Based on the Session 6 readings, online identity is the way in which an individual represents himself or herself in interacting with others in an online group or community. In addition to an individual’s profile, communication and consumption patterns, interests or tastes, and friendship groups or group associations help to characterize an online identity. [Whittaker et al., Donath, Liu, Ploderer et al.]
Despite the fact that I do not like to reference Wikipedia because it is unclear as to where the information comes from, it has the best summary for “online identity” based on the Session 6 and previous Sessions’ readings. “An online identity, internet identity, or internet persona is a social identity that an Internet user establishes in online communities and websites.” This definition incorporates the idea that an individual creates a “social identity” in an online community. According to social identity theory co-developer, Henri Tajfel, social identity is “that part of an individual’s self-concept which derives from his knowledge of his membership in a social group (or groups) together with the value and emotional significance attached to that membership.” (Tajfel, p. 63)
One of the sites that I am studying is Slashdot.org. The online identity of Slashdot users is defined mainly by the content of the comments and stories they submit to Slashdot. Because a user’s Slashdot karma is a measure of a user’s performance on Slashdot, the user’s online identity is based on their karma. The following was taken from the Slashdot FAQ.
“Your karma is a reference that primarily represents how your comments have been moderated in the past. Karma is structured on the following scale "Terrible, Bad, Neutral, Positive, Good, and Excellent." If a comment you post is moderated up, your karma will rise. Consequently, if you post a comment that has been moderated down, your karma will fall. In addition to moderation, other things factor into karma as well. You can get some karma by submitting a story that we decide to post. Also, metamoderation can cause your karma to change. This encourages good moderators, and ideally removes moderator access from bad ones. Note that being moderated Funny doesn't help your karma. You have to be smart...”
Stories submitted to Slashdot are reviewed and are either accepted and posted or rejected by the Slashdot editors. The user’s submission summary is posted on their account profile. Comments made are rated by other users. The more useful and entertaining comments have higher ratings.
The online identity definition is similar to the definition of a Usenet as described in the Whittaker et al. article. The amount of contribution, conversational strategies (cross posting and message length), and interactivity help to shape the Usenet online identity. With Slashdot, the quality of a users’ story submission and comment helps to shape their online identity. This quality is based on the amount of contribution, conversational strategies in regards to articles that are referenced in story submissions and comments, and interactivity in regards to the level of interest a comment or story submission creates.
2 – Use scenarios:
Use scenario A:
A member reads an interesting story posted on Slashdot and wants to submit a witty comment and a link to another site for others to read.
The user logs into Slashdot, and clicks on “Reply” under the story of interest. The user enters a subject, the witty comment, and link. The user chooses to post the comment using his or her profile, and submits the comment.
Use scenario B:
A member has a question on an obscure technical problem and is not able to find the solution by performing a Google search.
The user logs into Slashdot, and performs a search using keywords from his or her question. The user does not find answers to his or her question and submits the question using his or her profile to Slashdot in hopes that it will be posted by the Slashdot editors. The user writes out the question in a way that would be simple, easy to understand, and appealing to the editors. The user must have a good understanding of the likes and dislikes of the editors.
3 –
Use scenario A:
Although other users are not able to see a member’s karma, we are able to view their achievements. If a user receives a high score for a comment, it appears in their list of achievements. For example, a user received a high score of 5 for a comment, which appeared in their list of achievements. As a user acquires scores of 5 for comments, the higher their karma becomes. Because a Slashdot user strives to achieve a higher karma, the more effort they place in posting insightful comments.
User achieved a score of 5 for a comment.Use scenario B:
A user’s submission summary is posted in the user’s Slashdot profile. The total number of pending, rejected, and accepted posts are listed in the submission summary. The higher the percentage of accepted submissions, the higher your karma becomes. Because a Slashdot user strives to achieve a higher karma, the more effort they place in submitting interesting articles. Users also take the time to write clearly and concisely in a more professional or entertaining style.
40.06% of the user's story submissions were accepted.Reference:
Tajfel, Henri. Differentiation between Social Groups: Studies in the Social Psychology of Intergroup Relations. London: Academic Press, 1978.
