Trust and Communities
After hearing a guest lecturer in class comment on "communities of exit," I wanted to learn more about how strong relationships between group members hold communities together. More importantly though, I wondered how community members were able to establish these relationships in an online space without having met one another. While I was thinking about what quality drew me to online communities, I thought of one important factor: trust.
Because people are able to steal your identity online or pass themselves off as someone else, trust becomes an integral part in holding people together who have never met each other in a physical space. When your only interaction with someone is through text-based communication, you are basing who a person is solely off of what they tell you. While many people who are members of groups that exist in the physical world have the benefit of interacting with a person and judging their credibility through their experiences with him or her, this is not as easy in the digital world.
For my project, I will evaluate how trust plays into an online community, the Midwest Garrison of the 501st Legion, including where it comes from and why it holds the group together. I will evaluate the group from an outsider's perspective, through a surrogate identity and as an open journalist within the community. Through these different perspectives, I will examine the benefits of trust within the community and how the community reacts when their trust is betrayed.
A Long Time Ago on a Site Far, Far Away
The 501st Legion was formed in 1997 after the founder of the organization, Albin Johnson, posted pictures of himself in a Stormtrooper costume after attending the re-release of the Star Wars trilogy. Not too long afterward, more Star Wars fans began posting pictures of themselves in Star Wars costumes to Johnson's Web site and the group began to grow. Now, what started off as a Web site for Johnson to express his love for Star Wars has turned into a community of over 3,000 fans spanning 20 different countries.
Originally called "Detention Block 2551," the group evolved into a fictional military outfit based off a reference in Return of the Jedi to Emperor Palpatine's two "finest legions" of Stormtroopers. With a greater focus on the militaristic side of Star Wars, Johnson renamed the group the 501st Legion to put the group in line with the universe and make it sound more authentic.
The 501st is currently made up of a wide variety of Star Wars enthusiasts who create, buy, sell, trade and dress-up as characters from the Star Wars fiction and go to events in these costumes. Members are only allowed to dress as "bad guys" from the Star Wars fiction such as Stormtroopers, Boba Fett, Darth Vader, bounty hunters, and Tusken Raiders, while their sister group, Rebel Force, dresses as the heroes. Although the group attends Star Wars conventions, movies releases and book signings, they primarily focus on charity events where members show-up in costumes to generate press and bring novelty to the occasion. The group does not accept money for attending these events, but encourages the organizers to make a donation to a charity on their behalf.
Since the creation of the 501st, LucasArts, the company that owns the rights to the Star Wars fiction, has openly embraced the group and adopted them into the official Star Wars continuity. In recognition of the group, LucasArts has featured the 501st in two Star Wars books (Survivor's Quest and Fool's Bargain), a video game (Star Wars Battlefront 2) and the most recent Star Wars movie, Revenge of the Sith.
Because LucasArts has shown such strong enthusiasm towards the 501st, it has turned a blind eye to some of the legal issues that may arise from the group's practices. For example, although designing and selling Star Wars costumes breaks LucasArts copyright, LucasArts doesn't get involved and lets the community police itself on the matter. Also, because the group does not accept money for attending events, LucasArts is not missing out on profits it would otherwise receive. Since the 501st's charity work looks good for LucasArts too, both groups have a close relationship where LucasArts gives permission to use Star Wars copyright so long as the 501st doesn't abuse this trust.
How Members Communicate
To accommodate the large size of the group, the 501st is broken-up into different "garrisons" including the East, West and Central Garrison and the South Outpost. These garrisons are then divided into smaller groups based on geographic territories such as states or countries. Each smaller garrison has a Web site where the group officer posts event information and members can get in contact with one another.
Before you can comment on the forums, however, you must become a member of the 501st Legion by registering on its Web site. After agreeing to the group's terms of agreement, you select a username and password and enter an email address. From there you can choose to enter your AIM address, birth date and location, as well as a signature to sign-off on all your posts to the forum (Example: "I've got a bad feeling about this..."). Within the next 48-hours, the group's online moderator sends you a confirmation e-mail granting you access the forums.
Once you have become a member, you can now post on all the public forums, which are divided up into a dozen threads. The three I will focus on the most though are the "Welcome Mat" where new members introduce themselves and ask any questions they may have, "The Cantina," which serves as an open forum for general conversation and "The Armory" where members buy and sell armor, as well as find out how to build a suit themselves.
Outside of the forums, members can send private messages to each other that other people can't see. Once a person receives a private message, they are alerted via email, but they must respond back on the site. There is also a member directory that gives contact information for each member including e-mail addresses and member names.
