Amateurs online: Creativity in a community

• Qualitative analysis of exchanges (2001–2004) between authors of interactive fiction.
• These online exchanges are source of sociability, creativity, knowledge of the genre.
• Communities of digital literature authors reinstall historical, literary traditions.
• For example, they emphasize on craftsmanship rather than on professionalization.
• They also perform traditional institutional functions (e.g., evaluation, distribution).

The character of authorship, evaluation and production of artworks is being altered with new communication technologies. Online amateur and participatory work challenge the existing symbolic and economic structure of artistic fields. This article focuses on the function of an online digital community of amateur authors, considering the community as a network. A qualitative analysis of the discussion strands on the discussion-list and of the way these exchanges are archived and structured by the community provides insight into the way the network is organized, with sociology and literary studies providing a frame of analysis and comparison. The function of the community in question is found in its online exchanges, which have creative agency. Produced within this community are sociability, criticism, and a reservoir of historical, technical and poetical knowledge of interactive fiction (IF). This reveals a form of collaboration with a “product,” measured in terms of pleasure and creativity rather than economics. Meanwhile, these online exchanges perform classic institutional functions, meaning that this online community is constructed somewhat like the 18th-century poetry societies of amateurs. As in those past societies, emphasis in this online community is on craft and creativity rather than on the economic value of the products.