hi all : ) interesting points, john. you wrote: <SNIP>
This [susan looking into lachlan's credentials on the Goldsmith College website] was a very practical example, imho, of not separate existence, but existence at all, being challenged because of a lack of documentation online.
** i'd have to say i think susan's search of the Goldsmith College webpages seems more a case of questioning or challenging legitimacy (and by extension one's 'right' to a voice in this forum)...although i could see where this could lead to a revoking of 'existence' in this forum. and further down you ask:
Do these electronic records [online CVs], incomplete as they are, constitute my professional identity?
** great question...i think these documents do constitute _part_ of our professional identities...as do published articles, posts to professional mailing lists, delivered (or cancelled) conference papers, letters of recommendation, etc. these are all part of the paper trail the performance of our professional careers leaves behind. but, i'm not sure electronic records really do anything qualitatively different or special beyond supplying an added venue for producing/reflecting our professional identities..which seems again, more about adding legitimacy to our identities than proving that we exist as professionals. i'm wondering what conditions lead to these online documents carrying more or less weight in different contexts? if susan had found that indeed lachlan was a grad student listed (with high honors) on the Goldsmith College website, would his posting of a mock personal ad and request from susan for any 'pics' been less (or more) jarring? work environments are by no means absent of sexually charged power dynamics or our sexualities. so, i'm not sure why i expect to see a request for pics in a dating chat room or on a matchmaker website, but wasn't prepared to see it on the AIR list. why is that? i'm (sort of) prepared to see/deal with these dynamics in the classroom or at a departmental meeting, and i suppose i'm now watching AIR-L figure out how to deal with these dynamics online--which so far has come across as 'filter it out/ignore it'...a less than satisfying response to a complicated situation. best, marygray ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Mary L. Gray <mlgray@ucsd.edu> Department of Communication University of California, San Diego mail: PO Box 4004, Louisville, KY 40204 http://weber.ucsd.edu/~mgray ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~