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tenpence · Joined: 24 Feb 2003 Posts: 174

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Chatrooms separate the men from the boys

Polly Curtis
Friday March 26, 2004

Internet chatroom users can be so aggressive that a sociologist studying them has labelled some online communities "electronic fight clubs".

According to the new research, even the most laid-back people can erupt into furious rants when debating online, and it's all part of an effort to distinguish themselves from the next user. Some even take on multiple personalities in a bid to outsmart their online acquaintances, while others adopt menacing usernames.

Gordon Fletcher, an information systems lecturer at Salford University, revealed his findings to the British Sociological Association meeting this week. His paper, entitled "Fight Club: culture, conflict and everyday life amongst an online community, focussed on a sociological study of an online finance forum", describes conflict as "a unifying social force that shapes individual participant's relationships with one another".

The research's abstract explains: "Conflict is an important social force among online communities, as it assists in the construction of hierarchies and social orders without the need for prior knowledge of individual participants or other forms of verification or trust in relation to the claimed identity of others."

The finance chatrooms that Mr Fletcher studied were made up of stockbrokers and finance buffs, who used pseudonyms such as Moriarty and Xerxes, and repeatedly argued until they established a pattern of social hierarchy.

"The hallmark observation of this forum was the regularity with which conflict occurred among the members," Mr Fletcher told the Times Higher Education Supplement.

"These people are coming together because they have a common interest, but that doesn't necessarily mean they want to be friends with one another," he added.

Guest · Posted: Sat Mar 27, 2004 10:39 pm Post subject:

Thus, this study shows that even as the most advanced civilisation on earth (except perhaps dolphins...) Human Beings are still subject to primal instincts?

It's true that some people become much more agressive when they take part in debate and discussion while online. Is this because they have a mask to hide behind, that they can take cover behind their computer screens and let their inhibitions go?

I guess online chat and discussion may be cited as an example of anrachy at its best. Even when rules are enforced, people will always try and find a route around them. Hence why some elements that would be undesirable in real-life community become 'acceptable' per se in an online community, for example this agression.

Conflict would probably be an extension of the 'Selfish Gene Theory' and the preservation of the self (are they the same thing? I know nothing about bio x_x) so as long as humans need to eat and reproduce, conflict will inevitably take place.... All about resources...

Well, that's enough of a rant from me, hehehe...

Mao x

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