Digital platforms known as online social networking groups serve as a hub for individuals to connect and interact, thereby creating virtual communities. Their inception dates back to the 1980s with the Usenet newsgroup posts, and their popularity surged with the advent of the World Wide Web in the mid-1990s. Pioneering platforms such as MSN Groups, Yahoo! Groups, and eGroups amalgamated user profiles with mailing lists, ultimately evolving into platforms like Facebook[1] and MySpace. Some of these groups have a presence in virtual worlds like Second Life, occupying distinct geographic locations. These groups have revolutionized social interactions, shifting them from local community and family-centric to global exchanges. However, they grapple with issues like the dissemination of misinformation, which affects the trustworthiness of the information exchanged within these groups. The evolution and dynamics of these platforms often mirror those of Internet[2] forums, providing crucial understanding of the progression and history of online communities.
A group (often termed as a communauté, e-group ou club) is a feature in many services de réseaux sociaux which allows users to create, post, comment to and read from their own interest- and niche-specific forums, often within the realm of virtual communities. Groups, which may allow for open or closed access, invitation and/or joining by other users outside the group, are formed to provide mini-networks within the larger, more diverse social network service. Much like electronic mailing lists, they are also owned and maintained by owners, moderators, or managers, who can edit posts to discussion threads and regulate member behavior within the group. However, unlike traditional Internet forums and mailing lists, groups in social networking services allow owners and moderators alike to share account credentials between groups without having to log in to every group.
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