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Both the theory of the public sphere and the utopian rhetoric surrounding the Internet have been a focus of scholars for some time. Given the ability of people to connect with others around the globe through the Internet, could the Internet give rise to online public spheres? If so, how would such spaces work? This article proposes that public spheres do exist on the Internet, and details how one functions. The case under study is the website Slashdot (http://slashdot.org), an online community of computer enthusiasts. The article studies the mechanisms, both normative and in code, that are vital to Slashdot's functioning, and shows how they help Slashdot function as a public sphere.

Computer game modding, from modifying, combines several important issues: digital skills, play, community, making, and remixing. Yet, little academic work has explored the motivations and sense of community that modders have. This study is the first quantitative survey of game modders, and combines quantitative survey data with qualitative interview material. Findings suggest that modders are both old and young, mod more than one game or game series, have a strong sense of community, and enjoy helping others. Many respondents had contributed to other mods or had co-authored mods, and modding communities may function as online collaboratories. Although some research stresses how modders hope to get jobs in the gaming industry, overall the industry was not a motivator for most respondents.

Popular discourse frames crowdfunding as a way for those traditionally locked out of financing opportunities to leverage the connectivity of the Internet to widen their reach beyond their immediately accessible networks and secure funds for a wide variety of projects. Using a survey of crowdfunding project founders in the culture industries, we explored the relationship between certain social and psychological characteristics and attitudes toward crowdfunding. We examined how extraversion, surface acting, emotional labor, the social composition of project backers, and project success all relate to enjoyment and future intentions of using crowdfunding in the culture industries. Crowdfunding appears to advantage culture producers with particular personality structures while disadvantaging others. In sum, crowdfunding seems beneficial but might be useful only for particular types of artists and therefore should not supplant other traditional financing modes.

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