Funnily enough, I too was about to stress *relevance* before reading Rasha's latest posting below. As a subscriber to the Association of Internet Researchers list I am interested in keeping up with what other Internet researchers are doing, and this includes being able to place them and their Internet research geographically, professionally, etc. So I look at signatures pragmatically: it makes life easier when people remind others of their geographical location and academic (or non-academic, as the case may be) background. A signature often helps to jog the memory as well (e.g. oh yes, that phd student at Bristol university working on Twitter). Whether a list contributor practices snowboarding or is a fan of Ricky Gervais is not relevant to this Internet research list. So I would encourage posters to include a relevant signature, preferably with a link to a homepage or blog where we can learn more about their Internet research, but I wouldn't make this mandatory. Thank you all for a great thread John Dr John Postill C3 Research Institute (C3RI) Sheffield Hallam University Sheffield S1 2NU United Kingdom http://johnpostill.wordpress.com/ ------ Original Message ------ Received: Wed, 19 Aug 2009 01:39:06 PM BST From: "Dr. Rasha Abdulla" <rasha@aucegypt.edu> To: jeremy hunsinger <jhuns@vt.edu>Cc: air-l@aoir.org Subject: Re: [Air-L] Credentials
Ok, I can't resist:) One (hopefully final) reply on my part. This is actually a message that I've written privately to a list member in reply to their private message, but I think it might add some value. I want to stress on two things though: 1) I never said I wanted titles to be a requirement, it was simply a request for people to identify themselves more; and 2) I never claimed academics (or those with Ph.D.s or whoever) are necessarily better, or more credible, or more knowledgeable than others. As I'm sure you know, people will be more credible depending on their relevance to the matter in question. It was simply that relevance that I requested them to make clear. And I do not think that getting text book recommendations or advice on how to code content analysis is the same as talking to a stranger on a bus, although of course all information should be judged critically. Here's the message. And again thank you all for your responses, public and private. And special thanks to those who did include some kind of affiliation. To me, it adds more value and context to the message, and I still don't think it hurts anyone (unless people are bent on taking it in a negative sense). --------