An Analysis of Threads with No Responses in Online Asynchronous Discussions

This study examines the causes of “no-response threads” in thread-based online discussion support systems. We investigated the factors contributing to the occurrence of no-response threads by using a logistic regression analysis of discussions on the topic of Nagoya City’s attractions in the online discussion system COLLAGREE. Results showed that the content quality of a post did not significantly affect the occurrence of no-response threads in the divergence phase, where non-response was found to be more dependent on environmental factors such as the displayed time on the first page and the number of entries and unique viewers after the thread was posted. On the other hand, in the convergence phase, content quality greatly affected whether a new post would receive a response.