Conclusion
The preliminary results of the research undertaken in this study suggests that the absence of a social proxy negatively impacts on participation in an online community space. This is due to the apparent relationship between perceptions of activity and participation, where more evidence of activity leads to higher levels of participation. Further research and development is required to confirm this finding, including enhancements to the social proxy itself.
Further Research
The larger aim of the study is to develop an online community environment with consideration for the social impact of technical design choices made in the development phase. It seeks to establish a set of features that have the potential to increase participation and foster attitudes of engagement among users. The social proxy is but one feature among many that may, or may not, contribute to the establishment of meaningful and meaningfully designed online communities. Over time, it is hoped that a set of design guidelines may be established for the optimization of social interaction in online environments.
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