[Air-l] we need a better word than lurking

[James Whyte]

IMHO, the use of lurker, troll, flame, sockpuppet etc. is the language of folklore and not the language of scholarship. For that reason they lack operational definition and carry with them the negative connotations of fokloric understanding. Various scholars on this list have challenged their use. Susan Lange comes to mind.
   
  James

Martin Garthwaite <marting at gmail.com> wrote:
  I think it's more about a vocabulary that best transmit the message we are
trying to send. Lurking, is, perhaps too broad a term, in the multiple
social spaces that are available today facilitated by the internet.

Should we use a term that perhaps could be used in so called media panics?
I'm not saying we should be politically correct, but we should ask ourselves
what most people (non academic audience) understand lurking to mean? Surely
language is a living evolving creature, I for one am no fan of sticking with
a term just because it has a history that other academics might understand
in a particular context or situation.

On 5/10/07, Christine Moellenberndt wrote:
>
> jerichob at juno.com wrote:
> > This thread was introduced because someone didn't think lurking should
> > be considered a bad thing, and thus should have a label with less
> > negative connotations, but in the discussion some fairly strong
> > normative judgments about lurkers and lurking have emerged which seem
> > to indicate that having a word with negative connotations is
> > warranted. It's interesting.
>
>
> I wouldn't go so far as to say that "having a word with negative
> connotations" is a good thing... but the way I see it, this is a word
> that the Internet community chose to describe these people. Who are we
> to say "wow you know what, that word is bad. We're going to pick another
> one and use that instead because we don't like it."
>
> If it's the word in common usage, then I say use it. Why create a new
> jargon term, when one already exists? ;)
>
> I don't really know if lurking *is* considered a bad thing... maybe
> frustrating in channels that were once highly active and now are not,
> therefore needing a desperate infusion of new ideas and new blood... but
> I'd rather see someone lurk for a while and then participate (like me.
> hi!), instead of jumping in with both feet not knowing how things are
> done and causing an uproar that can upset the flow of discussions. I've
> seen *that* happen too many times before :)
>
> (sorry if someone brought this up before, I got lost in the thread for a
> bit!)
>
> -Christine
>
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-- 
Martin Garthwaite

PhD candidate, London Knowledge Lab www.lkl.ac.uk

+447957 764819
Skype id mgarthwaite1330
MS IM marting at gmail.com
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