Re: Net Socialisation

Ruby Rohrlich (rohrlich@GWIS2.CIRC.GWU.EDU)
Tue, 21 Nov 1995 00:24:32 -0500

My socialization was mixed; I was flamed by a minority, and supported by
the majority of the recipients of Anthro-L. Shortly after I began to
subscribe, I was shocked to see anthropologists using the androcentric
terms "man" and "mankind" when they were referring to people, and when I
mentioned this, it started a war, and I was called, among other things
one of Rush Limbaugh's favorite terms, "feminazi.." I responded with
terms of my own. But what emerged was that, as I said, the vast majority
on this list opposed those terms. It was an interesting way to find out
about the linguistic views of the folks here. As for newbies, I don't
classify people that way. If I can provide information that is
requested, I'm happy to do so. This I find to be the general approach on
this list -- people are helpful. They also participate
in interesting discussions. And the moderator, Hugh Jarvis, is just
what a moderator should be. I had the pleasure of meeting him at the
AAA meetings, along with the two Mikes, John, Denise, and others. I
think our non-smoking room at the l9l9 Grill turned out very well. It
was a quiet haven away from the crowds and the noise. Best regards to
all of you. By the way, John, I'm sorry I got your message a bout lunch
too late. But you can tell Katie if she needs a place to sleep when
she's in Washington, she can share my pad. I'm sorry we didn't get to
meet; I would have liked to tell her myself. Ruby.

On Sat, 18 Nov 1995, Sasha wrote:

> Hello All!
>
> Im currently working on a short study of "cyber-culture", which is
> going to look at socialisation on the net, i.e. the indoctrination of
> newbies into net culture. To this end, Id like to know about your
> first experiences on the net, whether it was participating in
> discussions on Anthro-L or in some other forum. How did you learn the
> "rules"? How were you treated by others on the list? Did you just lurk
> until you got the hang of things?
>
> Also, how do you feel about/treat newbies (assuming you dont consider
> yourself one). Are they annoying? Do you send helpful/critical
> messages when they get too annoying?
>
> Thanks very much for your help.
>
> Sasha
>
> P.S. If you could, please also give me a bit of an idea of where you're comming
> from, ie are you a student, an academic, a computer geek, a technophobe, etc.
>
> -------------------------------------------------------------------
> Sasha Force \ This job is a test.
> \ It is only a test
> Anthro/Computer Studies \ Had this been a real job,
> Trent University, Peterborough \ you would be receiving
> \ raises, promotions, and
> email: sforce@trentu.ca \ other forms of recognition
> -------------------------------------------------------------------
>