Thanks for this interesting stuff.
Reflecting on my own participation history, which may contribute to the
picture
I came on in late 1993. I was silent for three months.
Then I contributed a posting - which was associated with great anxiety
symptoms.
I was welcomed by those at the time as a new voice.
I contributed some more - ill formed thoughts.
I got blasted and condescended to.
I withdrew into lurkerdom for two years.
I began to feel frustration because I thought I had something to contribute
but still felt wounded.
I resolved the contradiction by structuring contributions as questions.
I have just recently become more confident about my contributions, which
means that I have become relaxed about throwing out ill-formed thoughts
again. I have also found that I don't give a damn any more about being
blasted and condescended to. I am amused by it and feel it says more about
the blaster than it does about me. Now how did that happen?
Also - if this has been my middle aged and thick skinned experience, what
must it be like for the young and thin skinned?
However - to surface something tacit. I am interested in the gender part of
this discussion because a lot of my early anxiety was to do with feeling
that the climate of the times was such that, as a male, the very act of
posting was likely to be interpreted as one of gender politics. I don't feel
that now - is that because of the change in stats that has been reported, or
was I just rationalising then?
Phillip Capper
WEB Research
PO Box 2855
(Level 9, 142 Featherston Street)
Wellington
New Zealand
Ph: (64) 4 499 8140
Fx: (64) 4 499 8395
-----Original Message-----
From: Diane Hodges [mailto:dhodges@ceo.cudenver.edu]
Sent: Monday, 20 August 2001 10:43
To: xmca@weber.ucsd.edu
Subject: Re: back to the stats
eva, thanks for the interpretations of stats, the archiving histories of
participation and
shifting codes for introductions, and so on.
damned interesting, wot!!
and Alena, so glad you summoned your courage and shared your perspective
and experiences - really nice to hear from you, and hope
you might find a moment to elaborate on where you are now
in relation to where you were 'then' ?
cheers
diane
"I want you to put the crayon back in my brain."
Homer Simpson
diane celia hodges
university of british columbia, centre for the study of curriculum and
instruction
vancouver, bc
mailing address: 46 broadview avenue, montreal, qc, H9R 3Z2
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