Collective behavior on the internet as displayed in some online forums ... 'Communal reinforcement is a social phenomenon in which a concept or idea is repeatedly asserted in a community, regardless of whether sufficient empirical evidence has been presented to support it. Over time, the concept or idea is reinforced to become a strong belief in many people's minds, and may be regarded by the members of the community as fact' 'Most of the time, people conform for one of two reasons: informational social influence, following the opinions or behavior of other people because we believe that they have accurate knowledge and that what they are doing is right, and normative social influences, conforming to obtain the reward that comes from being accepted by other people while at the same time avoiding their rejection' 'Herd behavior describes how individuals in a group can act together without planned direction. The term pertains to the behavior of animals in herds, flocks and schools, and to human conduct during activities such as stock market bubbles and crashes, street demonstrations, sporting events, religious gatherings, episodes of mob violence and everyday decision-making, judgment and opinion-forming' 'Crowds that gather on behalf of a grievance can involve herding behavior that turns violent, particularly when confronted by an opposing ethnic or racial group' 'Large stock market trends often begin and end with periods of frenzied buying (bubbles) or selling (crashes). Many observers cite these episodes as clear examples of herding behavior that is irrational and driven by emotion - greed in the bubbles, fear in the crashes. Individual investors join the crowd of others in a rush to get in or out of the market' 'Some followers of the technical analysis school of investing see the herding behavior of investors as an example of extreme market sentiment. The academic study of behavioral finance has identified herding in the collective irrationality of investors'