6.1: If It Ain't Cute, It Ain't Allowed

Online forums have an etiquette all their own, and, to further complicate things, content-specific and website-affiliated forums often have customized barriers-to-entry for potential users. There are some universal standards, however, that precede each individual online forum’s norms and guidelines. One of the most visible is the avatar. An avatar is the graphic image or animation that users self-select as a representation of identity on the online forum (typically the avatar appears next to the username). As visual symbols of individualization within the group, avatars effectively remove non-verbal filters to some degree (note: the deception-detection element is in play here).

Due to the importance of these personalized visual symbols, some boards impose limits or strict guides that limit one’s choice of avatar. One particular forum, Oink—the reference forum for this post—enforces a rather odd policy: the user must choose a “cute” avatar, as a sort of self-deprecating, absurdity-bent remark to befuddle forum outsiders (e.g. cute hamster anthropomorphism, cute kids with vanilla cupcakes). In Chapter 4, Wallace talks about the "Groupness" of forums, and how social science theories are utilized in any investigation of online groups. "Conformity" is one such element especially key in understanding the cute avatar rule.

Though un-enforced conformity does occur to some degree at Oink, the explicit guideline for avatar choice points to the presence of a Leviathan. Users who transgress this rule are warned by Oink administrators and then have their picture reset to the default photograph (losing, for that user, his/her piece of group identity). Though avatar enforcement might seem strange, conformity is such an important social glue that Wallace writes “new strategies were needed to bring about compliance and conformity” in the internet medium to keep groups alive. On Oink's forum, conformity means everyone gets to be in on the joke (this represents conformity through polarization). The Leviathan—the avatar admin—imposes the group norm upon the group’s members. But, according to Wallace, this is not necessarily a bad thing, as “human willingness to conform” and be in the group leads to the allowance of a temperate Leviathan.

The “Arched Brow” Theory also aids the Leviathan in group conformity. If an admin does not catch a forum user with a not-so-cute picture, than users fill the role (if somewhat unconsciously). If a user has a default avatar or a purposefully not-so-cute avatar, than other members are less likely to post a response recognizing the presence of said member (or answering his/her questions). Constant reproach or ignorance leads to the stigma of being an outsider or an un-welcomed newbie (Oink is not particularly harsh to new users). The Leviathan, therefore, may be the administrative group, but any group member can also enforce the principals of the Leviathan. Group members’ concede to certain rules upon joining, like Oink’s avatar guideline, in order to obtain and preserve what is most precious about the forum. As Wallace points out, in this way, group members entrust the group’s principles to the forum admin team, to the Leviathan. If this appreciation for the forum dwindles because the presence of the Leviathan went beyond moderation, group members may leave en mass, effectively dissolving the group itself. Control, in moderation, is key to conformity, and key to groupness online.