| dc.contributor.author | Comeau, Paula | |
| dc.description.abstract | Online forums have often been considered a medium of equality. However, after studying
Amazon.com communities taking part in the evolution/intelligent design debate, it became
clear that these communities were substituting the ability to produce conversation for the
ability to consume it. This becomes important in the development of online hierarchies. In
order to outline the differences between access and accessibility, it was necessary to
demonstrate how these two ideas operate on a continuum. Amazon.com sits to the access
side of the continuum, which makes it a medium that is easily used by the majority of the
consuming population. For this reason, it was used in the study to demonstrate how people
not in the inner inclusionary circles are setting up gates by substituting access for
accessibility in conversations. Articulation theory was used to describe the boundaries
created within Amazon.com and to show how individuals can manipulate the boundaries to
increase productive ability. It was found that proper online etiquette was important for a
participant to be able to contribute to a conversation, demonstrating how etiquette acts as a
gate. Various online conversation tactics were also linked to proper etiquette, and,
therefore, those who were able to properly invoke these tactics became gatekeepers. The
establishment of gates and gatekeepers means that the Internet is not as free as previously
thought, and has moved old media gates into new media. | en_US |
| dc.publisher | North Dakota State University | en_US |
| dc.rights | NDSU policy 190.6.2 | en_US |
| dc.title | Mottling the conversation: an evolving debate | en_US |
| dc.type | Thesis | en_US |
| dc.date.accessioned | 2024-01-12T22:34:52Z | |
| dc.date.available | 2024-01-12T22:34:52Z | |
| dc.date.issued | 2009 | |
| dc.identifier.uri | https://hdl.handle.net/10365/33602 | |
| dc.subject.lcsh | Electronic discussion groups -- Social aspects | en_US |
| dc.subject.lcsh | Information technology -- Social aspects | en_US |
| dc.subject.lcsh | Social interaction | en_US |
| dc.rights.uri | https://www.ndsu.edu/fileadmin/policy/190.pdf | en_US |
| ndsu.degree | Master of Arts (MA) | en_US |
| ndsu.college | Arts, Humanities, and Social Sciences | en_US |
| ndsu.department | English | en_US |
| ndsu.program | English | en_US |
| ndsu.advisor | Mara, Andrew | |
