On The Gatekeeping Phenomenon Of BBS In University And College

BBS (Bulletin Board System), which begins to have most of the functions of virtual communities is the undeveloped form of them. What plays an important role in the field of BBS is the one in colleges and universities, which possesses the majority of the BBS of our country. Being aware of the gatekeeping phenomenon and knowing how to deal with it is of great importance for BBS to develop healthily. In this study, we take BBS in colleges and universities for example, analyzing theory in BBS control, that is gatekeeping theory. First, we looked back on the research papers and keep watch on BBS. Second, we had an interview with related system operators, board managers and common customers. Third, we designed questionairs referring to the result of observation, interview and research papers, combined with case analysis in BBS rumor communition. We collected information from questions given out in Tsinghua University, Soochow University, Yancheng Institute of Technology and Changshu Institute of Technology, where we got 389 valid samples. The consequence of our research indicates that there exists gatekeeping phenomenon and such gatekeeping mainly lies in three parts, individual consumers, college organizations and the whole society. Here we offer some advice for the administative department to refer to so that strategic decisions can be made.