Dr. Tiffany

WHAT IS ‘ETERNAL SEPTEMBER’? Useful term to conceptualise repetitive, asinine or low-level ‘discourse’ online, especially in formerly ‘more intelligent’ spaces experiencing a mass influx of new participants - “Eternal September”. The term originates in the early history of the internet and describes a fundamental shift in how online communities behave once they are exposed to continuous mass participation. It first emerged in the early 1990s in reference to Usenet, one of the first large-scale online discussion systems. For many years, Usenet experienced a predictable annual cycle tied to the academic calendar. Each September, new university students gained access to the internet and began posting, often unfamiliar with established norms of online conduct, known as then as ‘netiquette’. Older users would spend several weeks correcting mistakes, sharing community ‘lore’, pointing newcomers to FAQs and enforcing community standards. By October, most new users had either adapted or left and the community returned to a relatively stable equilibrium This pattern ended in 1993 when commercial internet providers, most notably America Online, opened Usenet access to millions of subscribers. Unlike universities, these services added users continuously rather than seasonally and provided little guidance on existing norms. The influx of newcomers became constant and overwhelming, far exceeding the community’s ability to socialise them. As a result, the corrective phase never ended. September became permanent, giving rise to the phrase “Eternal September.” While the term originally referred to this specific moment in Usenet’s history, it has since become a broader metaphor for what happens when an established online culture is inundated by perpetual growth. Maybe you can think of parallels here! At its core Eternal September describes the breakdown of shared norms under conditions of unbounded scale. Early online communities were small enough to rely on informal social enforcement. Participants recognised one another, reputations mattered, bad behavior carried social costs etc. Norms such as staying on topic, avoiding repetition and not wasting people’s time with your dumb stupid retarded priors posts were essential to keeping discussions usable. Because growth was slow and predictable, these communities could absorb newcomers without losing coherence. Eternal September marks the point at which this balance collapses - as the number and rate of new participants make informal governance (broadly-defined) ineffective The consequences are the loss of this kind of ‘historical memory’ are both cultural and structural. As newcomers vastly outnumber long-term participants, veteran or ‘oldhead’ influence diminishes and the incentive to teach these norms erodes. (4chan used to have the motto “lurk more” for this purpose). Experienced users grow fatigued from repeating the same talking points, always making corrections etc and often disengage, taking the community’s memory and knowledge with them. Norms that once defined the place are diluted or replaced, the ‘Coca Cola Effect’ runs riot - often shifting toward simplicity and immediacy rather than depth or rigour. On social media platforms lowest common denominator influencers grow more than more reflective, intelligent influencers etc. The culture adapts to what requires the least shared context, often at the cost of quality or nuance [1/2]