In order for a virtual community to be successful, some regulations have to exist. The users of Eons were able to become members of the community by providing the website with some type of information. When signing up, users had to supply Eons with basic information such as their email address, zip code, screen name, and most importantly, age. Interestingly, members did not have to provide the network with their real name. If it did, this may have been a major boost on the trustworthy side for Eons.
Dan Gillmor stated in his book We The Media: Grassroots Journalism For the People, by the People that he believes “all parties should, with few exceptions, either be willing to verify who they are, or risk having their contributions be questioned and, in some cases, ignored.” While this is a very important aspect that virtual communities should be concerned about, this certainly does not imply that Eons is not a trustworthy network.
Gillmor also makes the following comment about identity that fits with Eons use of discussion boards:
People reading comments on discussion boards would be wise to question the veracity of a commenter whenever they aren’t absolutely sure where the posting is coming from.
In this sense, Gillmor may think that in order for Eons to be listed as a trustworthy network, users must reveal their identity. Even though Eons members do not have to supply their real name when posting comments, for the most part, they make others aware of who they really are. In this manner, they state information such as where they are from, their age, and a lot of details about their personal life.
Jenny Preece makes reference to this subject, as well, in her book, Online Communities. She states:
“For online communities , specifically, trust is essential because it’s the glue that holds together not only your relationship with your members, but the members’ relationships with each other. Trust is at the core of any community and any lasting customer relationship.”
We definitely can understand why this statement is true. As the main entities of virtual communities, members mainly communicate with others online, rather than having face-to-face interactions. Therefore, with situations as this, it is very important that trust exists. If it does, members are more likely to share information with people who they have never seen before.
Preece also speaks of Ben Shneiderman’s model for facilitating trust. The three components that have to exist in order for this structure to properly work include:
1. Clarifing the context in which negotiations or interactions are to occur.
2. Making clear and truthful commitments.
3. Recognizing that trust involves a risk.
Under its terms of use (TOU), Eons expresses that it expects its members to uphold the regulations established and be honest about their actions. The company believes the TOU are necessary to create a Web atmosphere in which Eons users, content providers, and service providers may feel safe and respected. In order to reach this safe mode, some level of trust has to be implemented. Therefore, it appears that Eons has included the three components of Shneiderman’s model in its operation.
Now, let’s see how Eons’ operation relates to the topics discussed in The Internet in Everyday Life.
