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Collection, evaluation, and diffusion of information in online communities

In this thesis, I study a number of online information communities to understand how open practices are currently used in supporting community functions. By examining how communities operate, I hope to provide individuals and corporations interested in creating such communities with a good starting point. The communities examined, some corporate and some user sponsored, share different types of information and have different intents. I analyzed the communities in terms of their openness in the following three major community functions: information collection, information evaluation, and information diffusion. The benefits and challenges of open practices are discussed and the tradeoffs involved in selecting the most appropriate practice for each major community function are presented. Thesis Supervisor: Eric von Hippel Title: Professor, Sloan School of Management