January 2002 - Air-L - lists.aoir.org

Re:conference community networks and more
by Nicholas Jankowski 13 Jan '02

13 Jan '02

Dear Mete: See the following URL for information on a upcoming conference concerning, in part, community networks: http://baserv.uci.kun.nl/~jankow/Euricom Nick Jankowski >Message: 2 >Date: Sat, 12 Jan 2002 15:17:11 -0500 (EST) >From: Mete Yildiz <myildiz(a)indiana.edu> >To: air-l(a)aoir.org >Subject: [Air-l] Re: Air-l digest, Vol 1 #266 - 13 msgs >Reply-To: air-l(a)aoir.org > > >Hi everyone, > >I would appreciate any help members of the list can provide regarding >studies of community networking and related topics, especially the basic/ >introductory readings and ongoing projects. If you know any symposia, >working papers series, conferences, centers of study on community >networking or related topics, please add that information also. > >Thanks in advance for any help members can provide. > >Best wishes, > >Mete > > > >--------------------------------------------- >Mete Yildiz > >Ph.D. Student, Public Affairs >School of Public and Environmental Affairs >Indiana University, Bloomington > >--------------------------------------------- > > **************************************************************************** ****** Nicholas W. Jankowski European Institute for Communication and Culture (Euricom) Euricom Project: Electronic Networks and Democratic Engagement 9-11 October 2002 email: nickjan(a)xs4all.nl http://baserv.uci.kun.nl/~jankow/Euricom **************************************************************************** ******

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Programs on IT policy training
by Lian Jian 13 Jan '02

13 Jan '02

Dear colleagues, I am looking for some educational programs that focus on international IT policy. It could be any kind of program such as Master's degree program, certificate or workshops. Would appreciate it if you could send me the link or contacts. Thanks a lot ! Lian

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Re: community networking
by Valdis 13 Jan '02

13 Jan '02

IMHO, the most advanced thinking in community networking is done by June Holley and her organization: Appalachian Center for Economic Networks in Athens, OH -- http://www.acenetworks.org They have even mapped out the small business/resource networks in the SE Ohio area [> 200 organizations and individuals] and are keeping network metrics as the networks evolve and change. They are concentrating on three specific relationships/networks: 1) Collaboration -- who works with whom 2) Expertise -- who seeks out whom for expert advice and mentoring 3) Innovation -- who gets ideas from whom, and who do they, in turn, share them with Valdis Krebs http://www.orgnet.com Air-l digest, Vol 1 #268: > > > >> > Hi everyone, > > I would appreciate any help members of the list can provide regarding > studies of community networking and related topics, especially the basic/ > introductory readings and ongoing projects. If you know any symposia, > working papers series, conferences, centers of study on community > networking or related topics, please add that information also. > > Thanks in advance for any help members can provide. > > Best wishes, > > Mete > > --------------------------------------------- > Mete Yildiz > > Ph.D. Student, Public Affairs > School of Public and Environmental Affairs > Indiana University, Bloomington > > ---------------------------------------------

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Re: Flame Wars (& Etymology of flaming)
by Danyel Fisher 13 Jan '02

13 Jan '02

In this message, Danyel works backwards in time, finding flames in HTML, in 1981, in 1979, in 1959, and 1548. For the trivially-inclined only. Danyel ------ Sadly, the "<FLAME ON>" nomenclature comes from the HTML tags. As in, <BLINK>This text is annoying</BLINK> Or so I thought, until I found it in 1981 in the Google archive, when someone starts an article with <FLAME ON>. Maybe you're right. This discussion, on the origin of "flames" (and its possible relation to the homosexual sense of "flaming") happened in May of 1981 in the fa.human-nets group. http://groups.google.com/groups?q=+%22flame+on%22&hl=en&lr=lang_en&scoring=d &as_drrb=b&as_mind=12&as_minm=1&as_miny=1981&as_maxd=31&as_maxm=5&as_maxy=19 81&selm=anews.Aucbvax.1401&rnum=5 http://groups.google.com/groups?q=+%22flame+on%22&hl=en&lr=lang_en&scoring=d &as_drrb=b&as_mind=12&as_minm=1&as_miny=1981&as_maxd=31&as_maxm=5&as_maxy=19 81&selm=anews.Aucbvax.1430&rnum=2 which I've shortened to http://makeashorterlink.com/?Z25613A4 and http://makeashorterlink.com/?M46632A4 At that time, the term is clearly already well-known. Check with the cyberspace-history list, http://maelstrom.stjohns.edu/archives/cyhist.html which mentions http://maelstrom.stjohns.edu/CGI/wa.exe?A2=ind9710D&L=cyhist&P=R61 a citation for "Flames" in 1975 (but no etymology) In contrast http://www.midnightbeach.com/iob/ cites flames as coming from 1959 (!) at Xerox PARC, "A personal, ad hominem attack. Back in 1959, Xerox PARC (which invented computers but couldn't figure out how to get credit for it) had a program called The Emoticon, which graphically displayed the content of email travelling over a network link. Logical, rational messages were shown in cool colors like blue and white, while heated, emotional messages were shown in warm colors like red and yellow. The flickering, firelike patterns that irate messages created quickly caused them to be dubbed "flames", and the name stuck. " The OED writes [Flame] b. Of persons: To burn (with envy, fury, indignation, etc.); to look angrily or passionately upon. to flame out, up: to break out into open anger or indignation; to 'fire up'. 1548 UDALL, etc. Erasm. Par. Matt. xxii. 106 Whiche wholy flame with enuy and hatred. 1681 CROWNE Hen. VI, IV. 49, I flame with fury to be at it. a1701 SEDLEY Happy Pair (1766) 16 With heat of loue he flam'd upon his mate. Danyel ----- Original Message ----- From: "Waxman, Mickey B" <mickey(a)ku.edu> > How about a guess? > The custom used to be that a writer would be writing on a topic and then, to > warn the readers or just to make it clear that strong emotion attached to > upcoming words, would write <FLAME ON>. E.g.:

