Group items tagged

Online games are well known as time sinks, but the fact that participation is compiled in databases also makes this time spent playing "visible". This is a nice tool, but it also shows the ways that our online movements are constantly being tracked and used for different purposes.

A nice commentary on the nature of online discussions, especially dealing with matters of gender and sexism.

On FeministFrequency I found a video from a person who motivates other 'dudes' to speak out against sexist bullying on the web. It's just what came to my mind when I thought about how to change this discussion culture mentioned in the comic. http://vimeo.com/44117178

Thanks Luise. The video is interesting, though I have to say I found the editing a bit annoying, but that's not really the point. I think what he's saying there really relates to issues raised in the Dibbel article, and also connects with some of the things that Postill says in the article for this week's discussion. This is all about establishing the "rules of the game" for internet sociality, which is of course a lot about how to define and deal with anti-social behaviour. The category of "troll" has emerged to categorise a particular form of online a-sociality, but what exactly a troll is still seems pretty unclear to me, and the debate is raging about how to deal with them. Dibbel's "Mr Bungle" is a classic description of a troll -- probably from before the concept of a troll was very widespread -- and his article is precisely about how an online "community" suddenly found itself in the position of having to determine specific rules of socialising, including sanctions for those who break them. In Postill, he is also critical of concepts like "community", which are very idealised and hide the specific processes which characterise the development of particular modes of sociality. He argues that we have to have an openminded approach as scholars which matches the "frontier-like" character of these exchanges. I.e. these are people in the process of establishing the social. They haven't simply inherited it from their elders. I read into the discussion that followed the video and it's also instructive because there are some quite thoughtful comments on precisely these issues of establishing normativity online.

A key issue in debates about how digital technologies are transforming political discourse. In this case, what new possibilities are open to states to manipulate opinion, spread misinformation and to discredit opponents?

"Netizens warned against 'liking' photo Published: 19/10/2012 at 06:04 PM Online news: Thai web users have been warned against sharing or "liking" the controversial picture of a Thai reporter standing near a photo of the late Cambodian king visible in a newspaper placed on the ground. Information and communication technology (ICT) permanent secretary Chaiyan Peungkiatpairote warned that anyone doing so may be in breach of the computer crimes law. At a press conference on Friday he appealed to the Thai social network users not to forward or click "like" on the photo or messages associated with it, saying doing so may lead to conflict between the two countries. It may also violate the Computer Crimes Act 2007, which prohibits the dissemination of content deemed threatening to national security. The law provides for a maximum five-year jail sentence, he said. Mr Chaiyan also urged the general public to refrain from disseminating or otherwise circulating the image to help maintain good bilateral ties between Thailand and Cambodia. Cambodia's social media network was abuzz on Wednesday over a photo of Thapanee Eadsrichai, a well-known reporter from Channel 3, in which it appeared she was standing over newspaper photos of King Sihanouk placed on the ground. The photo drew extensive criticism from both Cambodians and Thais. The journalist and her Channel 3 bosses quickly apologised. Ms Thapanee said she had no intention of showing disrespect to king Sihanouk and the newspaper wasn't actrually near her, it just appeared so from the angle the photo was taken. The Thai Foreign Ministry also stepped in to clear the air over the issue. The Cambodian government said in a statement released on Thursday that all Cambodian people should avoid ill-intentioned attempts by some political groups to use the case to stir instability in the country and cause problems with neighbouring countries. "

This is an interesting case where even "liking" a photo could be deemed a "computer crime" in the Thai context. It is worth noting there that relations between Thailand and Cambodia have been tense for a variety of reasons, and that in both countries placing an image of a respected person below one's feet (which are considered dirty) is deemed a grave insult.

Here's an interesting piece about one gamer's identification with his avatar in an online game. Suggestive of the sometimes complex relationship people have with their online selves.

The use of a computer simulation to trap sexual predators. Raises all sorts of questions.

Can you truly be a citizen of a virtual world?

This article argues that the massive amounts of data that we make available about ourselves online allow bots to become ever more "human" in their self-presenation and interactions. Again referring to Latour: the traceability of so much behavioural data makes the distinction between "social" and "psychological" harder to maintain. At the same time, the availability of data allows machines to parse (and pass) all the more effectively.

Here is a really exciting looking MOOC (online course) about the anthropology of social media use. Anyone interested in doing it?

Interesting take on the performance of self in online contexts.

The upshot of this article seems to be that if there is a visible sign of people's good behaviour in an MMO they will make more of an effort to cultivate good behaviour and protect their reputation. This reminds me of a line from Dibbel's article, when he talks about online socialisation: people "move from anonymity to pseudonymity" when they begin to care about and protect their reputation with fellow gamers.

WoW player as US Congresswoman? Wow! ;-)