Evaluative discourse metaphor in online communities

"This monograph introduces the Evaluative Discourse Metaphor model, which claims that participants in public and semi-public discourse online (re)use evaluative metaphors to construct and sustain online communities. We investigate how evaluative metaphors trigger other evaluative metaphors sharing the same form but not necessarily the same target of evaluation. This process creates discourse spaces unified by a shared ethos of evaluation. Our model integrates a discourse-based view of metaphor, elements of Hallidayan metafunctions, Du Bois's stance triangle and insights from computer-mediated communication, focusing on affordances and community-building. We define or redefine key concepts such as single evaluative metaphors, metaphorical complexes, metaphorical triggers, metaphorical bondicons and metaphorical chains. Rather than breaking from the existing literature, we seek to integrate it into a framework useful to scholars across disciplines, including metaphor studies, digital ethnography, discourse analysis, and (online) communication"-- Provided by publisher