Good paper with a useful set of metrics for evaluating the "health" of an online knowledge community. I don't completely agree with all of the indices, though: for example, I do not see a deeper thread as evidence of a deeper discussion - it often simply reflects a back-and-forth exchange between a minor sub-group. What's interesting about this article and the next one (see below) is they both see the need to establish communications and also to store the knowledge contained in those communications in some sort of useful format. That's hard to do - have you ever tried to search through a list server archive for a particular concept? This article also emphasizes the need for facilitation and structured activities. I am inclined to agree - to a point. I think that the operators of an online knowledge community must focus first on the idea that they are providing a service to community members. The need for facilitation, if any, will follow from that.
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