Online groups that share celebrity news and gossip are redefining their content direction.
Chinese forum and ratings platform Douban has suspended its reply function since Monday evening. The company said the suspension is due to “technical reasons” and will last until September 13.
Douban is popular with fanquan, or fan groups, which can consist of millions of members who are avid supporters of celebrities. The disabled reply function has paralyzed communications within these groups, coinciding with the Chinese government’s curbs on the influence of web and entertainment idols who command the loyalty of their fans.
Douban is also known for its reviews section, where users participate in discussions and review books, films, TV shows, and other forms of media. It hosts all types of interest groups, including those that focus on Chinese celebrities.
“For technical reasons, Douban temporarily shut down the reply function for seven days,” Douban told The Beijing News when it was approached by the media outlet.
The suspension has become a popular discussion topic in other online environments. The topic of “Douban suspends replies” has become a frequently searched phrase on Weibo since Douban’s announcement. As of Wednesday morning, the topic has been viewed more than 93 million times.
KrASIA noticed that many Douban users were considering moving to other social media platforms, such as sports forum Hupu and Reddit-like Baidu Tieba.
The Cyberspace Administration of China...
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