Congratulations. You found us.

This account was used in a study by a west coast team of researchers. We are interested in online social dynamics, behavior modification and rewards.

You’ll notice in the postings of JeffersonStTiger a variety of posts. Some posts support the common or popular opinion of other members of Tigernet and some are opposed. Some are about sports and some are on social issues or politics. Each post was written/designed to get a reaction- which took some time to craft. Not every post provoked a responses so we had to get creative.

In the interest of full disclosure no one on our team is from South Carolina or attended Clemson(or any school in the ACC or SEC), but we selected Clemson because of its passionate fans and alumni. It’s hard to study online behavior of a particular subculture when it has no online presence. Clemson was not the only school we chose. We also studied the behavior of 12 other universities as well as 15 professional teams.

We noticed common trends among all message board as well as particular differences. For example: all message boards of fan sites tend to be more acute toward outsiders and unpopular views or opinions. Additionally, message board or forums with people from a variety of schools or teams tend to be more moderate in their criticism and more open toward outsiders(REDDIT CFB for example).

Overall we found Tigernet to be a place of with a variety of activity, some amazing and some disturbing. This community tends to rally around each when each when someone expresses need or tragedy. Conversely we were often shocked at open bigotry toward women, the LBGTQ community, and foreigners. This was fairly common among the southern schools and teams we studied. We must emphasize, these occurrences were limited but all too often tolerated.

What we found most intriguing about Tigernet was the Pulse. As a measure of likability, we noticed some users seemed to be preoccupied with it while others seemed not to care. Most other forums and messages boards do not have this kind feedback loop, at least not to the degree it is used and valued on Tigernet.

Overall, we had fun interacting with most of you. We learned a lot about Clemson and southern culture. And because we didn’t study the University of Alabama, we saw no conflict of interest rooting for Clemson in the National Championship game. Admittedly we studied Notre Dame and therefore knew we would experience the highs and lows whatever the outcome of the semifinal game.

Toward the end of our study we added a lot to this profile, and changed up how we posted and what we posted. (Which was called out by a user! Amazing!)

Humans are fascinating creatures and nearly impossible to predict. Thank you for allowing us into your universe. The three people who posted in this account will sincerely miss being part of this community, but life and careers move on. Good luck in 2019. Go Tigers! (We are certain Stanford will not stand in your way.)