A Group Is Its Own Worst Enemy by Clay Shirky (this guy: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Clay_Shirky) I wonder if he sees it the same, what would he add or correct. Probably he has some more writings on the topic. I found all his points sitting well in the case of imageboards too. The difference is, that imageboards are intended to be anonymous. However on these small boards, it is unavoidable to identify personas after a while, and places like /kc/ or boards with namefags, IDs, the membership can be told apart from passers by. Maybe will give a quick rundown what he talked about.