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

Mon May 11 15:48:46 PDT 2009

I vehemently disagree with the notion that all learning from evidence 
should be considered research that cannot be carried out without 
permission.  I constantly learn from how people post things on air-l and 
what kind of responses they get (e.g., somebody posed something in a 
particular way, and got a lot of thoughtful responses, and somebody else 
posed something in a different way, and didn't get much response).  
Sometimes I even make decisions based on this (e.g., adoption of a 
particular rhetorical style that I have observed to be successful in 
generating thoughtful discussion.)  Shall I be banned from doing so 
because that is considered a form of research?  Shall I be required to 
submit a formal request to air-l executive committee and to my IRB to 
learn in this way?
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

jeremy hunsinger wrote:
> 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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>
>