Virtual Communities This site has reports. There are five articles on the internet and communities. I am going to describe the reports and give my reactions to them.

The first report is titled Suicidal Ideation in Virtual  Support Groups. These virtual communities offer each member support and feedback. There are many people who go on line  who could be suicidal; therefore, the popularity of these groups shall increase. A subject named Ray said that he hopes to stay alive by talking to his friend Peg. He is trying to do his best to stay sober and alive. He sends a suicide note the next day saying that he cannot go on with life anymore. Peg then informs the group that Ray is somewhere where he cannot do damage to himself. Ray was at a as he describes it a nuthouse and he describes that he is fine.

My reaction is that people can use newsgroups in effective ways. People can use support groups. I remember when I was a member of Compuserve that I would use support  groups and spend hours looking at responses. I cannot say what the topic for that is personal. But from past experience it does help to have an electronic support group even if you are not talking to someone in person.

Storm King also examines different newsgroups on different newssources. I agree with the author that online services can be of great value to a member. I also agree that e-mail consultations are good because people can express raw emotion and openness. People are interacting  with each other at the keyboard and can give each other mutual support.
Suicide counseling by e-mail is another technique. Mike Hanes a director said that they received over 200 mail requests. An equal number of men and women are contacting the people on line to receive counseling through e-mail.

My reaction is that it takes great courage to write an e-mail saying that you have suicidal intentions. Bravo to  those people who talk people out of suicide on line because it has to be a tough job to do. It has to be tough to type a response and be assured that the person will read it and not commit suicide.

In Gender Identity disorder: Analysis of a Cyberspace Support Group, People debate about sexuality. People with gender identity disorders are more likely to commit suicide. "This paper is an attempt to set the ethical guidelines for the reporting of research by psychologists and others that use cyberspace for participant observations." A respondent  writes that his mom threatened him with therapy when he was caught cross dressing. This person also secretly dressed and fantasized about being a female and it interfered with his marriage. He finally broke down and told his wife about his problem and tried therapy. After he tried therapy his wife separated after she realized that his eating and drinking heavily was no good. One subject wants to be more feminine.

The term self help is misleading because it implies that people are helping themselves. When in fact, people are helping one another in mutual aid groups, which is the term preferred by researchers. All mutual aid and self help groups receive emotional support, share personal experiences, and find new ways to help each other with their shared pr oblems. Substance abuse is the issue with the largest membership of support groups.

There is another type of communication called MUD (or multi user domain). MUD is created by its members. MUDs also are a sanctuary for discussions, such as for people who have been sexually abused. I think that MUDs are useful because e-mail is also involved.

There is no empirical data that says that online support groups ar e more effective than face to face (f2f). Members in a hypothetical group meets once a week for 12 weeks and is moderated by Dr. Lineon. He specializes in shyness, in all forms from Generalized social phobia and Avoidant personality disorder to mild socia l inhibitions. He knows how flame wars can start. Moderating by Dr. Lineon prevents flame wars from starting. There is no preventing someone from sending private e-mail to another person. People can have private conversations with each other.

My reaction to chatgroups is that I think there should be chatgroups for shy people. Sometimes people can open up when they are at a keyboard and not while they are talking to someone. Sometimes the reaction might be reversed. Sometimes someone can hide behind a keyboard and not say anything, but be very talkative. It depends on a person's style. Some people are good at keyboard and face to face interaction.

There are many online sites that offer e-mail responses to a question for a fee. People sho uld watch out for a therapist who wishes to remain anonymous, check out any fees before you agree to any agreement over the internet, payment, you should give it over the phone versus the internet, and find a therapist who uses encryption to ensure confidentiality.

My reaction to these concerns are these are valid concerns. Nothing is secure on the internet. People should be aware of who they enter an agreement to and what they are signing. People should also be cautious about giving their phone number over the phone because a phone line can be easily taped. An e-mail message can be easily intercepted over the internet. People should be aware of these two factors.

