’s structure is based on the TOTSE forum. Most
participants reported that they previously held membership on TOTSE. Moloch said:
“Well, once I saw that Totse had closed back in January, I had such a sense of loss, I
felt as if I was lonelier... Now that I saw they were all here at Zoklet, I felt the
excitement in all the information once more. So I joined and then decided that I would
even like to participate in the boards.”

Knowledge

According to participants the motivational factor of knowledge includes information,

data, and discourse. Knowledge includes words/language, which make up the bulk
of the forums content. Participants purported knowledge on Zoklet as accessibility to
ideas, science, thoughts, insight and even recipes. Mephistopheles said:
“The knowledge gained from the Zoklet community is one of the most influential
aspects of my life. There’s a lot learned as for insight into the human condition as well as
learning about the world.”

Abezethibou surmises Mephistopheles’s quote:

“The influence of Zoklet on my life could be compared to that of a vitamin. Taken

everyday the vitamin will strengthen some part of your life”

Recreation

According to participants, recreation involves relaxation, entertainment and

humor/comedy. Participants reported recreation as a sort of light-hearted ambience,
constituted by ease of entry/exit, limited regulation/rules, lack of pressure, or even a
game like scenario. Baphomet said:
“[I]ts a place for me to relax, read up on something fascinating, informative or
funny... though many people just come for the humor”

Succubus exclaimed recreation in a far more dramaturgical manner:

“[Z]oklet has become like a game for me. I like to see what I can do to incite reactions
from people. What makes people laugh, and what makes people angry, what makes
people freak out. Its like a big social sandbox.”
Minor motivational factors

Global aspect

According to participants the concept of global aspect includes world, internationality,

geography, and the internet. The crux of what is meant by “global aspect” is that
members are widely geographically dispersed. This motvational factor of global
aspect is surmised well by Beelzebub:
“I benefit from hearing the opinions of other people from around the world...I have
gained a certain amount of understanding from the community which I most likely
wouldn't have had otherwise.”

Mephistopheles concludes Beelzebub’s sentiment:

“The ability to talk with people miles away in a very open manner is an amazing
experience ... it teaches a lot about the world, myself, and my relation to it.”

Non-persecution

According to participants non-persecution means a place or space without ridicule or

judgement, or alternatively, a place in which the impact of judgement is lessened.
Participants cited this motivational factor in various ways. Mictlantecuhtli stated that
given his “radical beliefs” Zoklet provided a place free from persecution compared to
the “offline world”. Leviathan and Behemoth were both outliers to this pattern,
actively exclaiming their feelings of isolation from much of the community at large.
Lucifer was a user who sat on the fence, stating that Zoklet members are free from
persecution more so than other forums. However, Lucifer goes on to state “no one
really looks out for each other when it really counts”. Moloch stated: “Zoklet is so
great because on such a private community, one can be oneself.”

Trolling

Trolling, according to participants, is a sort of act or play, in which threads or posts

are made with the deliberate intention of insighting controversy, agitation or “the
lulz”10. Trolling is not exclusive to Zoklet, though generally associated with message
boards (Herring, 2002). Saccubus, the same individual who considered Zoklet a
game-like experienced, explained his love for trolling: “More recently, its become a big
part (excessive trolling), just because of boredom.” Vassago offers a far more
illustrious, third person perspective:
“There are also some who gather in order to engage in a curious activity colloquially
known as "trolling". This is an act where an individual derives pleasure from deliberately
making inflammatory statements in order to illicit a negative reaction from others. The
nuance is very peculiar, however, and as such, it is difficult to define in detail precisely
what "trolling" entails. There are also many methods of "trolling".”

Discussion

The research findings show that Zoklet members share a variety of motivational
factors. Some are more prominent than others; some are common and some are
minor. The best specific example of this is the contrast between the motivational
factor of TOTSE and the minor motivational factor of non-persecution. TOTSE was
mentioned as a significant motivational factor, and was recurring throughout the
participant responses. However non-persecution was mentioned only briefly, and
was contradicted by several participants.

