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Expressing appreciation in the closing of online discussion forums

ORCiD logo with link | Hangzhou Normal University
Published online: 8 August 2025
DOI logo with link
https://doi.org/10.1075/prag.24002.fen
Abstract
This study investigates the placement, form, and function of appreciation in the closing of online discussion forums. The data comprise ten discussion forums from two Chinese platforms, QQ and WeChat. Drawing on Conversation Analysis (CA) and the notion of “paired actions,” the study identifies three loci of appreciation: pre-announcement (pre-A), on-announcement (on-A), and post-announcement (post-A). Pre-A appreciation serves as possible pre-closings for the impending closure of the forum. On-A appreciation functions as part of the first-pair-part (FPP) to facilitate the closure. Post-A appreciation serves as the second-pair-part (SPP) to finalize the closure. As interruptions are common in the forums, expressing appreciation becomes an important strategy for the moderator and participants to manage collaboratively these interruptions to ensure the discussion will end smoothly and coherently. These findings have implications for the use of appreciation in the closing of various interactions and for applying CA to online communication.
Article outline
  • 1.Introduction
  • 2.Literature review
    • 2.1Appreciation in the closing of offline conversation
    • 2.2Appreciation in the closing of online interaction
    • 2.3Sequence organization in online interaction
  • 3.Data and method
  • 4.Appreciation in the closing of QQ and WeChat forums
    • 4.1Pre-A appreciation as a possible pre-closing signal
    • 4.2On-A appreciation as a component of FPPs
    • 4.3Post-A appreciation as a component of SPPs
  • 5.Discussion
  • Acknowledgments
  • Note
  • References
References (60)
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