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Re: Flame Wars
by mweder 13 Jan '02

13 Jan '02

> Nancy White writes > I'm wondering about the distinction between "Flame Wars" and the ongoing > occurrence of conflict in online group interactions. Heck, conflict > happens. Sometimes it escalates to what would be an argument F2F. Is that a > flame war? Or is that a relic of previous time. When I wrote my master thesis on communicative norms in german mailing-lists, I came across flame wars quite frequently. When going through my data, I got the impression that it was quite easy to distinguish between flames and "normal" conflicts. Flame wars in my data normally included, as mentioned before, comments about the attacked person which are totally unrelated with the content of the disagreement. Characteristics of flames can be categorized as follows: - name-calling - detailed "discussion" of previous mails of the victim in relation to orthographical, syntactical or other language offences - systematic research on traces the victim left on the internet in other forums, homepages etc. In many cases flame-wars originated in somebody not observing netiquette or specific mailing-list rules, mostly new people to the list. > One more thought. I also believe that conflict (which is the source of some > flames -- not all is baiting for fun!) plays an important role in groups. How a community, such as a mailing-list, handles these conflicts, is a sign of its quality as a interactional community. If a community is able to sort out these kinds of conflicts, is able to find solutions and formulate problem-solving strategies for the future, conflicts can turn out to be very supportive in community-building. Mirjam Weder

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Following the flaming discussion...
by Cristian Berrio 13 Jan '02

13 Jan '02

Within all the possible versions of flame wars, seems to me that we lack a clear definition of the phenomum, so it is easy to extend and extend without reaching clear conclusions. E-mail has the rare ability of producing the sensation of being "anonimus" and at the same time, reaching people with enough speed to keep a "conversation" flowing. It is clear that we say things through mail that we would never say face-to-face. But this element is common to any interacting activity via mail so, shall we focus on verbal aggresion? Must we fragment the problem including also graphic aggression?(icons, photos, signs) Aggresive notes can be made through elegant use of the languaje or directly flooding with blaming and coursing all the message. Some languajes and nationalities are richer in insults or their citizens are more easy on the use of cousing. In the end as you can see, the topic keeps opening and opening to an unlimited axpectrum of possible variables that are acting within the communication. You want to make it even more complex? Make a sense and symbol analysis of the communications; semiology have so many things to say. Even the synthax element can count as "non verbal" element that may drive to interesting situations into this communications. I feel we may have richer approaches if we can define more the problem of the flame and what elements are present there. Saludos Cristian Berrio _________________________________________________________________ Hable con sus amigos en línea, pruebe MSN Messenger: http://messenger.msn.es

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Re: Air-l digest, Vol 1 #266 - 13 msgs
by Mete Yildiz 13 Jan '02

13 Jan '02

Hi everyone, I would appreciate any help members of the list can provide regarding studies of community networking and related topics, especially the basic/ introductory readings and ongoing projects. If you know any symposia, working papers series, conferences, centers of study on community networking or related topics, please add that information also. Thanks in advance for any help members can provide. Best wishes, Mete --------------------------------------------- Mete Yildiz Ph.D. Student, Public Affairs School of Public and Environmental Affairs Indiana University, Bloomington ---------------------------------------------

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Re: Flame Wars
by Nancy White 12 Jan '02

