I too, like Rachel, have been a lurker waiting for the moment to take
the plunge - so here goes.
I'm studying the feedback that I get on the cancer information web
site that we are developing and researching and it suggests to me
that we have created a writing/talking space that some people find
protected and liberating. It's very different from a discussion group
whose members are real people we might meet or have held in high
regard for years and who will enter into public dialogue with us. However
there is a sense of dialogue. Some write as if they are continuing
a discussion initiated by us through our information, others
introduce new lines of thought for our consideration. The implication
is that we will be responding and some actively invite this.
For many of our respondents I get a sense
that there is a clear view of the reader/s in mind: people who are on
their side, somehow outside of 'the system' yet authoritative, people
who will listen and understand, who want to be advised by their
readers. (For others there is just a sense of being able to write to
explore ideas or set down their account of things without worry
about who is reading it).
Most of our responses come from people who have rarely used the Web
before (we 'lure'' them into finding our feedback form by using an
Exit button). They presumably have few preconceived ideas about
conventions and adopt their own style and reveal widely differing
purposes. I think the language we use, the structures, content and design
signal quite a lot about us to the readership (not many people
visit the descriptions of the teams and processes behind the web
site).
What we don't know, of course, is what our 'lurkers' think. As a
developer, however it's very rewarding to get feedback (almost invariably
positive) from our primary audience - novices with the Web. As a
researcher it's making me think quite hard about the different genres
that are emerging under the umbrella of electronic dialogue.
As an erstwhile lurker, I take a deep breath before clicking the Send
button....
Sally (researching langauge and learning with information and communication
technologies, despite my title!)
Sally Tweddle
Senior CRC Fellow in Cancer Information and Education