shintanireport1.htmlwas devoted to the San Francisco 49ers.

The second group I picked came to me from a friend in my psychology 409b class. I had told her that I was working on a home page for our 409b psychology class. And I asked her where I could find out about (HTML programming) or (editors). She suggested that I try and look at a newsgroup called alt.hypertext. I looked at this group and found that it had answered some of the questions that I had about HTML language and programs, so I decided to make it my second newsgroup to follow.

When I first started to read newsgroups I used to newsgroup reader in pine, but I just did not like the feel of the (pine program). I felt that my unix account was getting filled with all of the posts that I was exporting from the groups. I was afraid that my account would take up too much memory and the systems manager would send me an e-mail to clear up my account. So I down loaded a program that my friend suggested, and that is how I started to use freeagent. I like the features that this program has to offer. I can use that program when I am online or offline. The program color codes the posts in a group, so I can always tell which posts that I read and those that new or unread. I can write mail when I am online or offline, this gives me the option to post to a group when I am on the phone talking to a friend. With pine you have to been online and in your unix account to look at newsgroups and to post to them. I feel that the freeagent program has a lot of features that other people might think of as luxuries, but I feel that I could not read newsgroups without them.

When I used pine I would mark the groups as read and I would export the posts that I wanted to keep back to my home directory. This worked for a while, but I noticed that my home directory was getting cluttered with the different files that I was exporting from the newsgroups. Then I started to use the freeagent program.

The freeagent program has a feature that helps you to identifiy new messages. It color codes the messages, so that the user can visually distingues between new and old messages. It colors that subject line red for new messages and black for old ones. It also lets you know when a message is being access from the server by placing an icon of a lightning bolt by the message.

This program lets you save posts directly on to your hard drive, so this allowed me to clean up my unix account. Since I was saving to my hard drive I could make a directory tree so I could keep track of the posts that I read and when I read them. I made two directories and called them sf and html. I made subdirectories in each of the main directoris I named each directory with the date that I read and saved the post or posts. I have found that this method lets me keep track of all of the posts that I have saved because I know which group the post came from and the day that I saved the post.

I analyzed the posts by reading them and deleting the ones that I found to be of little interest to me. Then I started grouping them in separate categories by the topic of each post or response to a post. When I categorized the posts I found that I could analyze them better as individual posts or as groups of posts. For example one of the categories I called "Not so Young" this category contained posts on Steve Young (San Francisco's QB) and his age. I got to see many peoples views about how age is effecting Steve Young. After analyzing the posts I found it easier to respond to the group about that topic.

The concepts that I have acquired in following these groups are the concepts of flaming, spamming. I have found out first hand what is the meaning to being flamed, it is a personal attack against your post. I got flamed in the 49er newsgroup when I posted that the 49ers should keep Elvis Grbac and trade was Steve Young. The next day I received about 10 replies saying the I am "stupid, an idiot, not a true 49er fan." I never realized that my opinions would bring such a strong response from people that I have never met before. I really enjoyed it because I could argue with someone about my opinions and ideas without bring harm to myself. Another concept I have found is spamming, this happens when you post something that is of great interest to many people. When this happens you will receive many responses to your post, but unlike flaming the responses are not negative.

Results of the Analysis:

What is Really Said in Newsgroups and how it is said

I most of the posts I have encountered in newsgroups, people tend to include enough of the original message in their posts. They do this to help the person reading the post get a feel of what the original question or statement was, and this helps the reader to understand the reply. For example here is a reply that I received from my first post to the newsgroups alt.hypertext, the person included part of my original post so that I would know what part of my post he was responding to.

> just started my home page And I was wondering what programs are
> good at making home pages or to just edit HTML code. And could I have
> your opinion or reason that you think that it is a good program.
Sneak a peak at the sites you visit, and pick up a few pointers.
By all means use an editor, but learn the coding (it's not that hard or
advanced) because most editors create such a messy code. If you know
your way around the HTML-coding, you can better understand what others
have done, and learn how to do the same your self.

I have found that most people when they post use the brevity rule (one-topic-per-post rule). There people that don't follow this rule and there post are hard to understand. I have problems when people don't follow that brevity rule because there is no logical sequence to the post, the person who is writing the posttends to go jump from topic to topic. It would have better suited the person to write four different posts instead of putting 4 different topics in one post. I my self don't read all of a post if the post is too long. Here is an example from the newsgroup alt.hypertext of someone that has followed brevity rule when posting and someone that used the brevity rule when responding.

