Expansion of Scope

The mobilization, resulting action and activation of networks may contribute to a deepening appreciation for the issues raised. Some members of the group may find their range of interest and investment in these issues expand through ongoing participaton. In the case of Racebending, the issues raised by the mobilization around the racially problematic casting of the Avatar: The Last Airbender film encouraged certain members of the group to explore larger questions of race and film casting in Hollywood film productions.

In some cases, expansion of scope meets with resistance within the community. For example, in the case of PriceScope, the fact that heated political exchange was taking place in a space created to discuss diamonds, raised some objections within the community. This ultimately led to the shutting down of the political discourse on the forum. Similarly, Racebending's proposal to become involved with emergency relief efforts in Haiti, met with criticism that the group was stretching beyond its designated scope. Notably, the Harry Potter Alliance has been able to maintain a constantly expanding scope of activities, to include same sex marriage advocacy and, in contrast to Racebending, Haiti relief as well. Notably, HPA's founder, Andrew Slack points to the rich versatility of the world created by the Harry Potter books in explaining why the community manages to expand its scope, suggesting that the relationship to the content world, indeed the content world itself, may inform the possibilities for scope.