[Air-L] Let's talk about AoIR.

Thu May 30 10:35:53 PDT 2013

I think the problem in part is that it was a template that said it was for
a paper, and not a template that said it was for a proposal or abstract.
This combined with the required length, added considerably to the lack of
clarity.  I think we need to go back to the 'those that need to submit full
papers for them to count, can submit full papers' but those papers are not
automatically submitted for publication, and the other track should be a
simple 500 word abstract, or longer panel abstract.  the clarity of the two
track system was again slightly problematic, but it was inclusive in ways
that this system is not

On Thu, May 30, 2013 at 1:19 PM, Alexander Halavais <halavais at gmail.com>wrote:

> It would be helpful, at least to me, if folks could be more explicit
> about *what* they objected to in the template. There were no content
> restrictions. Yes, there were spaces for citations, subtitles, and for
> a title, but if these were omitted, they were omitted.
>
> I am well aware of the power of defaults, but I'm missing what it was
> about this particular template that makes it difficult. (Yes, I've
> heard from folks that the word-count was restrictive, but that isn't
> directly a template issue.)
>
> Best,
>
> Alex
>
>
> On Thu, May 30, 2013 at 9:35 AM, Feona Attwood <f.attwood at mdx.ac.uk>
> wrote:
> > Thanks for bringing this up Terri. I know lots of people have had
> similar feelings and feel awkward about how to express it.
> >
> > My feeling is that  the new format for submitting proposals seems to
> signal a real shift in style. I haven't come across anything like that
> before, not even for really dull conferences and I didn't put a proposal in
> this year because I couldn't work out a way to fit what I do into that kind
> of format.  It seems designed to filter out anything imaginative,
> innovative, speculative or original. The papers I reviewed in that format
> were really difficult to read; the format had squashed all the life out of
> them. I had felt very enthused after last year's conference which seemed
> very lively and friendly - and then really deflated by the submission
> process this year. I'm hoping it was an experiment that won't be continued.
>  I'm still planning to attend this year but I can't imagine submitting
> anything again if this is the new direction AoIR is taking.
> > Feona
> >
> >
> >
> > On 30 May 2013, at 15:27, Terri Senft wrote:
> >
> >> Hi Pals,
> >>
> >> With the encouragement of Andrew and Alex, I wanted to approach the list
> >> regarding some questions I have about culture of the Association of
> >> Internet Researchers today.
> >>
> >> I'm asking because after this round of conference proposal reviews, I
> feel
> >> personally and professionally a bit disconnected from this group these
> >> days. This freaks me out a bit, because I've always thought of AoIR as
> my
> >> intellectual home. I am wondering if this is just me (which would be
> >> fine!), or if others are in struggle as well.
> >>
> >> Some Big Questions I Have:
> >>
> >> 1. Who are we, personally and professionally? What makes us the same as
> >> organizations like ICA or ACM? What makes us different from these
> >> organizations?
> >>
> >> 2. How do we perform our identity at our annual conference? How is it
> >> reflected in the way we phrase our calls for submissions? How is it
> >> reflected in submission procedures?
> >>
> >> 3. How do we want to define "rigorous scholarship" in our organization?
> How
> >> do we want to deal with scholarship that strikes us as urgent,
> necessary or
> >> fresh, but not sufficiently rigorous?
> >>
> >> 4. Is there even an "us" anymore? Can positivists, activists, and
> artists
> >> really sit in the same room and discuss 'internet studies'? My answer
> used
> >> to be affirmative, but that was before internet studies was as
> ubiquitous
> >> as literature studies.
> >>
> >> 5. Should the desire for a conference that showcases professionalization
> >> trump a desire for a conference that encourages its youngest scholars
> and
> >> its most senior ones to take risks, make mistakes and push the
> boundaries
> >> of the field?
> >>
> >> Okay, that's plenty to start. As they say in AA, take what you want and
> >> leave the rest.
> >>
> >>
> >> Fondly,
> >> T
> >>
> >> --
> >> <http://goog_689013053>
> >>
> >> <http://goog_689013053>
> >>
> >> Dr. Theresa M. Senft
> >> Global Liberal Studies Program
> >> School of Arts & Sciences
> >> New York University
> >> 726 Broadway  NY NY 10003
> >>
> >> home: *www.terrisenft.net <http://goog_689013053>**
> >> *(needs a serious updating)
> >> facebook: www.facebook.com/theresa.senft
> >> twitter: @terrisenft
> >> _______________________________________________
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> >>
> >> Join the Association of Internet Researchers:
> >> http://www.aoir.org/
> >
> >
> >
> >
> >
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> // Alexander C. Halavais, ciberflâneur
> // http://alex.halavais.net
> //
> // Please attribute any stupid errors above to autocorrect on my phone.
> // (But I probably was typing on a keyboard.)
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