Please Say "Shibboleth": Socialization Through Language Adoption in Virtual Citizen Science

Socialization is crucial for open collaboration projects as incumbent participants establish and build relationships within their community. However, socialization often excludes engagement in a group's communicative and language practices. This study examines the socialization of newcomers to the communicative and language practices of Gravity Spy. Participants classify image subjects in Gravity Spy to isolate noise signals in gravitational wave detectors. Analyzing the discussion posts of Gravity Spy newcomers, we determine how they assimilate into the group's communicative practices. We find that socialization in a group’s language practices can be a valuable metric for integration. Our results suggest successful socialization is marked by the convergence of newcomers’ language with the community, influencing retention and participation. These findings provide insights into the linguistic dynamics of virtual citizen science communities and propose strategies for enhancing newcomer integration through language adoption.