Webcomic Forum

This online forum is a place for creators of webcomics and those interested in creating to ask questions, give advice, and receive assistance from others. Members can introduce themselves, post their art, and freely and actively participate in a collective community. Surprisingly, this community has grown significantly large and active even though the forum operates by optional participation [1] (completely against the basic human nature to do nothing rather than something). This shift in dynamic represents the willingness of the community members to take action and initiative towards building something more. A particularly unique aspect of this forum is the collective webcomic through the forum (called Gunbaby).

Unlike other places on the internet, most interactions on this website are quite friendly and useful, rather than mean-spirited hateful posts. Sincere help from more experienced members has made significant improvements to their websites and art style. Building a website is an essential part of creating a successful webcomic [2]. Without a well-functioning website to showcase a website, the author/creator’s story cannot be as effect. In the digital sphere, a story [3]  must be particularly captivating to grab the attention of a potential audience.

Voluntary communities like this that lift up others help to expand the webcomic universe; more creators receive advice through this forum, which builds confidence enough to post their work. Forums such as these increase the size of the community sheer volume of webcomic content, thus increasing the credibility of webcomics as a legitimate, respectable form of media.

1. Dolata, Ulrich, and Jan-Felix Schrape. “Masses, Crowds, Communities, Movements: Collective Action in the Internet Age.” Social Movement Studies 15, no. 1 (January 2016): 1–18. doi:10.1080/14742837.2015.1055722.

2. Kim, Amy Jo. "Community Building On the Web." O'Reilly | Safari. Accessed February 23, 2019. https://learning.oreilly.com/library/view/community-building-on/0201874849/pre02.html.

3. Lambert, Joe. Digital Storytelling : Capturing Lives, Creating Community. Berkeley, Calif.: Digital Diner Press, 2002.