Let’s play something awful

A historical analysis of 14 years of threads

Bibliographic Data

ID13118917
AuthorsBrian McKitrick (0000-0003-0417-8714, The University of Melbourne, corresponding author), Martin Gibbs (0000-0002-4091-9789, The University of Melbourne), Melissa J Rogerson (0000-0002-9851-6608, The University of Melbourne), Bjørn Nansen (0000-0001-6215-8768, The University of Melbourne), Charlotte Pierce (0000-0002-5534-464X, Swinburne University of Technology)
Year2022
Volume7
Issue2
Pages122-140
Publication date2022-06-09
Peer ReviewedYes
Open AccessNo
TypeARTICLE
VenueInternet Histories (JOURNAL)
Journal identifiersISSN: 2470-1475 • E-ISSN: 2470-1483
PublisherRoutledge (PUBLISHER • GB)
DOI10.1080/24701475.2022.2084823
OpenAlexW4281609826
LanguageEN
References cited13

The Something Awful Let’s Play subforum is widely acknowledged as the birthplace of the Let’s Play (LP) media phenomenon. LPs typically involve people recording themselves playing games while providing commentary. LPs are an important media form in themselves as well as being an important antecedent to many contemporary and popular media forms such as live streaming, esports and speed-running. An examination of the Something Awful LP subforum can contribute to an understanding of the origins of LPs and the community that created them. In this paper, we report on a study of the Something Awful LP subforum and describe the kinds of engagement the community participates in the top threads, as well as looking to see if there are specific individuals responsible for guiding the subforum overall. We collected data from the thousands of public threads posted in the LP subforum, from its inception in 2007 to the end of 2020. The analysis of these postings presented in this paper draws on previous understandings of the behavioral roles, forms of engagement, and policing of practices that often occur on internet forums as part of the regulation and organization of associated online communities. Our results show that the LP subforum was not dominated by a small minority of users that dictated the community’s LP posting, recording and commentary practices, and that the content of the specific threads was much more important in determining what forms of LPs became popular

Antecedent (behavioral psychology · Epistemology · Media studies · Phenomenon · Sociology · The Internet · World Wide Web · Computer Science · Digital Games and Media · Impact of Technology on Adolescents · Philosophy · Psychology · Social Media and Politics · Social Psychology