The online bass fishing community uses online forums, articles, and social media posts to communicate ideas to other members about news or information surrounding the sport of bass fishing. For my research I have chosen two websites, Fishbrain and Bassresource.com, to highlight the key communication aspects of the community. On both of these websites members will often use community specific lexis to communicate. The use of lexis on these websites is so prevalent that it usually dominates any conversation amongst members. For example on the website Fishbrain, because of the word count or text restrictions, users will sometimes use only lexis that is specific to bass fishing in their posts so that others members will be able to understand the information. The use of lexis on these websites also tends to correlate to the level of membership of the member. This meaning that the specific lexis used to communicate usually varies amongst members with different skill levels or expertise. This concept is especially prevalent on BassResourceGuide.com, where entire articles and forums will use different types of lexis based on who is writing the article or post, or who the intended audience is. Nevertheless, lexis plays a vital role in the communication of members on both of these websites, and it is important that in my research I am able to prove certain things about the use of lexis via the collection and analyzation of vast amounts of data.
After collecting a set amount of primary data for my research, I then had formulate a way to analyze the information I had. Since I was studying the use of lexis on both Fishbrain and BassResourceGuide.com, I gathered a collection of posts and articles exclusively from both of these websites. For each posts and article I had collected, I conducted an in depth analysis of the use of lexis by observing the usage patterns of community specific language as well as the differences in language used amongst the different posts. When looking for patterns of words used I usually analyzed each post line by line or word by word based on the length and type of piece I was observing. For the less text heavy post on Fishbrain, I usually went word by word in my analysis and made note of each use of lexis and how it communicated a specific idea or relayed a bit of information to other users of the website. On BassResourceGuide.com I used primarily a line by line method of observation in which I noted when lexis was used, how it was used, and what it's purpose was in relation to relaying information in the community. For the part of my analysis where I compared texts, I would use the information collected from my first method of research and compare the characteristics of lexis in one piece to that of another related text.
Through the analyzation of all of the texts from my community, one of the first and foremost claims I have devised from my data, is that the use of lexis on Fishbrain is needed in order to communicate ideas between anglers effectively. The data I collected from this website best explains the main point of my claim because each of the texts I gathered illustrate how much the different members of the community all use lexis specific to bass fishing at some point in their posts. For example, I have determined that from the three posts that I gathered from Fishbrain there was a total 95 words used. Out of these 95 words, I found that exactly 29 of these words were lexis specific to the community. This shows that each of the post that I collected uses lexis about 30% of the time on average, and with the average post consisting of about 30 words, most posts will usually use lexis about 10 different times. Furthermore, for each of these posts on Fishbrain, other users will often reply, comment, or ask a question regarding the information the angler presented in his post. From observing these replies I have also found that between each of my three texts, lexis has been used in order to either ask a question, respond to question, or communicate another point that was not previously mentioned in the original post. The feedback and dialogue this extensive use of lexis creates, proves that lexis is needed in order for communication within the community to flow cohesively. This idea of lexis as a necessary component for the fluidity of communication, closely parallels the arguments presented by scholar John Swales (1990). In his research, Swales explains how discourse community conversations are often times hard for outsiders to comprehend due to the wide use of specific language and lexis used, and that without this complexity, the community is no longer a discourse community and therefore loses its unique conversational identity. The relatability of this argument to the claims I present in my analysis is most apparent when considering that I am also proving how the use of lexis is depended upon in order for intercommunication amongst members to be both "unique" and successful. Therefore when generating and establishing my claims for my research, I often referred to this piece by Swales in order to grasp a better understanding for the role of lexis within discourse communities like the two at the head of my study. Swales's description also helps prove the validity of my own claims because he explains, much like I do, how lexis is necessary in order for a community to identify as a discourse community, where as I am also proving lexis to be a necessary element of communication within my own discourse community. Thus, with lexis making up about 30% of the primary communication on Fishbrain, without it the community would for certain would lose the post by post dialogue that occurs on the website. This would in turn cause the communication within the community to collapse. On the other hand, the need for lexis in these post could also stem from the limited word count that each post is confined to. However this could not be the only reason because, as shown in the post I have collected, there are certain things anglers use or do that just require the use of lexis to describe or explain. For example, in one of the post I collected by a local fisherman, he attempts to explain a specific bait he used to catch fish for the day at his local pond. To do this, the fisherman had to use lexis to describe the action of the bait, how it was rigged, and even what it's official name was, which proves the need for lexis in these post despite the word count restriction created by the website. Nevertheless, from the data I collected on usage patterns I have showed how lexis dominates community texts that are used for communication and even how it is included in responses regarding these texts.
When looking at other data I have collected, another claim regarding the use lexis that I have constructed, is that the use of lexis on Bassresourceguide.com varies based on level of membership of the user. Though there has already been research regarding lexis usage and membership level by writing scholars like Erik Borg (2003), my research will attempt to prove a specific correlation between types of lexis used and skill/membership level of the user. I have found that specific word usage and lexis differs amongst the many posts and articles on the website, which is based on the audience and writer of the piece in question. On BassResource.com I have conducted a full scale observation of two specific articles with two different intended audiences and authors, who differ in professional experience. One article by John Neporadny Jr. explains specific professional bass fishing tips that he has learned from his time in professional Bassmaster Elite Series competitions. In this article I have noted the incredibly technical and specific terms that he uses that relate to his experience as a professional. For example in the article Neporadny mentions different types of baits such as reaction baits as well as their subsets, such as spinner baits and crankbaits. He also mentions highly technical and specific bass fishing techniques, such as bait selection based on water clarity, temperature, wind conditions, cloud cover, and vegetation. The other article "Angling 101", by Bonita Staples, is an introduction to the world of bass fishing and offers tips to aspiring bass fishermen. In the article Staples uses very little lexis and sticks primarily to explaining the different types of fish and certain very basic lure and baits such as crank baits and standard worms. Unlike the article by Neporadny, Staples uses very little to no lexis in the article in order to appeal and be able to communicate effectively with her target audience, which consists of beginner anglers. However, the lexis Staples does use mirrors slightly the words used in the professional article This contrast in lexis usage proves that on Bassresource.com members with different levels of membership will at times use lexis more suited to their own personal skill level or experience with bass fishing. On Bassresource.com articles written by professionals, including this one, use this exact same style of complex lexis because their advance skill level in real life allows for them to be a higher level community member on the website. Writing studies researchers such as Erik Borg even explain how higher level members of the community will use more complex lexis as introductory device for new members of the community, which falls in line with my own claim regarding the changing patterns of lexis based on membership level. Borgs's research on lexis comes from the analysis of an online community with forums and threads just like Bassresourceguide.com, which even further proves the discrepancies in lexis use due in part to the fact that Bassresourceguide.com is forum and thread based community. Overall, the difference in use of lexis between members of Bassresource.com not only highlights a fundamental characteristic of the community but it also plays into the communities membership hierarchy that controls the actions of the community.
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