Wednesday 16 November 2011

Regulation in Online Communities

The ‘information superhighway’ has arguably become the most revolutionary technology, connecting billions of people all around the world. It is clear that computer networks allow people to create a range of new social spaces in which to meet and interact with one another (Kollock and Smith, 1999). Instead of people talking to machines, computer networks are being used to connect people to other people (Wellman et al., 1996 cited in Kollock and Smith, 1999).  E-mails, social networking, programmes like Skype; anyone who regularly goes online will more often than not communicate with someone online during their online sessions.
But with technology that allows instant connection to anywhere in the world anonymously, there are obvious issues. The idea of identity becomes very blurred in an online environment, as Kollock and Smith (1999) explain:

‘Online interaction strips away many of the cues and signs that are part of face-to-face interaction’

Users can hide their age, gender, race or class when communicating online, which can lead to deception. In “Reading race online: discovering racial identity in Usenet discussions”, Byron Burkhalter says that online interaction changes the dynamics of racial identity, and not always for the better. With anonymity online, there is no fear of repercussions or consequences. Does this mean online communities must be governed closely or are online communities simply the easiest way to express opinion, as politically incorrect as they may be?
In Communities in Cyberspace, Elizabeth Reid writes of Roseanne Stone’s research into the governance of the CommuniTree bulletin board:

(It) was intended to be a forum for intellectual and spiritual discussion among adults. It was an environment where censorship was censured and each user’s privacy was both respected and guaranteed by the system’s administrators. The community is fostered collapsed under the onslaught of messages, often obscene, posted by the first generation of adolescent school children with personal computers and modems. (1991)

These online communities have often been described as freeing users from social constraints.  Although they usually disagree on the effects of decreased social inhibition, some researchers of human behaviour have noted that users tend to behave more freely and spontaneously than they would in face-to-face encounters (Reid, 1999). While it can (and should) be a good thing, it also leads users to feel free to express anger and hatred at other people who could be strangers. (Kiesler et al., 1984 cited in Reid, 1999). For example, flaming is an online phenomenon where users use uninhibited expression of “remarks containing swearing, insults, name calling and hostile comments” (Ibid). 

With the possibility of these problems occurring in an online community, it does seem essential for some kind of regulations to be put in place for the sake of everyone involved. Jenny Preece describes possible ways to prevent a breakdown of social etiquette in online environment:

Two well-known approaches that specifically address etiquette solutions are setting rules (often called Netiquette) and moderating discussions (2004).

But she goes on to say that these can be somewhat ineffective and needs to be improved upon:

The way forward is to develop processes that bring together the best human-oriented approaches with good technical support... Processes that encourage communities to develop self-governing etiquette standards are promising. In addition to preventing obvious breaches of etiquette, processes are needed for dealing with subtle etiquette problems such as clever pranks designed to incite reactions and inadvertent impoliteness due to cultural misunderstandings. A deeper knowledge of semiotics is needed to build these kinds of applications.

As Peerce states, with the continuing growth of the online community, etiquette in these communities isn’t just wanted, but it is necessary for all those involved.



Bibliography:

Preece, J., (2004) Etiquette Online: From Nice to Necessary. Communications of the ACM, vol. 47, no. 4.

Smith, M., and Kollock, P., Reid, E., (1999) Communities in Cyerspace. London: Routledge.

Wellman, B., Salaff, J., Dimitrova, D., Garton, L., Guila, M., and Haythornthwaite, C., (1996). Computer Networks as Social Networks, Annual Review of Sociology 22: 211-38

Stone, A. R., (1991) Will the Real Body Please Stand Up? Boundary Stories about Virtual Cultures, Cyperspace: First Steps, (ed) Benedikt, M. Cambridge, MA: MIT Press.

Wednesday 2 November 2011

Opinions on the theories of Prosumer and Produser by Dr. Axel Bruns

The idea of a 'Prosumer' is the theory that, with Web 2.0 technologies that encourage people to create, share and communicate in one way or another, those of us who use the likes of Twitter, Facebook, Youtube, blogging websites etc. are a comination of producer and consumer.