Research is just developing in the area of pros and cons of online therapy. One study in a recent article by Sampson, Kolodinsky, and Greeno (1997) had online services that did not specify the therapists'professional credentials. Also the field of their specialty was not specified. Sampson in another study says that there we re 25 practitioners currently offering direct counseling services over the Internet. Sampson addresses confidentiality problems and suggests that the central issues involved are; security of data storage, unauthorized access, and the need for therapists t o be educated about appropriate security measures. 75 percent responded that the therapists truly cared about them. 70 percent responded that it was worth it to pay up to 100 dollars for five e-mail messages.

My reaction to this is therapists should specify their credentials. I think that people need to specify what their credentials are because people need to know what a person is an authority in. People also need to feel secure about talking to someone on line. An online professional needs to speci fy his credentials are furthermore to give the person a reliable set of information about themselves so they can converse through e-mail or through bulletin boards.

E-mail and chatroom therapy is not therapy, it is virtual therapy devoid of arousal People cannot communicate to a void, people must fill in the missing data if there is no one to talk too. Flame wars, cyber romances, and internet addiction occur at an alarming rate, because what the mind projects as aspects of the other is fil led with misunderstandings, and misguided attributions. Small, closed, moderated, and professionally facilitated email lists have an undeveloped potential for effective group therapy with populations such as people with social phobia.

My reaction to this is that we need to see each other and we can engage in on line therapy. I believe we need to see each other as well as receive on line therapy. People sometimes are shy face to face and the keyboard helps.

Mission Statement Psychology of Cyberspace (Suler) Mission Statement by John Suler, 6/21/97 The goal of this forum on The Psychology of Cyberspace is to share ideas and resources concerning all facets of individual and group experience on the internet - including email relationships, mailing list dynamics, chat communities, the psychology of web site design and  networks, attitudes about computers, online psychotherapy, counseling and self help. All theories and perspectives are welcome.

When I looked at the site it really was not of interest to me. I guess I have to be into the topic but none of the posts interested me. I also would like to say that this site was badly moderated. Anyone can post anything they want. I think with a little more time and effort this site can have promise, but it also needs to be moderated more carefully.

I found an article about frequently asked questions about cults that I found helpful when determining relationships on the internet.

Cults are people who have a set of beliefs who are not mainstream. It includes religious, therapy, political, and business cults. Mind control is certainly focused on the abuses of the knowledge of the mind. However, I believe that many mind control techniques (such as hypnosis, visualizations, mediating, prayer, ritual, altered breathing) can be used ethically and to great positive benefit, providing the locus of control is wi t hin the individual and there is no hidden agenda to have people submit and turn over their power to some other human being. Destructive cults have a long history of manufacturing propaganda against enemies. Groups have mounted a campaign to attempt to con vince members and the general publi not to listen to me or read materials because too many people were leaving their ranks.If a group is legitimate, it will stand up to scrutiny. Try to get the person involved in a group to research and look at the group objectively. Talking with former members of the group can be very helpful.

As far as relationships go I think that, it is not productive to join a cult. I would not join a cult, nor do I know anyone who has joined a cult. People can be very vulnerable to cults and should be careful who they associate themselves with. Cults can also be developed on the internet so people should watch what organizations they join.
Character Race and Multi User Domain

MUD character races are different from human ones. MUD races are composed of images that do not correspond in any meaningful manner. However, one may question how character race affects the participation of players within MUDs. Where individuals are concerned, the program itself usually requires that character races do affect the nature of a player's participation in the MUD. Individuals are affected by game activities such as fighting mobiles or casting spells. In essence, while character races do affect how an individual may participate in the game, they do not dictate the interpersonal behavior of MUD participants.

My reaction to this is while I have not played MUD games before nor do I intend to. I would rather spend my time reading, where books are easy to interact with. If playing a game can affect one\rquote s identity so be it. I don't think it should make a difference. But if race is not part of everyday interactions then I do not know what is. Race to me is part of interactions. While it should not be part of our daily transactions, people do notice race, whether are Japanese or Haw aiian, or European. People notice it. But in game playing you can cover up race relations. That part I agree with.

