Re: Playground monitors: A Researcg Agenda?

Mr. E (jackechs@EROLS.COM)
Mon, 12 Feb 1996 22:30:05 -0500

At 10:11 PM 02/12/96 -0500, Antoinette Errante wrote:
>Now, I am in the throes of a content analysis I promised to let the list
>know about (Ethnograph and Conc) so surfing my many lists gives me some
>relief from the tedium.
>
>But it occurred to me that I am finding more and more that the internet has
>become the academic's (or at least MY ) version of People magazine or the
>Ricky Lake show (Daryl Barnett seems to make a similar argument in an
>earlier post).
>
>So, dear Anthro-l colleagues. You are not alone. The hisotirans,
>theologians, librarians, africanists are all bickering too. Here's my
>question:
>
>Is anyone out there studying the development of internet culture? Is there
>something about it that lends to this kind of behavior? I don't mean to
>suugest that name-calling/flaming/lost tempers never happen in person
>(we've all been to conferences and the like) but is internent behavior more
>like driving a car than it is conversing around a roundtable with
>colleagues. I must confess I myself rediscover my neopolitan roots
>(language and gestures) while driving where I am normally a fairly
>civilized and mild-mannered person.
>
>Anyone care to metaflame? =)

I couldn't agree with you more ... on one list it's the Communications
Decency Act, anti-Semitism of Dorothy L. Sayers (over now), censorship,
abortion, personal posts, what is nettiquette, etc. Almost the same choice
of names as you listed. I can think of the names at the moment, but I have
seen a couple of articles on internet culture that I believe were written by
anthropoligists, sociologists, psych ... well wasn't written by a
professional journalist.
thank you for your time and space ... respectfully submitted,

Anthony Dean Dauer

"Fear is the main source of superstition, and one of the main sources
of cruelty. To conquer fear is the beginning of wisdom." Bertrand
Russell, Earl Russell (1872-1970) An Outline of Intellectual Rubbish
[1950].

"The only thing we have to fear is fear itself." Franklin Delano
Roosevelt (1882-1945) First Inaugural Address [March 4, 1933].

"We have met the enemy, and he is us." Walt Kelly (1913-1973), Pogo

Copyright 1996 Anthony Dean Dauer. All rights reserved.