Editing Dialogues/Learning from Small and Overlapping Communities (section)

===Finding Success in Small Communities ([[:File:Small_communities-cdsc-dialogues-2022.pdf|Slides]])=== 

Jeremy Foote and Sohyeon Hwang

When we think of successful online communities in places like Reddit, Twitter, or Wikipedia, we often think of large communities. Most communities are small, but does that mean they are unsuccessful? When is smaller better? How does the fact that people tend to participate in multiple communities simultaneously complicate this?

In this session we will discuss the lessons we can learn about participation in small communities. We will facilitate a conversation that draws from results from several empirical studies showing:
    
* Community founders do not always start communities looking to achieve massive growth
* Large scale is rarely the outcome for most communities. 
* Small communities can help users filter their experiences and expectations on large, multi-community platforms (e.g. Reddit, Fandom/Wikia);
* Communities of different sizes and shapes help users find the right spaces for themselves;
* User autonomy over their own experience can improve experience;
* Metrics of growth are not the only way to understand your community.