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There's been a lot of tumult recently in the #TTRPG & #dnd spheres. Many are expressing sentiments such as "why can't everyone just be positive" or "this is such a pointless fight." Others are calling out people & behavior.
I think it's time we talk about community life cycles.
I think it's time we talk about community life cycles.
I have been online for a while & part of various online communities for a while. And I've talked to a few people who've recognized that what's been going on in the diceosphere isn't unique.
This is something that not only has played out elsewhere before, but is natural to occur.
This is something that not only has played out elsewhere before, but is natural to occur.
The psychiatrist M. Scott Peck once wrote that when any group of strangers came together to create a community that it would go through four distinct & predictable phases.
Those phases are:
1. Pseudocommunity
2. Chaos
3. Emptiness
4. True Community
Friends, we are in the chaos.
Those phases are:
1. Pseudocommunity
2. Chaos
3. Emptiness
4. True Community
Friends, we are in the chaos.
To understand that, let's first examine what phase 1 is.
Anyone who's ever met another person for the first time understands what this is. It's budding acquaintanceship. It's being a friendly facsimile of "you" in the hopes you can grow in trust. All communities start like this.
Anyone who's ever met another person for the first time understands what this is. It's budding acquaintanceship. It's being a friendly facsimile of "you" in the hopes you can grow in trust. All communities start like this.
So far as I can tell via sorting through hashtag frequencies & my own personal experience, the current iteration of the diceosphere really had it's roots around 2016 & 2017. This coincides with D&D appearance on Stranger Things along with Critical Role's rise in popularity. But.
The real catalyst, I'd argue, was 2018-2019. There was this energy early last year especially that was felt. CR had their massive KS, a ton of other indies had theirs, & suddenly we were all networking. We broke through the ceiling of pseudocommunity. And entered into the chaos.
So what is the chaos?
Simply put, it's learning who people are. It's learning their tastes & preferences. It's navigating their ability & trauma. It is that stage in friendship where you see the other person more holistically.
And it messy.
And it is often very painful.
Simply put, it's learning who people are. It's learning their tastes & preferences. It's navigating their ability & trauma. It is that stage in friendship where you see the other person more holistically.
And it messy.
And it is often very painful.
In the chaos, there's this temptation to want organization. To want cohesion & uniformity & positivity & for everyone just to get along, for god's sake.
But that is impossible.
It even wasn't viable when communities were in person & had leaders like pastors & elected officials.
But that is impossible.
It even wasn't viable when communities were in person & had leaders like pastors & elected officials.
This thing we are party to is a community of influencers & influenced. Follower counts help project voices & platforms, but virality can come to someone with only 12 people following them.
Twitter, more than anywhere else, exacerbates the chaos much moreso than elsewhere online.
Twitter, more than anywhere else, exacerbates the chaos much moreso than elsewhere online.
And it's hard. And the people who are most vulnerable & most marginalized suffer from it the fastest. I've already seen the burnout affect large platforms that used to get personal. The retreat back into pseudonymity.
I can't fault any of them. And none of us should, honestly.
I can't fault any of them. And none of us should, honestly.
So if phase 2 is the hard chaotic truth of learning who people are & how they act, how do we get out of it? Peck proposes emptiness. A better term might be openness.
Openness to the hurt experienced, openness to the fact that we all don't really have it together much at all.
Openness to the hurt experienced, openness to the fact that we all don't really have it together much at all.
I've seen this start to happen, most notably in the fallout from Variant Roles.
Online, we have a tendency to project the best version of ourselves. And people, whether you do that or not, often put you on s pedestal.
This is a natural thing we humans do, but a bad tendency.
Online, we have a tendency to project the best version of ourselves. And people, whether you do that or not, often put you on s pedestal.
This is a natural thing we humans do, but a bad tendency.
Phase 3's success requires a community to break our own pedestals. It requires honesty, but more than that it requires allowance.
We have to allow people we admire to just be people. Fallible, broken, sometimes traumatizing people. And understand what that means sans hyperbole.
We have to allow people we admire to just be people. Fallible, broken, sometimes traumatizing people. And understand what that means sans hyperbole.
What waits for us after this?
Phase 4: true community.
It's a place of acknowledgment, honesty, healing, & growth. It - like any of the other stages - is not a place but a process.
