Minitrack Introduction

Digital collectives are computer-mediated places where a large number of people come together to interact. Back in the 80s and early 90s, users mainly inhabited these online environments to talk with each other--e.g. discussion lists, Usenet newsgroups, etc. Now, however, some digital collectives focus on the creation of artifacts, the collection and distribution of goods, and the accretion of public knowledge. This minitrack focuses on understanding the production and consumption of information in these spaces.