My report from this section forward will focus on what MUDs do for people. MUD stands for multi-user domain. I think that MUDS are a waist of time and see no value playing MUDs. Maybe doing this research wi ll change my opinion on MUDs, Incidentally, the research has changed my opinion a little bit. I no longer think that they are totally useless, but I still will not play a MUD game because I do not know how and I would rather do something else.

There is some evidence to suggest that MUDs may serve as therapeutic environments for their members.\rdblquote MUDs help people to understand identity. You have the ability to be whoever you choose to be. Reid, 1994 described MUDs as being real, and his best friends. He also described them as being his family, not just some dumb game.

My reaction to this is I have not spent time in a MUD game so I cannot tell whether it is just a boring game or they are like family. I would suppose that if you are not a MUD user then you would think the game is stupid, or not be interested at the game at all. If you play MUD games, then you are likely to think that they are your friends and consider them your family.

Someone can completely redefine themselves. You have the capacity to be whoever you want to be. The disembodied social atmosphere acts as a safety net for people to express themselves, where people can express their true personality (not the general fad most people display in order to gain the approval of others). . . They (members) become active since their fear of rejection and judgment from their peers is removed to an extent, providing them with a clean slate from which to grow aand expand.

I do not want the capacity to redefine myself, but sometimes I do wish that I was in other places. I guess MUD games give people that release. I still do not understand MUD games but maybe that is because I have not tried playing one yet.

CMC (does not say what CMC stands for) suggests that there is equality in participation. MUDs are full of self expression, promote diversity, change in their internal functions and activities, and are tolerant of independent action.

Bibliotherapy involves the use of selected reading materials as therapeutic aids to help people solve their personal problems, enhance their emotional development and facilitate their personal growth. Typically the prcoess can be broken down into five steps: 1. Identification with a character portrayed in the written materials. 2. Catharsis through the sharing of motivations, conflicts and emotions of the character and actively releasing emotions either first hand or vicariously; 3. Insight as the reader transfers understanding of the character's personality and motiva tions to his or her own life. 4. Self understanding/ universalization as the reader recognizes that he or she shares some of the same problems facing the character and is therefore not alone, and 5. Evaluation and positive change in attitudes beliefs or behavior.

I have not heard of Bibliotherapy but from my understanding is it revolves around text and sharing information from conflicts to emotion. Biblotherapy can be an useful technique to the world\rquote s problems. By Playing a MUD game one eng ages in Bibliotherapy since there is a lot of text involved.

Psychodrama is a group therapeutic approach intended to eleicit the expression of feelings and attitudes that underlie personal problems through the use of spontaneous dramatic role playing. Patient-Protagonist roles are developed. A protagonist is some character taking the lead play. Character identification is important.

The third model to consider emphasizes the social interactional factors of MUD environments. There is no correct view out there to determine how one should perceive and be perceived by others in social self knowledge, self-awarness or insight is gained by participation in and careful observation of one\rquote s own reactions, behavior and one's effect o n other sin an atmosphere of open communication and feedback, effective participation in group functioning-through constant feedback concerning how one is perceived, participants learn how thy can effectively contribute to group activities, the different g roup roles the play from time to time, and how they impact and fit in to the group as a whole, Leadership others-both subordinate and superordinate by developing a leadership style that is nonauthoritarian, responsive, caring and attentive to the needs an d desires of others and, impact on organization-to learn to have a positive impact on the quality of human relationships in both small groups and larger organizations by realizing the influence and importance of group attitudes and individual member roles.

My reaction to this is it is important to learn how to play MUD games for those of you who are interested in doing so. People can learn different qualities such as the learning experience of the group. Self participation is also enhanced. People s hould play MUD games because they will relieve stress and people can take on a whole new set of responsibilities.

My reaction to this is there should be confidentailty. I would not want my employer to find out that I play MUD games. Nor would I want the person whom I am playing with to find out where I am unless I voluntarily tell them. People need privacy to feel secure while playing these MUD games.

Conclusion: I think that online relationships are helpful, and with the new thing called MUD games I think that it can be helpful. But I still will not play MUD games because I would rather do other things.