Another prominent finding was the motivational factor of knowledge. The literature
review indicated that this would be a prominent motivational factor. However, the
research found that TOTSE trumps knowledge in terms of motivational weighting i.e.
TOTSE was more prominent. This in many ways contradicts the literature reviews
indication, that message boards are rooted in knowledge (Ransom, Guardia, Woody
et.al, 2010, William & Copes, 2006). In fact the research found recreation and
knowledge to share similar motivational weighting.

Zoklet is best described as a “third place’ entity. Oldenburg’s (1997) concept of “third
way” is an entity removed from home & work, characterized by free association and
a lack of pressures. These characteristics of free association and a lack of
pressures, resonate with the motivational factors of recreation and non-persecution.

Limitations & Suggestions

The questionnaire method was a limitation, because the data was collected
according to the researchers’ questions, as well as the participants’ answer. This
could be remedied through an ethnographic method. The ethnographic method
would allow for participant observation, rather than just participation. Furthermore
this would allow for a dramaturgical analysis, which could provide a more in depth
and holistic understanding of motivational factors. The sample size of 1:878 was
another limitation. This could be remedied by tripling the sample size, bringing the
ratio down to 1:292.
If further research was to be conducted, there are two appropriate possibilities.
Firstly, the phenomenon of trolling as a motivational factor in online message boards.
Secondly, whether or not there is an essential motivation responsible for active
involvement in online message boards. If essential motivation was further
researched, focus on the concept of “community” would be suitable.
 Conclusion

There are a plethora of motivations amongst the Zoklet forum. TOTSE, knowledge,
recreation, global aspect, non-persecution and trolling are all motivational factors
which demonstrate why people are actively involved in the Zoklet forum. These are
distinct, having either common or minor weighting, though the extent to which these
motivational factors are impacting is difficult to gauge. However what the research
certainly does conclude, is that Zoklet is a “third place”; outside the norms and roles
of home and work.
 Endnotes

1A message board forum is an online medium of communication. Generally,

message boards pertain to some certain subject matter or personage and require a
membership account to engage in “posting”.
2
A social networking website is a place/space in which people can gather online and
have discourse amongst “friends”. Generally activities such as blogs, walls, status
updates, comments, pictures, quizzes and so on are housed within social networking
websites. A member of a social networking site will have a limited social network,
whilst a member of a forum shares the same social network as other members.
4
Online games are video/computer games which operate either exclusively or
optionally via the internet. Generally “MMORPG” or Massive Multiplayer Online Role
Playing Game’s are investigated academically more so than any other genre.
5
Personal/erudite, means that the researcher either knows members, or knows of
members, based on interaction within the Zoklet forum, and has utilized this as a
means of participant recruitment.
6
Post count refers to the amount of posts a given member has made. Posting is
means the writing/typing of words, by a given member, which is submitted for public
viewing within a “thread”. A “thread” is an “original post” which grants users the
opportunity to post replies and comments. Threads and posts are housed within
specific “sub-forums”
7
A sub-forum which threads and posts may be made. Generally sub-forums are
given designated topic areas/subject matters in which threads, and to a lesser extent
posts, are to be kept to. On Zoklet “Off-topic” threads/posts are generally deleted,
moved, or put in the “trash can” forum.
8
TOTSE is a communication organization which spanned from 1989-2009, across a
variety of communication mediums, most notoriously its internet message board
forum."
9
Trolling means a post (sentiment) which is expressed with the direct intent of
causing agitation, malice, wrath or embarrassment within others. Trolling can be
considered a type of acting or play, perhaps fuelled by the internet disinhibition
effect.
10
“The lulz” is an phrase from the “internet~English” dialect derived from the word
“LOL” (laughing out loud) pertaining to comedic/humorous value
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