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Non-Tech : Internet Rhetoric -- Ignore unavailable to you. Want to Upgrade?

To: ~digs who wrote (18)	6/28/2004 11:05:14 PM
From: ~digs	Read Replies (2) \| Respond to of 73

"Moral Panic and Alternative Identity Construction in Usenet" ascusc.org Paul Baker ; October 2001. Abstract: In this paper the concept of the "moral panic" is applied to computer-mediated communication through a qualitative examination of the case of a "troll" poster to the Usenet group alt.tv.melrose-place over a four month period. The notion of Internet identity construction is analyzed as a collaboration between participants, and the resolution strategies that the participants used in order to neutralize the moral panic are examined. quotes: Moral panics can be defined as the efforts of a particular group to exert collective moral control over another group or person. paper hypothesizes that moral panics are potential features of all communities, however large or small, including Internet or "virtual communities" (Rheingold, 1993) where hierarchies may be less immediately recognizable. internet identity: Post-structuralist theory points to identity as constantly shifting, multi-faceted (Bornstein, 1994) and experienced in relation to communication with other human beings (O'Brien, 1999, p.78). The potential for constructing alternative identities is one of the most salient features of Internet use. In face-to-face interaction restrictions are placed on the identity a person is able or permitted to construct for themselves at that particular point in time; for example, people cannot instantly change their physical appearance at will. However, as Reid (1994) notes, the anonymity and physical separation of cyberspace enables social experimentation, as well as explorations of identity and self. online identity construction is a joint process between "performer" and an involved "audience." The case of Macho Joe can be interpreted as "pernicious spamming" (Stivale, 1994) or "trolling" (Donath, 1999, p. 45), the act of "baiting" a newsgroup, and then enjoying the resulting conflict. several resolution strategies observed : -Avocate "sympathy/understanding" -Ignore -Flame in return -Threat of physical violence -Censorship.. ban Joe from newsgroup -Exposure.. note where else Joe hangs out and quote one of Joe's messages from another forum as the flame-war progressed, the focus on Joe began to move away from suggesting that he had repressed homosexual feelings, towards a perceived lack of intelligence, inadequate education and "low" social class on his part. It appeared that Joe's opponents were actively contributing towards the construction of Joe's identity, which at times ran contrary to the identity that he was attempting to construct for himself. While spelling errors and typos in friendly Internet communication can elicit humorous teasing (Marvin, 1995), such errors can be much more critically evaluated in flame wars. lifecycle of a moral panic: began with a undesirable problem requiring a solution; it progressed through various stages, which were not ideally linear, but did have a sense of progression in that more stringent measures were applied as time passed. The strongest measure ("outing") resulted in the end of the moral panic and a return to the status quo. The fact that nobody saw through Joe until his exposure suggests that people were prepared to accept him at face value. His Internet identity was accepted as real, because it was plausible. Joe was able to exploit folk myths about homosexuality in order to create a homophobic identity which was credible enough to garner enraged responses. However, the identity of Macho Joe should not be attributed to a single person. His detractors actively contributed to the construction of the Macho Joe identity, by posting remarks based on assumptive reasoning collaboration of participants is important for sustaining online identities 'Outing' is one of the most effective means of rendering the hypocritical impotent (Miller, 1995, p. 461). outing can alter the identities of those involved conclusion: Although moral panics are generally played out in the public eye, engineered by high-profile politicians or social commentators in the media, everyone has the potential to ignite or contribute towards moral panics. The Internet, with its potential for the exchange of ideologies between large numbers of diverse peoples and cultures, the construction of ambiguous alternative identities and the continuing debate over correct and incorrect usages of this technology is, therefore, a ripe source for the development and investigation of newer forms of moral panic. ----------------- in a situation where 'outing' isn't possible, i gotta figure that ignoring the offender is the next best solution. the problem w/ this solution is that it requires the group to ignore the person(s) collectively... often, established group members have an inability to refrain from being goaded into a response to or about the offender... thereby perpetuating the flame war witness the degradation of the 'Rat Dog' thread circa 2003