Community Observation Final Paper

Austin Knight

Community Observation Final Paper

Introduction

Online community observed was a Facebook group called Porsche 992 Enthusiasts. The group comprises people who have a deep passion for the Porsche 992 model of car. The members are all either owners of the car model or they intend to own one in future. Unlike other car enthusiasts or users, the members of the community follow all the news about the Porsche 992 and they exchange stories, photographs and ideas about their cars. They also post stories of the car model from Porsche itself or other sources. Membership is open to persons from anywhere in the world although most embers are from Europe, Asia and Africa. I chose to observe the community because I have deep passion for the Porsche 992 and I too am a member of the online group. 

The Porsche 992 Enthusiasts (https://www.facebook.com/groups/porsche992)

The Porsche 992 Enthusiasts group exhibits many characteristics of a community. First, the uniting factor of the group and the pre-requisite for membership is a deep passion for the Porsche 992 car model. The Porsche 992 is one of the latest and most prestigious road sports cars that the carmaker Porsche has ever produced (CAR 2020). Owners of the car therefore identify themselves as owners of a special car model that attracts much attraction worldwide. Consequently, the members of the group fall in two categories. One category comprises persons who already own the Porsche 992. The other category consists of persons who intend to own the car in future. The desire to share their experiences with the car or to encourage one another to own one brought them together. The members also exchange ideas on modifying their cars and solving common problems of the model. In summary therefore, the Porsche 992 keeps the members together.

One of the issues the group faces is the price of repairs and spare parts for the Porsche 992. Many complain that Porsche sells the spares and repairs their cars at exorbitant prices but they get the same services at much cheaper cost in other garages (Pollard & Miller 2019). The other issue for the group is the failure is some parts of the car model within a short period of purchase. At the premium price of the car, members have expressed dissatisfaction with the short life of some parts such as the brakes discs and pads (Golden 2018). They feel cheated by the maker of their idol car.

The administrators of the group are Hasan Sayanvala and Saad Uddin Ahmed. Mamd Ouh is the moderator. The administrators and the moderator have their positions because they formed the group. They therefore retain the power to control the submissions of the members besides granting and withdrawing membership. Their positions were not contested. James Walker and Pav Rishiraj also emerged as leaders because of their participation and apparent knowledge of the car.

The group has much insider language. Like all car enthusiast groups, words like “wing”, “spec”, “hood”, “spoiler”, “camo’ed” and “beast” have different meanings from their ordinary usage. Members are happy to use them and all understand each other. Sometimes, a new member might ask for an explanation when he or she does not understand.

The main rule for interacting is restricting oneself to the group objective that is the Porsche 992. In addition, members are prohibited from using abusive language. Abusive members are removed fro the group. The moderator however supervises the interactions and warns misbehaving members before removing them.

Conclusion

There is nothing to suggest that the group is marginalized in any way. If anything, the group is an exclusive elite community. The group serves to encourage society at large to make effort to be able to purchase cars or other things they desire. As a member, I can inform other persons of the group by inviting my Facebook friends who love cars to join it.

References

CAR Magazine. (2020 October 27). New Porsche 911: 4×4 ‘Safari’ edition in the works? https://www.carmagazine.co.uk/car-news/first-official-pictures/porsche/911-992/

Golden, C. (2018 December 16). 2020 Porsche 911 deep dive: What you need to know about the 992. Automobile. https://www.automobilemag.com/news/2020-porsche-911-992-deep-dive/

Pollard, T., & Miller, B. (2019 August 28). New Porsche 911 Carrera 2 review: A gateway drug to 992 ownership? CAR Magazine. https://www.carmagazine.co.uk/car-reviews/porsche/911-992/