“Thank you for your participation”

Abstract This study investigates the placement, form, and function of appreciation in the closing of online discussion forums. The data comprise ten discussion forums from two Chinese platforms, QQ and WeChat. Drawing on Conversation Analysis (CA) and the notion of “paired actions,” the study identifies three loci of appreciation: pre-announcement (pre-A), on-announcement (on-A), and post-announcement (post-A). Pre-A appreciation serves as possible pre-closings for the impending closure of the forum. On-A appreciation functions as part of the first-pair-part (FPP) to facilitate the closure. Post-A appreciation serves as the second-pair-part (SPP) to finalize the closure. As interruptions are common in the forums, expressing appreciation becomes an important strategy for the moderator and participants to manage collaboratively these interruptions to ensure the discussion will end smoothly and coherently. These findings have implications for the use of appreciation in the closing of various interactions and for applying CA to online communication.