This inverse power law pattern -- a few contributors producing a lot of
postings, some contributors producing a medium number of postings, and many
contributors producing few postings -- is intriguing to say the least. Peg
Syverson observed it in her 1994 study of the heated conversation over the
Gulf War, but it recurs across timescales, basically getting stronger the
larger chunks of written conversation one looks at. Of course "number of
postings" is a very crude measure, saying nothing about message length,
content, or function. But still... the questions remain, both about what
produces a heavy presence and its opposite.
"Silence" has many facets, yes.
Still, it is a little too easy to be consoled here, by the persistence of
the pattern, the way it emerges in the system without any centralized
intent, the ways it can be construed as a natural effect of the logistics
of electronic conversation, no exclusion intended. It CAN be looked at that
way, but I still wonder what it would take to break the pattern.
Eva