> I am trying to write my own word-to-HTML converter. But I don't know
> how the MS word's .doc file is formatted. There must be some format
> specification like HTML's tags or DTD. But I have no idea where to find
> it out. Can anybody give some hints?
> -------------------==== Posted via Deja News ====-----------------------
> http://www.dejanews.com/ Search, Read, Post to Usenet

Word has the capability to do this. It may be necessary to upgrade
your copy of Word; if so, it is available from http://www.microsoft.com.

Now here is an example from the newsgroup alt.sports.football.pro.sf-49ers of someone that doesn't follow the brevity rule, notice how long the post is and hard it is to understand the train of thought this person was using at the time he wrote or replied to the group.

>> >> > feeling this "Thunder" will suffer a similar demise.
>> >> More appropriately, Thunder is a result of a vacuum, and nature
>> abhors a
>> >> vacuum.
>> >> Ken
>> >> Cowboys forever!
>> I am sorry to see Ditka in New Orleans, because it means if nothing
>> else, they will be physical and competitive.
>> Matt
>And Ditka may be charged with assault and battery. You can not change
>the stripes of a zebra. He'll lose his cool, and NO will go further
into
>the hole....sorry to say.
Maybe I should have said he will be physical and competitive?

The types of post that I think elicit flaming are things that are controversial, negative and authoritarian. When I posted my post about Steve Young I got flamed because I was in a group that is devoted to the 49ers, and I posted something that did not follow that mind set of the group. When that happens I feel that the responses I received show me how people reacted when they read my post to the group. I feel that some of the people felt anger or displeasure at my statements and these feelings were reflected in their posts.

I have notice that people start new threads when they have say something that is different from that original post so it needs it's own thread not a follow-up. For example if the topic of the original thread was San Francisco's draft pick in this years draft, I would post a follow-up if I had something to say about the draft. I would not do a follow-up if I wanted to post something like "Who is going to be traded?" This post would make no sense in the thread about the draft, so to keep things organized people then to start new threads when new ideas arise.

I think that it is people that keep a thread going. There are always new people joining a newsgroup all the time, when this happens they read the thread and respond to it. If a thread appeals to a large sector of the group then it will be maintained longer then a thread only interests the minority of the group. Although that small minority might try to keep the thread alive, but they will have to abandon the thread eventually. This happens because there will be a lose of new ideas or opinions dealing with that thread and it will get boring and stagnant.

If the message doesn't offend anyone then the predicted response will be a "nice response." If the post has a even a small part that is negative to the trend of the group then the predicted response will be a "negative post."

People use a direct post when agreeing or disagreeing with someone's message. They don't really distinguish between the "message and messenger." When people respond they seem to think that the post is a part of the person that wrote it. The attack isn't against the material that the person wrote, the attack is against the person that wrote the post. The attack is a direct assault on the person that wrote the post, but the strange thing is that the person being attacked has never met the person that is attacking his character or personality.

When someone breaks with the norm of the group it throws the group off track. Then most of the people in the group start to respond to the person that has broken the norm. The person that breaks that norm isn't shut out of the group, it is just that the group tries to bring that person back to the central trend of that particular group. There are members of the group that will flame that person for there post, but that is to be expected like in any group there are people that feel a negative approach is the best way to deal with matters. I personal don't like to attack people for what they have posted, I will reply to the person and ask why they posted what they did. I rather find out what that persons motivation or thinking behind the post. I understand that every one is entitled to a different opinion from the group, I think that when people break from the norms of the group it helps that group to grow and expand it's trends or tendencies.

What It's Like to Participate:

To Post or Not to Post!

It took me about one week before I decided to post to my first newsgroup. I chose to post to the alt.hypertext newsgroup first as a practice before I posted to the 49er newsgroup. I guess I chose to post to the hypertext group because I knew would be safe there. I got this feeling after reading from the group for a week, I started to notice that people in this group are always willing to answer questions no matter how simple or stupid the question was. I wanted to know more about HTML, so I could work on my home page. This craving for knowledge was the motivating factor in my first post to the hypertext group. I posted to the group that I had just started to work on my home page and I wanted to know more about HTML and HTML editors. I got a few response to my post and they were all very helpful. One of the people that responded told me to go to her page and look at a few editors that she has created links for, so people to could download. Another said that I should learn the HTML language instead of using an editor. And his point was that if you use an editor then you will never learn the basic language that is used in HTML code. I was taken by surprise that people that I never met or knew would go out of there way to take the time to answer my questions. The people that responded to my post gave me the impression that they were talking to me from the position of an older sibling. They listened to the "dumb" questions of a younger sibling and responded to the questions with answers that seemed to come from wisdom and experience. They did not write to go and read a book! Instead they gave me information on how to learn about HTML programming and language.

