Marty
At 09:20 AM 1/12/98 -0700, you wrote:
>Rachel writes:
>>But what is the proper way to address a community, particularly if I've
>>never - literally - seen any of its members face to face, and in fact
>>don't know who most of them are? Obviously many members of xmca know
>>each other from other contexts, but what about newcomers? I feel the
>>tension very clearly, and also feel a difference between posting a
>>general question to the list (pull towards formality/written style) and
>>replying to a particular posting from a named individual
>>(conversational/informal). How does one learn to interact in such a
>>situation, where immediate feedback is minimal and usually limited?
>>(Think of all the nuances gleaned from non-verbal cues in FTF
>>interaction.)
>
>It wasn't all that long ago when I was in a similar place with similar
>worries.
>
>And I probably would have viewed an FAQ on participation as supportive and
>helpful.
>
>But when such things are given to new participants, they constrain the
>possibilities for creative expression and make innovation more difficult.
>Some new members may be turned off by what could be viewed as restrictions
>and prescriptions for participation. If the rules are ambiguous, they are
>open to interpretaion, open to new possibilities.
>
>I, personally, feel that I benefited from "taking the plunge" without
>sufficient information to feel completely comfortable.
>
>Kathie
>
>^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^
>Life's backwards,
>Life's backwards,
>People, turn around.
>^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^Sinead O'Connor and John Reynolds
>Fire on Babylon: Universal Mother^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^
>^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^
>Katherine_Goff who-is-at ceo.cudenver.edu
>http://ouray.cudenver.edu/~kegoff/index.html
>
>
>
Martin Nystrand
Professor, Department of English (608 263-3820)
Editor, Written Communication (608 263-4512)
Director, Center on English Learning and Achievement (CELA)
Wisconsin Center for Education Research
685 Education Sciences
1025 West Johnson Street
Madison WI 53706
608 263-0563 voice
608 263-6448 fax