LA DYNAMIQUE HISTORIQUE DES ESPACES EN LIGNE: L'exemple des forums francophones consacrés à la pratique de l'automutilation [The Historical Dynamics of Online Spaces: The case of Internet forums dedicated to self-injury]

In the Internet, some groups emerge, and within these groups, individuals may follow very constraining norms without any coercive means to exist. Among the explanations prevailing in the sociological literature to understand this phenomenon, few has been done to to take history into consideration. Based on a detailed study of Internet forums dedicated to self-injury, this article provides new insights into the historical dynamics of online spaces, showing how the history of each of these spaces may be used to explain the norms that are followed within them.