The internet is such an open platform. There are no real rules when it comes to producing and recent websites and technologies have given everyone the opportunity to voice their opinions or express whatever creativity, artistic or otherwise, is bubbling within.


Perhaps due to lack of information or details regarding these theories, I find myself with not a lot to say about them. But they do make sense and it's obvious to see how the idea of the Produser is practically omnipresent in Twitter, blogs and so on. It is an evolution in creative producing, distribution and consuming that could only happen on the internet and should be embraced as the future.

Yet there is one thought at the back of my mind saying if we are both the producers and the consumers, is all this content not going in a very big circle? With the anonymity of internet, it surely becomes harder to prove that you created or wrote the piece that has circulated once it comes back to you. With the pseudonyms, nicknames and aliases and such, does it become harder and harder to keep track of who is producing what? After all, my real name isn't on this blog...

Tuesday 1 November 2011

Part 3: The People

The next task for the class was to go out into the virtual world and get to know the inhabitants. We had to find people we could relate to through their interests or the activities they enjoyed doing within the Second Life world. This wasn't going to be difficult. With millions of people and every real life activity given a virtual counterpart within Second Life, all you had to do was decide which of your interests you wanted to discuss with those around you, then let the search bar do the rest of the work.


The first person I wanted to talk to was the man who I had found playing a 'live' gig in Fibber McGee's the week previously, Al Hoffman.  He was playing another set in a different venue this week, which I found out about from his news letter that I had signed up for. He actually remembered me from the gig he played in Fibber's the previous week. After his set, I had a chat with him over a 'pint' to learn more about what he does in Second Life.


In person, he has an expensive microphone and sound system set up for his computer. Using a drum and bass machine program on his computer, he plays guitar and occasionally sings into his microphone to make his music. Avatars watch his avatar plays the music on the venue's virtual stays while he, in real life, plays away in front of his computer.


I found this interesting, but I wasn't sure what else to think about it. In real life, he's a struggling musician who lives from one show to the next. But in Second Life, he's a star with thousands of fans. He plays in some of the biggest virtual venues in the virtual world. But he doesn't ever let his virtual and real life cross over. He would never use his online notoriety to try sell albums in real life. Yet he still puts hundreds of his own euro into a very sophisticated microphone and sound system.


But as a struggling musician, part of me can relate to him as I always wanted to try and make a career out of music. But how do you prioritize with your real life career and the fame you've wanted all your life in online form?


When looking at the menu in things to do, the games caught my eye. I teleported myself to a place called 'Siden City', which was some kind of Fantasy/Horror role-playing area. You chose the scenario, get a book of the rules and then it just... Evolves from there. I just sat in on one role-playing session to get a feel for what happened in this area and it was pretty remarkable. This was role-playing in Second Life. Role-playing within role-playing. It was like Inception.


But with the initial confusion anyone would feel from discovering this for the first time, I then got into it myself, even embraced it to an extent. In games like Mass Effect, Heavy Rain and any open-ended choice-based games, you are role-playing because you become the character and vice versa in the journey. As a big fan of those types of games, it didn't take me very long to figure out how it worked. You and your group (with the help of your chosen scenario and the Second Life setting) make the story but you also react to it and you just keep going until the events work themselves into some kind of conclusion.

After the role-playing session, I talked to one of the regular role-players by the name of Kimberly. She explained that if you tried to play these kinds of games in real life, it would be difficult to find anyone to play along. To find anyone who is into role-playing Dungeons and Dragons type stuff just doesn't happen in California, where she lives, because everyone spends all their time outside. Sport, beaches, shopping and such are what people where she's from do with their lives. But on Second Life, she can come to Siden and do some role-playing whenever she wants. She too is a hardcore gamer like myself and, after recommendations from some of her virtual friends, gave the role-playing a try and was instantly drawn into it.




The best thing I have learned from my week of making new friends is that no matter who you are, what you like or how obscure your hobbies are, you'll find someone you can relate to on Second Life. It is always possible to find someone who you can be friends with.