Abstract
We run an experiment with users of internet message boards. We find that forum users cooperate more with partners of their own forum than with partners from a different forum but they are equally altruistic when they made a gift to a partner of their forum or from another one. We also find that individuals are more active in the forums, the more altruistic they are; however, we find no relation between activity in the forum and cooperation. These results suggest that the public good provided in internet forums is mainly provided by a group of unconditional altruistic group of users, and that the feeling of community supports the cooperation in that provision.
Highlights
Millions of people around the world spend a significant part of their lives participating in virtual communities
Subjects are not more altruistic with partners from the same forum but do cooperate more with them. These results suggest that the public good provided in Internet forums is mainly provided by a group of unconditional altruistic users, and that the sense of belonging supports the cooperation in that provision
When individuals were asked to participate in a common project, we found no relation between participation in the forum and cooperation to the project
Summary
Millions of people around the world spend a significant part of their lives participating in virtual communities. Kollock (1999) studies how an economy of gifts and cooperation enables these communities to be sustained When these communities are open access, the information they provide is a public good which is privately provided through the participation of a wealth of individuals, who receive no monetary contribution for their participation. In the particular case of Internet forums, many are privately owned, users feel they are sharing information in a true public good (Wasko and Faraj 2000). The success of these communities relies on motivations and particular characteristics of the individuals who participate in them
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