Unit 3 is entitled Online Communities: Real or Imagined. The four main objectives of this chapter can be found on page 107 of the text. The first objective is to be able to critique the notion that online communities are either good or bad. Before we can even began to look at this debate, we have to understand what the term community really means. A large portion of the chapter deals directly with providing definitional clarity on the term community. According to the text, the term community can be interpreted several different ways. These interpretations are based on what the book calls empirical descriptions and normative prescriptions Empirical descriptions are the ways in which people actually try to describe a community and normative prescriptions are when people present an idea of what a community should or shouldn't be. What's important to remember when seeking objectivity about the the definition of community is not to qualify the term with adjectives such as real, authentic, proper and genuine. Moving forward, the chapter refutes past ideologies that communities are largely defined by the their locality. The text argues that locality alone is not sufficient enough to define a community. There has to be shared social interaction over a period of time, before a community can be established. With this in mind the internet can be credited with establishing many communities because it is a forum that promotes social interaction; shared interest, shared feelings, and a sense of belonging. However, the chapter does offer insight into the criticism that online communities face. For example, the text states that opponents of online communities believe they lack commitment between members and there is an absence of moral cohesion. The text counters this argument by recognizing that there are thousands of online communities, some of which lack moral integrity and others which lack in rich relational ties among its members. Nevertheless, evidence suggest that the norms and practices within online communities are greatly influenced by offline communities, the bad practices we see online are not bleeding into our offline lives, it's the other way around.. To generate some optimism about online communities the text suggest that we refer to them as social networks. Social networks don't have defined boundaries, therefore people have an opportunity connect with a substantially higher number of individuals than they would in a traditional offline community. By eliminating the term online community, we also eliminate the perception that online ties and offline ties are two separate entities. In all actuality there shouldn't be separation in our social networks and our offline communities, they should be considered on in the same.
Unit 4 was entitled Language And The Internet. This chapter mainly examined the linguistic concerns of "netlingo" and "netspeak". CMC scholars want to know if how we use language on the internet differs from how we use language offline. In addition the chapter examines various speech communities and analyzes the different languages spoken on the net ( English, Chinese, Spanish. etc...). According to the text "netlingo" and "netspeak" should not be depicted as a form of communication that takes place solely in English, it happens across all languages and in all cultures. "Netlingo" and "netspeak" can be defined as a form of online communication that is focused on speed and informality. Some characteristics of "netlingo" and "netspeak" are abbreviations, acronyms, letter homophones, and emoticons. All of these features blend traditional writing and speech together to generate creative dialogue among internet users. The growing concern with "netlingo" and "netspeak" is that they are eroding our youths ability to properly spell and write. The text calls this linguistic diffusion-when one way of speaking starts to seep into the other. Another topic of concern found in unit 4 examines the status of language online. One important note in reference to this topic is that people organize themselves into communities based on the way they speak, therefore the internet alienates the rather large demographic of those users who are not English-speaking. The chapter concludes by reminding us that language is constantly evolving. The text suggest that we not be overly critical of the changes in language because they are inevitable both online and offline.
With a focus in computer technology, I specifically took an interest in Unit 4 that deals with language on the internet. We can all agree that internet language is so different for traditional languages. Language used online is a mix of formal and informal, abbreviation and lingo. But is it so different that it is destroying proper language? Or is it that different people have different ways of speaking and in online communities they organize themselves according to the way they speak?
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