A Digital Group Through a Quantitative Lens

The maximum time between posts was 5051 min = 3.5 days, between my post 41 and Rob’s 42. Which Rob addressed in his post.

The next-largest were between Maria’s post 21 and my 22, 1.2 days, and immediately before that, between Rob’s post 20 and Maria’s 21, 1.1 days. Was something going on then?

I guess you don’t need specific times to pick those out, they’re clear just from the posts per day in the transcript.

The minimum time between posts was 0. That was the case when I sent 3 posts at the same time and for Maria’s post 118 and Peter’s 119. Which Peter commented on in post 121, though in error, they didn’t “nearly come together”, they came simultaneously. Moreover, other posts of theirs were separated by only 1 min. (129 and 130), the 2nd-closest distance, and 2 min. (121 and 122, after they came simultaneously), the 3rd-closest distance (tied with 2 other pairs).Were Maria and Peter attuned in some way? Or just not separated by many time zones?

We could also look at how long, on average, we each waited (after the previous post) to post. I think of myself as impulsive, but actually my average was the highest:

And number of posts? Related to the above, I think of myself as talking a lot. I’m relieved I wasn’t an outlier:

Is there meaning to who we post after / who posts after us?

We could start with whom each of us posted after:
70% of Carla’s posts were after posts by Rob
67% of Peter’s were after posts by Maria
I posted most often after Maria, yet only 26% of my posts were after hers

Did the high percentages indicate that Carla was attached to Rob and Peter to Maria? Closeness between Peter and Maria was also suggested above. Did the low percentage indicate that I wasn’t particularly attached to anyone / was more detached?

The flip side of whom each of us posted after is who posted after each of us:

50% of posts following Tiziana’s were by me
45% of those following Haim’s were by Rob
Peter and I tied for following Maria most often, with 25% each

Did I and Rob so often following Tiziana and Haim also indicate attachments? If those posting after someone were their “followers”, Tiziana and Haim had more concentrated followings, Maria a more widespread one.

The flip side of posting after someone is not doing so:

Haim posted after everyone except Carla
Maria posted after everyone except Liat
everyone posted after Rob
only Tiziana didn’t post after Maria
only Carla and Peter didn’t post after me

Did not posting after someone reflect avoidance of them? Was Haim avoiding Carla and Maria Liat? It’s perhaps unsurprising that the moderator, Rob, wouldn’t be avoided. Were Maria and I also less avoided?

I see a quantitative perspective as a way to look beneath the surface. It can produce suggestions, or clues, or even evidence. All data, however, is subject to interpretation and benefits from corroboration.

Hope to follow / be followed / attach to you in the Forum,

Note: 1. Link to the full transcript of the group upon which this analysis is based:
Contexts Digital Discussion Group

Bob
bob@dr-bob.org