Even as a registered "recruit," new members are not fully admitted into the ranks of the 501st until they can prove they have a professional quality Star Wars outfit. New recruits can get a costume by soliciting members on the forums who design and sell Star Wars outfits or by making one themselves. Once group officers have approved your costume, you are granted access to the private forums, which only full members can view or comment on. Although I was not able to access this part of the site, community members told me this is where members comment on more personal matters that they would not want the public to view. For example, if someone buying a costume gets scammed, the member can express his or her grievances and warn others from doing business with the person.
Trust on the Forums
One of the main ways group members build trust is through "The Armory" on the public forums. Because Star Wars costuming is such a time- and money-consuming hobby with some costumes running around $3,000, members must rely on each other to make sure they get the best costume for their money. For those looking to purchase costumes from someone who makes suits, this means asking members to put you in contact with the most reliable designers. Many group members distrust outside services that sell costumes or people who auction outfits on eBay, instead focusing on references from members who have used someone's services in the past. Through word-of-mouth, the best designers' contact information finds their way to new members.
If you want to make your own Star Wars costume, members can point you to Web sites that chronicle the experiences of others who have designed their own outfits with step-by-step instructions.
Everyone benefits from the buyer-referencer-seller relationship in different ways. New members are able to find professional and affordable costumes from reliable designers without having to go through much trouble of searching for this information alone. The referencer also benefits by developing a closer relationship with the group member while gaining credibility. Lastly, the buyer is able to get his or her name out at zero cost and has a ready supply of potential buyers.
In order to get these transactions to work smoothly, trust becomes an essential part of the equation. Because this process relies on every person playing their part, if someone does not fulfill their role, the other two members suffer. If the buyer backs out, the seller will not be reimbursed for constructing the costume, and if the seller backs out, the buyer could potentially lose a lot of money or invest in a low-quality suit. In either case, the middleman loses credibility for vouching for an untrustworthy person when the deal goes sour.
Here's what group Officer Jay daSilva had to say.
It's not a common hobby so we tend to stick together. I think we are so open with each other because we have to be. Our costumes require people with different specialties, from people who can sculpt and those who can build stuff, to those who can sew.[1]
Professional Costumers
According to the founder of the 501st, many members trust each other because of the professionalism of the group. After all, these people didn't become the world's largest Star Wars costuming group by just buying a bunch of Halloween costumes. As I mentioned previously, there is a multiplicity of requirements members must meet before one is accepted into the organization, ensuring only the most dedicated fans join. Also, because it costs so much to purchase a costume, the group is made up of an older demographic of Star Wars aficionados who are more mature and respectful than a younger crowd might be.
Since it's inception, the 501st has also tried to be as professional as possible in organizing their group. Though there are different garrisons, they all have the same requirements to join and work toward achieving the same goals: to celebrate the Star Wars movies, to promote the quality and improvement of Star Wars costumes and to contribute to the local community through charity and volunteer work. With these goals in mind, garrisons abide by the same rules set forth by the 501st and work toward promoting a cause that unifies all members.
Darkdarth Enters the Fray
Eventually, I realized being a strictly passive observer prevented me from interacting with 501st members on the forums. Although I was unable and unwilling to purchase a costume to become a full member, I created the persona "Darkdarth" and gained access to the public forums and the private message system. I decided not to identify myself as a journalist so people would not shy away from talking to me, and decided to act like I was interested in purchasing a costume. Here is what I wrote on "The Welcome Mat":
Hey gang! How much should I expect to spend on assembling a stormtrooper costume from scratch? I know it depends on where I'm getting my materials from but I'm guessing around $1,500. I'd appreciate the help! Thanks!
Within five minutes of posting, several members commented on my thread, welcoming me to the organization, telling me how much a costume would cost and even correcting me that it is a not a "Stormtrooper costume" but a "TK Kit." I also received a few private messages from groups members who directed me to reliable costume sellers, even going as far as to leave me their home phone numbers to contact them with questions.
One group member called me out and said I should not ask outright who sells armor before even introducing myself. I then posted back some factual information about where I went to school and my interest in Star Wars, but then lied and said I was looking to build a costume with money from my summer job. I decided to find out why people were being so welcoming and commented, "I have to say, I have been really impressed with how friendly people are here, even after never having met me before."
Here is how members responded:
Navycook: Dark we are all brothers here and you'll find out once your in you are apart of the darkside word wide and you feel it to :) so many people across the world help out and a great example one of our san diego members lost his home a month ago in a arson fire and troopers across the globe helped him get back on his and his familys feet by donating money clothes armor and more. we are a very close brotherhood that love to help others and be fanboys. [2]
River: Welcome aboard trooper! Navycook is correct, youll find out many of us here treat each other like family. We are a very tight nit group and are always willing to reach out and help a new cadet.[3]
Searching through more of the forums, I found a thread where people introduce themselves and reveal very personal information. People had posted pictures of themselves and their family members, seemingly not holding anything back. Whereas many people limit access to their personal pictures on social networking sites, this was not the case here.
