***** To join INSNA, visit http://www.insna.org ***** Hi, A) De-lurking processes Rafaeli, S., Ravid, G., & Soroka, V. (2004). De-Lurking In Virtual Communities: A Social Communication Network Approach to Measuring the Effects of Social Capital. Paper presented at the 37th Annual Hawaii International Conference on System Sciences,Big Island, Hawaii. http://csdl2.computer.org/comp/proceedings/hicss/2004/2056/07/205670203. pdf We looked on the de-lurking processes, the transition from lurker to poster. B) Regard community definition: Jones (1997) Argue that "Just as sociologists were not clear about the meaning of the term community in the decades prior to the advent of group-CMC, it is clear that not all definitions excluded the possibility of communities based on CMC. The current state of affairs is no better:as Penguin's Dictionary of Sociology notes, "The term community is one of the most elusive and vague in sociology and is by now largely without specific meaning"." Jones, Q. (1997) Virtual-Communities, Virtual Settlements & Cyber-Archaeology: A Theoretical Outline. JCMC 3(3) http://jcmc.indiana.edu/vol3/issue3/jones.html#Sociology%20&%20virtual%2 0community Gilad Gilad Ravid, PhD USC Annenberg Center for Communication Tel: (213)-239-4251 http://www.ravid.org/gilad -----Original Message----- From: Social Networks Discussion Forum [mailto:[log in to unmask]] On Behalf Of Ryan Lanham Sent: Thursday, September 21, 2006 7:24 AM To: [log in to unmask] Subject: Re: [SOCNET] Definition of community ***** To join INSNA, visit http://www.insna.org ***** Has anyone studied "lurkers" in communities or networks? I am reminded of Erving Goffman's famous front stage/back stage metaphors. What role do lurkers perform? Are they actors? Is there an audience effect to discourse on listservs? We "publish" to literally (at least etymologically) to make things public. Of course that is no long the primary purpose of publishing--it has lost the ends for the means. We publish now to build careers. But listservs are different. Their immediacy gives an unknown actor--the lurker--strange powers. What are they? What can be known about lurkers? I see a sort of capacitance issue again. Someone builds up (or doesn't a charge) and then discharges iff certain events occur. Discourse must press certainly ontological boundary objects for these discharges to surface. Or perhaps those happen in people's lives. Assassins strike when officials are having highly visible portions of their career. In short, boundary stresses provoke "lurkers" whether they are constructive or destructive. Much is written on democratic participation. Do they know anything about lurkers in that part of the discourse universe? What about lurkers in markets in business? What role do they have? There must be some sort of information theory of this. Ryan Lanham >long time lurker but first time poster to this "community" ;-) > >Samer Faraj _____________________________________________________________________ SOCNET is a service of INSNA, the professional association for social network researchers (http://www.insna.org). To unsubscribe, send an email message to [log in to unmask] containing the line UNSUBSCRIBE SOCNET in the body of the message. _____________________________________________________________________ SOCNET is a service of INSNA, the professional association for social network researchers (http://www.insna.org). To unsubscribe, send an email message to [log in to unmask] containing the line UNSUBSCRIBE SOCNET in the body of the message. _____________________________________________________________________ SOCNET is a service of INSNA, the professional association for social network researchers (http://www.insna.org). To unsubscribe, send an email message to [log in to unmask] containing the line UNSUBSCRIBE SOCNET in the body of the message. _____________________________________________________________________ SOCNET is a service of INSNA, the professional association for social network researchers (http://www.insna.org). To unsubscribe, send an email message to [log in to unmask] containing the line UNSUBSCRIBE SOCNET in the body of the message.