Editing Virtual community (section)

=== User experience testing to determine social codes ===
[[User experience]] is the ultimate goal for the program or software used by an internet community, because user experience will determine the software's success.<ref>{{cite journal|last1=Sieckenius de Souza|first1=Clarisse|last2=Preece|first2=Jenny|title=A framework for analyzing and understanding online communities|journal=Interacting with Computers|date=June 2004|volume=19|issue=3|pages=579–610}}</ref> The software for social media pages or virtual communities is structured around the users' experience and designed specifically for online use.
User experience testing is utilized to reveal something about the personal experience of the human being using a product or system.<ref name="Tullis-2016">{{cite book|last1=Tullis|first1=Thomas|last2=Albert|first2=William|title=Measuring the User Experience: Collecting, Analyzing, and Presenting Usability Metrics|date=2016|publisher=Morgan Kaufmann|location=Amsterdam|isbn=978-0-12-415781-1}}</ref> When it comes to testing user experience in a software interface, three main characteristics are needed: a user who is engaged, a user who is interacting with a product or interface, and defining the users' experience in ways that are and observable or measurable.<ref name="Tullis-2016" />
User experience metrics are based on a reliability and repeatability, using a consistent set of measurements to result in comparable outcomes. User experience metrics are based on user retention, using a consistent set of measurements to collect data on user experience. 
The widespread use of the Internet and virtual communities by millions of diverse users for socializing is a phenomenon that raises new issues for researchers and developers. The vast number and diversity of individuals participating in virtual communities worldwide makes it a challenge to test usability across platforms to ensure the best overall user experience.  Some well-established measures applied to the usability framework for online communities are speed of learning, productivity, user satisfaction, how much people remember using the software, and how many errors they make.<ref name="Preece-2001">{{cite journal|last1=Preece|first1=Jenny|title=Socialility and Usability in Online Communities: Determining and Measuring Success|journal=Behaviour & Information Technology|date=2001|volume=20|issue=5|pages=347–356|doi=10.1080/01449290110084683|s2cid=14120302}}</ref>
The human computer interactions that are measured during a usability experience test focus on the individuals rather than their social interactions in the online community. The success of online communities depend on the integration of usability and social semiotics. Usability testing metrics can be used to determine social codes by evaluating a user's habits when interacting with a program. Social codes are established and reinforced by the regular repetition of behavioral patterns.<ref name="Chandler-2007">{{cite book|last1=Chandler|first1=Daniel|title=Semiotics: The Basics|date=2007|publisher=Routledge|location=Abingdon, Oxon|edition=3}}</ref> People communicate their social identities or [[culture code]] through the work they do, the way they talk, the clothes they wear, their eating habits, domestic environments and possessions, and use of leisure time. Usability testing metrics can be used to determine social codes by evaluating a user's habits when interacting with a program. The information provided during a usability test can determine demographic factors and help define the semiotic social code. Dialogue and social interactions, support information design, navigation support, and accessibility are integral components specific to online communities. As virtual communities grow, so do the diversity of their users. However, the technologies are not made to be any more or less intuitive. Usability tests can ensure users are communicating effectively using social and semiotic codes while maintaining their social identities.<ref name="Preece-2001" /> Efficient communication requires a common set of signs in the minds of those seeking to communicate.<ref name="Chandler-2007" /> As technologies evolve and mature, they tend to be used by an increasingly diverse set of users. This kind of increasing complexity and evolution of technology does no necessarily mean that the technologies are becoming easier to use.<ref name="Tullis-2016" /> Usability testing in virtual communities can ensure users are communicating effectively through social and semiotic codes and maintenance of social realities and identities.<ref name="Chandler-2007" />