Please accept my apologies if I am intruding on this newsgroup's
space (I am not a biologist), but I am very interested in your views. I
am doing some research into cyberspace communities and I hope that some
of you can aid in my search. I would greatly appreciate any of your
comments.
I read an article by Howard Reingold entitled, "A slice of Life
in My Virtual Community". Within the article, Reingold states that ties
across cyberspace can become very strong indeed.
I am a real 'Net novice, so I don't have enough experience to
formulate a strong opinion at this point. However, some of you are
probably well seasoned newsgroup contributors/users. Do you agree that
on-line ties can be as strong as some off-line ties? Does the fact that
others in the newsgroup share your gender and discipline make connecting
with them as people easier? Or, do you find that you are able to flame at
will since it is easy to forget that there is a real human with real
feelings at the other end of the cable line?
I can truly appreciate the benefits which come from being able
to connect with like-minded people without being constrainted by
geography. However, non-verbal communication transmits so much
information about the message and the messenger, I can't help but think
that misunderstandings are common. I hate to admit this, but I think I
might be guilty of objectifying someone who I know only as an e-mail
address.
Let me know if what your experience in this or other newgroup
has been!
Thanks for your help
Anita
ebenezer at sfu.ca
