Reputation and Online Communication: Visualizing Reputational Power to Promote Collaborative Discussions

In technological development in the area of e-democracy in-group equality is taken for granted. However, inequality in online communication is just as common as in other social contexts. To research the effects of starting from the presupposition of inequality we have developed a groupware for discussions. Based on democratic meeting techniques and social media it takes the form of a strategic game. The score within the game reflect user activity and the reactions to the activity in a dynamic way. The calculation and weighing mechanisms are open to inspection and change by the users. Hierarchical roles reflecting game levels may be attached to rights of what a specific user may change. The prototype presented in this paper will be further evaluated in the next phase of the design research process.