12 Jan '02

I'm wondering about the distinction between "Flame Wars" and the ongoing occurrence of conflict in online group interactions. Heck, conflict happens. Sometimes it escalates to what would be an argument F2F. Is that a flame war? Or is that a relic of previous time. What I find is the tolerance for conflict varies greatly by group, and the extent to which a group will let the ongoing conflict of two ore more members dominate the online interaction varies. Group norms, agreements, the purpose of the group, all play into the equation, just like offline. But yes, in my experience there are still frequent occurrences of online conflict. But I think there is less tolerance for these as sport in many of the places I interact, primarily because the interaction is not purely a social activity, but focused on work, information sharing, etc. That said, in my online social spaces, oh, YES, it still happens all the time and yes, I think for some it is sport. For others, it is the reason to stop interacting in these spaces or to remain silent. It is a potent social factor in online interaction. And I'm nodding to Eva's thoughtful post about the content/emotion associated with "flames." One more thought. I also believe that conflict (which is the source of some flames -- not all is baiting for fun!) plays an important role in groups. From a facilitative standpoint, it is important to distinguish between the flame (manifestation of hurt/misunderstanding/anger) and the conflict or misunderstanding of the ideas *behind* the flame. There is often real fruit in pursuing that conversation. So in a sense, flaming might add to the community if it is held in a way by the members that does not harm the individual. Does that make any sense? It must be Friday! Nancy Nancy White Full Circle Associates - http://www.fullcirc.com - 206-517-4754 Next Online Facilitation Course starts January 28th - http://www.fullcirc.com/ws/onfaccourse.htm

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Re: Flame Wars
by Waxman, Mickey B 12 Jan '02

12 Jan '02

> Date: Fri, 11 Jan 2002 15:31:47 -0500 > From: Christian Nelson <cnelson(a)comm.umass.edu> > Subject: Re: [Air-l] Re: Flame Wars > Nancy's reflections make me wonder why there is even such a > term as "flame" and "flame war"--a question that might be > answered in part by the history of this term. Anyone know > how these terms initially arose in discourse re: CMC? > Thanks, for any info. How about a guess? The custom used to be that a writer would be writing on a topic and then, to warn the readers or just to make it clear that strong emotion attached to upcoming words, would write <FLAME ON>. E.g.: "... and while we're on the subject... <FLAME ON> What Makes Him Think 640k Is All I Need?!!!" What followed a Flame On was usually an expression of anger or frustration or it might be an attack. There used to be a popular comic book (Marvel Comics?) superhero gang (Fantastic Four?) one of whose members was a quick-tempered guy who used fire to combat evil. In times of crisis he'd invoke the flames by saying FLAME ON and then his whole body would light up or he could throw fireballs or point his finger and become a flamethrower or something like that --- I really don't remember. He'd also light up involuntarily when he got angry, if I recall correctly. So that's the legend, I think: Comic book, <Flame On>, Flames, Flaming, Flame Wars. Does that help? ..Mickey Mickey Waxman University of Kansas USA

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Re: CFP
by Nicholas Jankowski 12 Jan '02

12 Jan '02

I have been asked to share this CFP with interested persons. Nick Jankowski Call for Papers NEW MEDIA AND OLD MEDIA THE IMPACT OF THE INTERNET ON THE MASS MEDIA Tromsø, Norway, 20-21 June 2002 There are today more than 10,000 web sites that contain material that competes with the sort of content that was traditionally carried by the mass media. It is possible to read newspapers and listen to radio stations online. It is possible to visit the sites of TV channels like CNN and the BBC, and of course it is possible to find a vast range of music. All of this has posed a major challenge for media organisation. The development of online media has implications for the business of the offline media, for its content, and for the different audiences that it has in the past relied upon. So far, despite an enormous amount of activity, the nature and dynamics of these new challenges are little understood. The aim of the conference is to gather together the best of existing research in this new field, and to provide a forum in which the experiences of different media and different cultural environments can be compared and discussed. To that end, the organisers invite proposals for papers concerned with any aspect of the general issue. Because this is an infant field, and because there are as yet no firmly established protocols for studying it, the organisers are particular concerned to stress that proposals for papers addressing all media, in whatever respect, and adopting any methodological approach, are welcomed and will be given serious consideration. The conference will take place at the University of Tromsø at midsummer 2002. Accommodation will be in the beautiful Norwegian fishing port of Tromsø, which lies north of Arctic Circle, and enjoys twenty-four hours of daylight during the summer months. Tromsø goes under the name "Paris of the north" due to its fantastic social life and incredible atmosphere. More information about the city may be obtained at http://www.destinasjontromso.no/eng_default.htm . If you are interested in participating, send an abstract of around 250 words to: Professor Farrel Corcoran School of Communication Dublin City University Dublin 9 Ireland Email: Farrel.Corcoran(a)dcu.ie The closing date for abstracts is 28 February 2002 The conference is sponsored by: The European Union's COST Network A20 on `The Impact of the Internet on the Mass Media' (for further details, visit our WebPages: http://cost-a20.iscte.pt/ ), the Department of Documentation of the University of Tromsø, the Department of Media and Communication of the University of Oslo, and the Norwegian Science Foundation. **************************************************************************** ****** Nicholas W. Jankowski European Institute for Communication and Culture (Euricom) Euricom Project: Electronic Networks and Democratic Engagement 9-11 October 2002 email: nickjan(a)xs4all.nl http://baserv.uci.kun.nl/~jankow/Euricom **************************************************************************** ******

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