research essay + abstract

Stitching Together a Discourse Community: the Writing Practices of Craftster.org

Social networking outlets abound online; these days, there really is a place for everyone. Online communities form around shared interests; no matter how esoteric or strange the hobby, it seems, there’s a site for its devotees. Created in 2003, the online community Craftster.org is yet another iteration of social media, providing a space online where crafters with quirky interests and styles can come together to share, support, learn from one another, hone new skills, and celebrate successes. Craftster users form a discourse community with shared writing practices used in the interest of sustaining a sense of community. As a discourse community, Craftster.org makes an interesting study. The values and shared interests of the community clearly dictate both what gets said and how it gets said on the group’s message boards. The content and style of writing used within the community is carefully tailored to the community’s purposes and shared values.

Within the discourse community of Craftster.org, texts are produced for a variety of purposes, primarily to share knowledge between members. Writing is critically important to the group because it is their primary means of communication. Members of Craftster.org generally do not know one another in “real” life. The message boards, articles, and tutorials, and other online interaction are what they rely on in order to interact. Most member interaction occurs via discussions held on the community message boards, where registered members can post pictures of their projects, comment on others’ crafts, or seek advice. For example, a user who goes by the name of “Junior_Mint” (2013) posts on the needlework board, “I'm not sure if this has been asked yet (I apologize if it has!) but I was curious is there is a good way to finish off the back of an embroidery hoop?” (n.pg.) This post is typical for the “Discussion and Questions” section of the needlework message board, where more inexperienced crafters post questions in hopes that veteran crafters will share their knowledge and experience. Posts are typically informal, but polite and appreciative in tone.

In addition to providing practical knowledge and tips, the writing practices within the Craftster.org message boards are used for moral support and encouragement. Users take a chance by posting pictures and descriptions of their own creations, and the community responds in an unfailingly supportive manner. User mauoijenn (2013) posts a photo of her cross stitched project with a short description and adds, “I’m very proud of myself. …Thanks for looking” (n.pg.). The tone of her post reveals that she is seeking a supportive audience, one that will share her pride in her work. Her display of gratitude for the community’s time and attention also follows the unwritten rules of politeness and graciousness that are built into the community. The responses to mauoijenn’s post are positive and encouraging: user SkyyAngel (2013) writes, “This is fantastic!! I totally want one now!” (n.pg.). Listessa (2013) comments, “Best. Holiday. Stitch. Ever.” (n.pg.). The double exclamation points and the use of multiple periods in SkyyAngel and Listessa’s comments, respectively, show enthusiasm and praise for mauoijenn’s contribution. Punctuation is commonly used in this manner within this particular discourse community to convey emotion and build bonds between users.

These bonds are highly valued by the Craftster.org discourse community because the typical Craftster.org member tends to be someone who may not have fit in as a youth, someone who lived on the perimeter of things, a misfit: the nerds, weirdos, geeks. Of course, this isn’t always the case, and individual motivations for joining Craftster.org vary, but Bonnie Christine, writer of the popular DIY blog Going Home to Roost (2010), pinpoints a common thread for users:

sometimes, being a craftster can can mean being lonely….often times family members or other professionals simply don’t understand crafting…  the good news is, there are many of us who do understand!  with craft communities and forums popping up all over the place, it’s easy to find like-minded supportive people, doing the same thing you are. (n.pg.)

Craftster.org fulfills individuals’ need to fit in, to be accepted, to be a part of something larger than themselves. Inclusion in this community gives its members camaraderie, justification, validation, and inspiration in addition to practical information like hints, tips, suggestions, and best practices.

In posting to the message boards and using writing to forge bonds of support, users of Craftster.org adhere to both required, written rules set up by the community and unwritten, communally understood rules of etiquette. In the world of Craftster.org, what counts as “good” writing is not necessarily writing that is formal or grammatically correct, but rather writing that conforms to both the written and unwritten rules of the community. Anyone can read the content posted on Craftster.org, but only registered members are allowed to produce texts, i.e. post to the message boards. There are differing levels of membership: Newbie, Jr. Member, Sr. Member, Full Member, Craftster God/Goddess, Moderator, and Administrator. These titles are bestowed based on how many posts a member has contributed during their time on Craftster.org, except for “Moderator” and “Administrator,” which indicate that the user is either in charge of regulating use of a particular area of the message boards, or one of two persons who run the community website, respectively. Each user’s level shows up underneath their username each time they post to a thread on the message boards. For example, “kittykill” (2013) posts in the needlecraft section of the message board in reply to a completed project: “Wow! That is beautiful. How long did it take you? How many strands did you use?” (n.pg.) Underneath kittykill’s username is a list of descriptors including “Global Moderator, Guest Blogger, Needlework Moderator, Tutorial Contributor, and Friend of Craftster.” These descriptors show that kittykill is highly involved in the Craftster community. A compliment from her on one’s completed project, or a suggestion made by her in response to a query for suggestions, thus carries more weight than a newer or more infrequent user of the message boards. Craftster.org’s use of levels of membership encourages involvement in the community by giving frequent users a visible level of status. The more texts a user creates, the higher their status in the online community.