People navigate the community with understanding of one another & ability to address difference.
Phase 4: true community.
It's a place of acknowledgment, honesty, healing, & growth. It - like any of the other stages - is not a place but a process.
People navigate the community with understanding of one another & ability to address difference.
This doesn't mean everyone's suddenly BFFs 5ever or shit. But if you've ever been in a true community, you know what this looks like.
It's the bar where everybody knows your name, the small town that gets by, that part of the city that has its own calendar of block parties.
It's the bar where everybody knows your name, the small town that gets by, that part of the city that has its own calendar of block parties.
True communities still have issues, but the difference between them & the pseudocommunity or the chaos is that it doesn't threaten to wipe out the foundations when new people come into it or old ones reveal themselves to be bad actors.
It can weather both progress & destruction.
It can weather both progress & destruction.
All this to say: it's ok that we're in this place in our Twitter roleplay community. The chaos isn't unique or new. It is a natural part of community evolution.
The best thing we can do is figure how each of us can take it to the next phase.
Reflect, internalize, & improve.
The best thing we can do is figure how each of us can take it to the next phase.
Reflect, internalize, & improve.
I don't know how long it'll take & while I want to end this positively, I do also want to be real. Because that's part of getting to the next phase.
Many communities never make it through the chaos. I've witnessed it before. And there's 2 ways they go: disintegration or mitosis.
Many communities never make it through the chaos. I've witnessed it before. And there's 2 ways they go: disintegration or mitosis.
Disintegration is the more common one. Enough people pull back & leave that the "place" of the community empties. Anyone who's ever been on an internet forum or in an online game community that died out also knows it isn't always cus of bad actors.
Communities, like people, die.
Communities, like people, die.
The second is mitosis. The bigger cliques or more specific fragments of a larger community break off into their own. This can also happen naturally as a part of community growth. Sub-communities become their own thing, & the cycle of the 4 phases can start at any part for them.
So I don't know what will happen in this diceosphere of ours. I can't predict where we might be even at the end of February let alone 2021.
That's all up to each of us & how we navigate the chaos.
A community is a living thing. It needs care to grow. Don't take it for granted.
That's all up to each of us & how we navigate the chaos.
A community is a living thing. It needs care to grow. Don't take it for granted.
I don't typically ask for retweets, but I spent an hour writing this & a lot longer researching this, so if you could boost it I'd be really appreciative of that. I think a lot of people could be helped by this & understanding it, cus I sure hope we make it to phase 4 one day.
I do also want to note:
The reason we see so much "just be positive" rhetoric recently is because people are mourning the loss of that which came with pseudocommunity. Positivity for positivity's sake has its genuine usage & time & for some, that's the best part of "community."
The reason we see so much "just be positive" rhetoric recently is because people are mourning the loss of that which came with pseudocommunity. Positivity for positivity's sake has its genuine usage & time & for some, that's the best part of "community."
However.
That isn't what true community is.
Moreover.
Some people will leave at the death of pseudocommunity. Some will only come for the chaos. Some will reach emptiness & burn out. And some will join a true community having experienced none of that but will be a true member.
That isn't what true community is.
Moreover.
Some people will leave at the death of pseudocommunity. Some will only come for the chaos. Some will reach emptiness & burn out. And some will join a true community having experienced none of that but will be a true member.
The phases can be experienced individually at any time by any person & not everyone will stick around or be a party to each group phase.
That's okay.
Don't begrudge those who leave. And don't gatekeep those who arrive late.
But do recognize the bad actors when they come & go.
That's okay.
Don't begrudge those who leave. And don't gatekeep those who arrive late.
But do recognize the bad actors when they come & go.
The book M. Scott Peck wrote about this is called "The Different Drum: Community Making & Peace." It's on Audible, Barnes & Noble, & elsewhere. It's a but dated (1987 published) but it talked about it without being about marketing & buzzwords about community growth. It felt real.
I mean if anyone wants to toss me a ko-fi, like... http://Ko-fi.com/rileygryc
If you followed me for this very long and insightful thread about the life cycles of online communities, I am sorry to say that this is more the speed you'll be getting from me most days, sorry for party rocking: https://twitter.com/RileyGryc/status/1221655321627648002?s=19
