[Air-L] Change of default reply setting on air-l

[jeremy hunsinger]

the list is not something we should experiment with, there used to be  
an exec-comm statement to that effect somewhere.

it is likely in the archives.   it basically said please don't use the  
list for experiments without permission of the list participants or  
something pretty similar.  which basically means, don't make people  
research subjects without their permission, which given it is nearly  
impossible to ensure you have every recipients permission... it is  
pretty much impossible to do research.  archives are a different  
concern of course.

if the exec comm isn't going to revert the setting, then it should  
change the list etiquette page and disclaimer notices.
http://aoir.org/?page_id=3



On May 11, 2009, at 5:09 PM, Mark Warschauer wrote:

> Thank you for putting it this way.  I don't agree that the default  
> reply option in and of itself powerfully sets a norm about  
> communication expectations on a list, but the fact that you have put  
> forward such an argument and a prediction that flows from it means  
> that it can be empirically tested.
>
> Let's see if the traffic to this list slows down over a certain  
> period of time, and, if so, by how much.  I would contend that a  
> certain slowing down is desirable (if, for example, there previously  
> were messages sent in error to the entire list, and now there are  
> not).  But if the reduction is traffic is dramatic, and the list  
> becomes less useful to people because of that, then we'll find that  
> out in due time.
> Mark
>
> Mark Warschauer
> Professor of Education and Informatics
> University of California, Irvine
> Berkeley Place 2001 (for mail); Berkeley Place 3000C (for visitors)
> Irvine, CA 92697-5500
> tel: (949) 824-2526,  fax: (949) 824-2965
> markw at uci.edu; http://www.gse.uci.edu/markw
>
>
>
> Jennifer Stromer-Galley wrote:
>> There have been some requests for research that might help indicate
>> whether the change to the email list is beneficial/problematic for  
>> the
>> list.
>>
>> The research that informs my concerns about the shift to the new
>> default-to-individual reply focuses on norms. Norms are shaped not  
>> only
>> by other people but by the technology that frames the interaction
>> (Martey and Stromer-Galley, 2007; Stromer-Galley and Martey,
>> forthcoming).
>> If the old norm of the AoIR list was that a replied-to message went  
>> to
>> the entire list, then the expectation for the list was that  
>> interactions
>> on the list were, by default, public. The norm then for communication
>> through this list was that it was public communication.
>>
>> If the new norm of the list is that a replied-to message goes to the
>> individual, then the norm for the list will shift to become the case
>> that most interaction is private.
>> To put it another way, the structure of the technology establishes  
>> the
>> norm for interaction.
>> Although I don't disagree that it takes but a moment to push the
>> necessary buttons to make a replied-to message go to the list,  
>> there is
>> more at play here than just pushing buttons. Individuals have to
>> cognitively engage the question of whether the message should be  
>> public
>> or private. The default setting suggests that the norm for  
>> interaction
>> is that replied-to messages should be private; hence, it requires a  
>> new
>> level of justification on the part of the sender to determine that  
>> the
>> message is appropriate for public consumption.
>> The net result, I predict, is that there will be significantly less
>> traffic on the AoIR list over the following months as people adapt to
>> the new norm that's established by the technological shift. I  
>> personally
>> would find that disappointing, as I learn a great deal from the  
>> public
>> conversation, and would lose their insights as the conversation  
>> shifts
>> to private channels.
>>
>> References:
>> Martey R. M., & Stromer-Galley, J. (2007). The digital dollhouse:
>> Context and social norms in The Sims Online. Games & Culture, 2,  
>> 314-344.
>> Stromer-Galley, J., & Martey, R. M. (in press). Visual spaces, norm
>> governed places: The influence of spatial context online. New Media &
>> Society.
>>
>>
>> Regards,
>> ~Jenny
>>
>> Assistant Professor
>> Department of Communication, SS 340
>> University at Albany, SUNY
>> Albany, NY 12222
>> 518-442-4873
>> jstromer at albany.edu
>> http://www.albany.edu/~jstromer
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