You mentioned that the user must have a good understanding of the likes and dislikes of the editors. It seems to me then that one's online identity on Slashdot is in the hands of the editors; you also mentioned that on this website, the quality of a user's story submission and comment both help shape his or her online identity. However, in my opinion, because rating someone on websites like CouchSurfing is different from rating articles that that person submits on Slashdot, one would get a different picture of who that person is with the latter approach. For example, the editors may like you because after reading your profile on some SNS, you seemed like a great girl; however, they may not like you after rejecting more than half of the articles that you submit because, say, they are mostly conservative pieces, and from them alone, they think that you are a conservative. Thus, their ratings could affect your reputation as well as your interactions on Slashdot, despite you being a nice person with a good personality.
ReplyDeleteI find it interesting that online identity can be shaped this way, i.e., not just by looking at one's personal information but also by what he or she posts or submits. I think of the latter as an indirect way of getting to know someone and what that person is like without him or her revealing personal information.
I think your reference to the Wikipedia entry is quite relevant here because it nicely highlighted the “social” aspect of online identity that we are interested in exploring. I agree with BJ Peter that on Slashdot it is the editors that shape online identity because they have the authority to decide what makes quality information (thus receive higher ratings). In some way, their role seems to resemble that of editorial board in real-life publishing (e.g. academic journal) in a sense that the latter is also in a position to screen and decide what is appropriate for their publishing outlet. The authoritative role that the editors play on Slashdot is in marked contrast with other sites like Answerbag, where the site managers are much less visible in the process of identity formation and one’s achievement is rated and displayed via what might be called a participatory mechanism because users rate and rank each other’s contributions.
ReplyDeleteI agree with BJ that it seems the editors have influence on a person’s online identity on Slashdot.
ReplyDeleteBJ also brings up an interesting point- you can get a different idea about someone’s identity from reading submissions/articles then from seeing a picture and self reported demographic and/or personal information. It’s easier for me to put down I am a 65 year old grandfather than to write articles as if I am one.
@Molly, the point you mentioned is exactly what the signaling theory is trying to cover. Conventional signal is much easier to fake than assessment signal. Therefore, assessment signal should play more important role in shaping a user's online identity.
ReplyDeletePosting a story or question on slashdot is moderated by editor, but posting comment has no such restriction and only subjected to the community ratings I believe. with lots of highly-rated comments, the identiy can still be established firmly in the community.
Based on the comments from the others, I get the sense that online identity is strongly shaped by the roles a user can play within a social community. Having a privileged role like an editor influences identity because they have power over most other users. One of the things I thought was intriguing about answerbag is that higher leveled users earned more abilities and influence and that "level" tied in with their identity.
ReplyDeleteThis seems to be a very controlled site, but not by the posting user. It sounds like a person’s identity is determined by the editors in choosing the contribution and by the other users in rating the contribution. If editors reject some stories from a user but accept others, then that user is being perceived based on half of the identity s/he is trying to project. Or if a post is accepted but, as in your use scenario, the contributor alters it to be appealing to editors then their identity is still controlled by the editor. Interesting. This is an example of what one of our classmates, Dean, means when he posted that online identity is limited by the site.
ReplyDeleteI found the use of the term karma interesting, because karma is something you created by what you do. But in slashdot your karma is obtained by how people rate you. Not really the same thing. But how does karma shape your identity in slash dot, other then people can all agree the editors do or don't like you? Is this karma really important? I suppose it is if slash dot is really important to you. But what if it isn't. Is there a group purposely trying to rack up "bad karma"?.
ReplyDeleteResponse to BJ Peter DeLaCruz, as_ics691, DNI, Mike Claveria, GT and Tom:
ReplyDeleteIt does appear that the user’s online identity is shaped by the Slashdot editors. The users strive to write posts and questions that appeal to the editors. This definitely discourages users from creating an online identity based on their own individual thoughts and ideas. However, as DNI mentioned users may also post comments where we are able to determine the likes and dislikes of a user. None of the comments are removed unless malformed HTML causes problems with displaying a page.
All comments are scored by moderators, and metamoderators score moderators. This is a unique system of checks and balances that I have not seen in other online communities. Basically it seems that the editors and moderators help to promote the posting of quality information and to make it as readable as possible.
The Slashdot online identities based on the users submissions are shaped by the editors, but users are able to shape their own online identities by the comments they post.