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.
