Page - 196 - in JRFM - Journal Religion Film Media, Volume 03/01

196 | Baldassare Scolari www.jrfm.eu 2017, 3/1, 195–199 Chapter five expounds the results from analysis of interviewees’ introducto- ry narratives. The first question posed to interviewees was: “How and in what circumstances did you come to the forum, and why are you still there?” (211). Based on analysis of the narratives, the author elaborates seven categories of answer, which are sketched and discussed: (1) narrative of the user’s general technological, biographical and religious contexts; (2) narrative of specific trig- gers that caused the user to enter the forum; (3) description of the specific en- try into the forum; (4) description of first impressions; (5) summary narrative of different phases of intensity of participation; (6) reviews of the forums; (7) self-descriptions and arguments regarding specifics of usage. Chapter six discusses classical and modern theories and approaches to so- cial forms, in particular those conceptualized as community, group and net- work. On the basis of her empirical findings, Neumaier outlines the reasons for her preference for the community concept and identifies three ideal types (in the Weberian sense of the term) of community – “faith-siblings”, “forum family” and “conflict arena”. While the “faith-siblings” pattern is character- ized by the correlation of the users’ search for like-minded people with refer- ence to an overarching Christian community, the communicative exchange in the mode of the “forum family” is characterized in particular by cohesion and clearer boundaries: in a strict sense, only members of the “family” are users of the forum. The third pattern, the “conflict arena”, is characterized by playful competition in the users’ interactions, a form of community deemed “post-tra- ditional” (as conceptualized by Ronald Hitzler) and “fluid” (as conceptualized by Dorothea Lueddeckens), since it is temporary, with affiliation oriented to individual interests, and consequently “potentially precarious” (325). thus, according to the author, the social forms observed in the forums range from classic social concepts (Max Weber and ferdinand tönnies) to modern con- ceptions like that of the post-traditional community. One principal outcome of the study is its highlighting of the close connection between the religious affil- iation of users, the importance of social interactions to them, and the role of religion in the context of internet use and community formation. in particular, Neumaier shows that the religious imprinting of users (i.e., their socialization outside the online forums) influences the community-based interpretation of online forums. the seventh chapter focuses on the users’ narratives in order to identify and discuss their biographical and motivational embedding. the author presents the results of the empirical analysis in the form of four ideal-type models of usage. All narratives emphasize the inadequacies and dysfunctionalities of re- ligious offline offerings (primarily of churches and local religious communities) as central reasons for online usage, and the author therefore defines these