The browser that I use to read my newsgroups is freeagent by Forte'. The procedure that I used to read my posts in the newsgroups was to get all of the new posts in each group every time I started the program. Then I would select one of the newsgroups to read first. After doing this I would scroll through all of the posts in that particular group and I would stop at posts whose subject lines interested me. Then I would open that post and read it and if I thought that I would need it again I saved it. So, that I wouldn't lose the post. I had mixed reactions when I would open a post to read because each post is different so your reactions will always differ. Sometimes I would find a subject line that stirred my interest, but when I opened the post I found it to be empty or it didn't relate at all to the subject line. When this would happen I felt let down because I had gotten my self excited to read the post and maybe find out something new, but and all I ended up getting was a useless information or sometimes nothing at all. On the other hand posts can be loaded with information or tips and I felt happy when I choose a "good" posts. It became like a game to me, trying to find the "good" post hidden with all of the "junk" posts.

When I decide to post to the group I always include part of the original post in my reponse. I feel that this helps the person reading my post to better understand my train of thought or the meaning of my post. I have read peoples posts that don't have a quote from the post that they are responding to and this makes it hard to understand their ideas or thoughts, it seems like they are pulling things out of the air if they don't have a quote to anchor their post. I decide to post to the group when I have a question that no one has yet to ask the group or when I have a response to a particular post that I feel I will interest other members of the group. I have yet to experience any real conflicts about my posting to the group. After I mailed my first post to the group I realized how easy it was and I don't think twice about responding to posts anymore. In the two groups that I am following I have post a total of approximately six or seven times, but in all (including other newsgroups) I have posted approximately twenty times.

After I post to the group I get very anxious because I cannot wait to see who will respond to my post and how my post has effected their life. My post could have given them a enlightened on a new subject or it could have struck a nerve in their minds. I want to know which to these two things my post did to that person and the only way to find out is to wait for their response. I check for replies every other day, I feel that this gives people enough time to read my post and to respond. To check for replies I go to the group where I posted and I look for my post and check if there are any responses to my post. I have gotten a few responses a few replies to my posts. The responses depended on the statement that I made and which group I posted to. When I asked a question in a "sincere" way the responses I received I call "warm messages", these posts were helpful and generally pleasant to read. When you ask a question or state something in your post that has a "strong or harsh"post, then in the responses you will be "flamed." I really believe that you can influence the types to replies that you receive from your group.

The long term effects that I am experiencing from these groups are an understanding of the different trends in each group. I am using this experience to help me in my everyday life. I have come to this stance after experiencing these different newsgroups during the past few weeks. I have been able to understand the dynamics and trends of these groups, even though I have never met any of these people in "real life." This will help me a when I am dealing with people from groups that I interact with on a face to face basis. It is easier to interact with people who are face to face , because you have other sensor inputs to help you deal with the person. These other sensor inputs are their stance, facial expression, tone of voice and gestures, you don't have these clues when you are dealing with a newsgroups. In this way I am actually improving my social interaction skills by posting and participating in newsgroups.

Annotated Index to Social Forces in Newsgroups:

My final Ideas on Newsgroups

I tried to find articles that discuss social or psychological factors within newsgroups. I used the Altavistasearch engine look for articles. I used two different sets of words to start my searches, both sets of words came up with an article. The first set of words I used (newsgroup articles discussion) came up with the article newsgroup intro. This article summaries what newsgroups are and some of the terms associated with newsgroups i.e. flaming, spamming, follow-up… The second group of words I used (newsgroup flaming spamming) it came up with the article asynch. This article also discussed the factors within newsgroups. Most of the things that are discussed in these articles are topics and items that I have discussed in my psychology class.

It makes sense that the questions that we come up with would be the same that other people have come up with in the "real world." In my class group we have people that have been online for a long time and these people consider themselves to be Internet literate. While on the other hand we have people that have just started to use the Internet, so they are the "newbies" of the class. I look at my class and see what a newsgroup community must look like, people of all different back ground linked by a common interest. For my self that is why I like the Internet and newsgroups because there will always be some group of people that are interested in the same things that I am interested in and they just want to talk.

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NAVIGATION TABLE

Report 1	Index	Title	Introduction	Method
	Participation	Annotated Index
Home Pages	Leon's Page	Back to My Page	409b Class Page	Topics

If you have any comments or questions you can send me e-mailand I will respond to every message in a timely manner.