"Every Home Is Wired":
3 -- The Progressive Rock Community on the Net
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Lurking Questions
This grounding, however (through the feeling of being part of the community, or at least of a sub-group such as one of the factions) can hardly be reached by lurkers or infrequent posters; as MacKinnon writes, "'cogito ergo sum' is an insufficient measure of existence within Usenet. ... Without some sort of response beyond interior cogitation there is nothing to be perceived by other Usenet users" (119); reasonably active participation is necessary, thus. However, he continues, "whereas 'I think, therefore I am' is insufficient ... , so too is 'I write, therefore I am.' Again, without a visible response, a written statement remains isolated and apparently unperceived -- a persona's existence is neither generated nor substantiated. A further modification to the premise results in 'I am perceived, therefore I am'" (119). Ideally, then, users become Netizens, "work towards developing the Net" (Hauben, n. pag.). Bit 59
As non-participating members, lurkers occupy the other end of the spectrum. In contrast to those users who address their feelings of anonymity and inferiority through disruptive outbursts, though, lurkers need not necessarily have chosen non-participation because they are overwhelmed by the quantity or quality of discussion: it is equally possible that a large number of lurkers merely use newsgroups and similar media in the same way they are using print, radio, and TV, that is, as 'push' media -- reading newsgroups like alt.music.yes or rec.music.progressive, for them, is much like watching a podium discussion, therefore. Bit 60

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© 1998 Axel Bruns