The total openness of strangers was almost contagious, and I found myself growing more comfortable on the forums and with interacting with other members. Every comment on the forums shone with positivity and encouragement. Whether someone posted on a new costuming endeavor or a personal struggle, members rallied around each other for support. Soon, I started to think of these people as friends I could trust. It was a domino effect; one person's openness encouraged another to open up and so forth. Who knew the dark side could feel so good?
Taking Advantage of Trust
The 501st, like many other groups, has seen its fair share of people who have abused the trust of the organization.
A few years ago, 501st members were invited to an exclusive broadcast of Target's marketing strategy for its new line of Star Wars action figures. Members were instructed not to discuss anything they saw at the broadcast to anyone outside of the meeting because they wanted to keep the products a secret. One group member, however, posted details about the new product lineup on the 501st forum where it found its way to many Stars Wars blogs. Although Target could have sued the member for revealing industry secrets, it didn't press charges. Instead, the 501st "excommunicated" the member from the group and removed him from the forums.
When a member is kicked out of the group, they lose their ability to comment on any of the forums or participate in 501st events. This is a strong deterrent for members who might abuse this trust because they would then be left with an expensive costume and nowhere to go.
Over the past 11 years, Albin Johnson has had to deal with many offending members:
Yes, unfortunately, there have been members removed from the forums for one reason or another. Like any organized groups, rules come into play and sometimes those rules require some form of censure. The Legion tries to keep its rules simple and practical, and so we try not to allow social politics to play a part. But no one is perfect, and sometimes corrections happen.[4]
Darkdarth comes out of the Journalistic Closet
Although "Darkdarth" allowed me to contact people as a fellow member, I wanted to be able to ask them directly how trust played into the 501st. If I came out as a journalist, however, it would reveal that I had been abusing their trust all along. I decided this might prove to be an interesting experiment because I would be able to experience firsthand what happens when an outsider abuses the hospitality of the group. Just in case I was kicked out of the group, I saved copies of all my posts and messages and then wrote in “The Cantina”:
I've been working on a project for one of my journalism classes on the 501st and need some help. My topic is on how important trust is to members of the garrison and where this trust comes from. If anyone could tell me what makes them open up to community members here, I would greatly appreciate it.
One week and 37 views later, only one person responded to my call:
I'd normally consider myself a non-people person, bordering anti-social. That just doesn't apply when it comes to Legion members. Not only do we have a love of Star Wars in common, but Legion members have proven themselves to be a great bunch to be around. I can't say enough good things about them.[5]
I was never kicked out of the group and my post was largely ignored.
What I Learned
The 501st relies on trust to build a stronger community, connect buyers and sellers of Star Wars costumes and continue to have LucasArts' permission to use the Star Wars license. This trust comes from the overwhelming hospitality and openness of community members, and their ability to make new members feel welcome. The professionalism of the group makes people hold their costuming to higher standards and abide by rules at the risk of being expelled from the group. Although the group ignores small incidents of misconduct, moderators are not afraid to use their power and expel people who have proven themselves untrustworthy
Even though my final experiment of abusing group members' trust ultimately failed to garner a large response, it taught me something else about the group. Whereas they had welcomed me as a new member, they ignored me as a journalist, showing how important it is to contribute to the group. A post right after mine depicting different group members on Photoshopped Star Wars planets drew hundreds of views and dozens of posts because people were interested in supporting his contribution to the group. I, on the other hand, was asking people to give me personal information about themselves for a research paper. By ignoring me, they demonstrated that as friendly as group members are, they are wary of whom they trust.
Trust plays in integral role in shaping peoples' relationships and the 501st is no different. As the group continues to expand, members from across the globe develop close bonds with each other through the digital world. For a group that hides behind masks and robes, trust continues to be the force keeping the group from going to the dark side.
I have a TIE Pilot and Biker Scout and each of those cost right around that much. You can do it for cheaper, but it all depends on what you want. For information on the different "kinds" of Stormtrooper armor out there, the best place I can refer you to is the 501st Stormtrooper Detachment... 
so many people across the world help out and a great example one of our san diego members lost his home a month ago in a arson fire and troopers across the globe helped him get back on his and his familys feet by donating money clothes armor and more. we are a very close brotherhood that love to help others and be fanboys 