While message board posts are the primary genre used within the discourse community of Craftster.org, there are also tutorials, articles, and a community calendar. The message boards are split up into categories, depending on the type of craft, i.e. needlework, bath and beauty, clothing, cooking, crochet, etc. Within these categories are boards with descriptive titles that indicate the nature of the board. For example, within the category of needlework are four different boards: “completed projects,” “discussion and questions,” “stitchalongs,” and “Sublime Stitching Embroidery.” Then, within each of these boards are lists of topics, also called threads, and within the topics there are individual posts. Thus, the hierarchy goes category, board, topic, post. The purpose of all of this categorizing and classifying is to make the enormous amount of information contained within the community easily searchable and visible to users. The message boards fulfill user needs by providing a place to interact, ask questions, seek advice, and share projects, all in a manner that has an informal, conversational feel (despite the intense categorization). In contrast to the message boards, the articles on the community site are formatted like blog posts and generally fulfill the purpose of highlighting interesting work being done within the community. Articles are written by message board moderators, who cull from the boards in their particular area projects that might be of interest to the greater community.

True to the nature of Craftster.org, with their commitment to inclusivity and friendly vibe, a guide to abbreviations used within the message boards is easily found under the Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ) section of the “help” link. This guide clues users in to commonly used acronyms like WIP (work in progress), UFO (unfinished object), and ATC (artist trading cards). Other jargon used within the boards depends on the board category; there are terms particular to different types of crafts, with which followers of that particular craft would generally be familiar. The community is very open to newcomers, however, and any jargon can be clarified for the “newbee” (user new to the craft or the community itself) who posts a message with a politely phrased inquiry. More well-versed community members are always willing to extend their knowledge and expertise to the uninitiated.

A close examination of the writing practices of the community of Craftster.org reveal anti-capitalist political biases, perhaps not of individual users, but of the creators of the site and the community as a whole. Craftster.org was created and is run and used by members of the independent craft movement that began to gain traction in the late 1990’s. According to Bratich and Brush (2011), the indiecraft movement was at least partially a reaction to sweatshop practices and other perceived evils of capitalism: “Handicrafts in contemporary culture offer a critique of the regime of technology and the culture of speed” (p. 235-6). Though Craftster.org clearly makes use of technology (it exists online, after all), its use of technology is not to speed up production for the sake of profit; rather, Craftster.org creates an ethos that eschews profit margins and focuses instead on the skill and passion of individual users. The rules of conduct for Craftster.org ban using the community for commercial gain, explicitly stating “Don’t post to promote items or services you are selling” (2013, n.pg.) In fact, Craftster.org goes one step further by warning users that any posts determined to be even a “subtle” form of advertising will be removed by the board moderator. The moderators take a hard stance against users whose intention is to sell rather than to freely share information with the community. Craftster.org’s help section offers guidelines for avoiding self-promotion. These policies, and their enforcement, make clear the community’s commitment to the values of open source sharing. In fact, even the name of the online community, Craftster.org, is partially “an homage to the pioneer peer-to-peer sites Napster and Friendster” (n.pg.). Like Napster and Friendster before it, the Craftster community’s writing practices show that they value individual artistry and creativity over profit margins and intellectual property rights.

Members of Craftster.org rely on writing practices as a way to build community and share knowledge. Through the message boards, blog posts, and tutorials, users seek and find inspiration, technical advice, encouragement, and support. The success of these interactions is made possible by users’ adherence to a set of written and unwritten rules governing what gets said and how it gets said within this community. The agreed upon standards for writing in the group message boards ensure that users are cooperative, polite, gracious, and supportive of one another, making membership in Craftster.org a positive experience for both veteran users and newcomers alike.

References

Bratich, J. and Brush H. (2011). Fabricating Activism: Craft-work, Popular Culture, and Gender. Utopian Studies. 233-260.

Christine, B. (2010, July 28). Getting involved in the craft community. Going Home to Roost. Retrieved from http://www.goinghometoroost.com/2010/indie-biz/getting-involed-in-the-craft-community/

Craftster. (2013). Retrieved from http://www.craftster.org

Junior_Mint. (2013, October 24). Finishing the back of my hoop. [Message posted to http://www.craftster.org/forum/index.php?topic=428533.msg5114602#msg5114602]

Kittykill. (2013, October 29). Re: Cross Stitched iPhone Case [Reply #1]. [Reply posted to http://www.craftster.org/forum/index.php?topic=428843.msg5118960#msg5118960]

Listessa. (2013, November 5). Re: The Griswold’s Rock!! [Reply #2]. [Reply posted to http://www.craftster.org/forum/index.php?topic=428843.msg5118960#msg5118960]

Mauiijenn. (2013, November 4). The Griswold’s Rock!! [Message posted to http://www.craftster.org/forum/index.php?topic=428843.0#axzz2kGf3eH8y]

SkyyAngel. (2013, November 4). Re: The Griswold’s Rock!![Reply #1]. [Reply posted to http://www.craftster.org/forum/index.php?topic=428843.msg5118940#msg5118940]