[Air-l] Web Science a Field of Study

[Ep1curas at aol.com]

Sam,

TBL did not give us 'this world which we are supposed to be researching researching' in its present state. Personally I don't see where his great insight into the web comes from. 
To make what might be a very poor comparison..one would not automatically assume that someone who has developed and refined the technology behind television to have a great understanding of how television programmes are produced and how they impact on the consuming public.
For all his achievements, I think it is wrong to suggest that he is somehow more qualified than people who have dedicated many years to the kind of rigorous study he is only now proposing. 

'TBL has more stature than the bulk of us and comments below do not show collegiality and cross-disciplinarity to the world community'

I'd contend that conventional social scientists are better placed to explore this sphere than TBL. It is not a lack of collegiality to point out that TBL is not inventing the wheel with these kinds of proposals. I also wouldn't think that his statements about what the web 'should be' are especially helpful in conducting research and explaining what currently is.

Martin Calvert