Hi Jen
How will you know who is Aspie and who is neurotypical on this site? Some people don't say one way or the other--does this matter for your research?
Are you working with any hypotheses at all? I mean, are there certain things you'll be looking for or expecting to find? Are you going to tell us your results and observations when your research is finished? (I can see why you might not want to tell us as it proceeds, since that could in itself change the ways that people communicate.) How long do you anticipate your research taking?
What led you to this community in particular?
Good luck--if you want to use any of my tidbits of linguistic expressions, just reply to a post and ask me--I'll probably agree, since once it's on the internet it's public knowledge.
I have a BA in Linguistics. Though I'm not sure other linguists make good subjects. I'm also an Aspie...at least I think so (self-diagnosed). I have no problem being observed, questioned, etc. I'm curious about the nature of your project. Keep us updated.
Jen
I found this paragraph on the wiki
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ethnography
"To become a cultural anthropologist, one normally does ethnography. The longer one stays, the more they will learn and understand. Staying over one year allows for repetition in events and processes that may have been missed because of unfamiliarity at the beginnings and cultural shock. Cultural anthropologists study and interpret cultural diversity through ehtnography based on field work. It provides an account of a particular culture, society, or community. The fieldwork usually involves spending a year or more in another society, living with the local people and learning about their ways of life. Ethnographers are participant observers. They take part in events they study because it helps with understanding local behavior and thought."
1. Is this a summary you agree with? Or if not, where do you disagree?
2. I'm kind of curious about how one studies an internet community. It's not like the Yanomama tribes, where there are more clearly defined shared and directly observable rituals. So it seems like there are two issues--one being the construction-of-community-via the internet and the other being autistic group and self-empowerment.
3. Are you actually going to participate in the discussions by stating your own opinions on certain issues of interest to you?
There's a lot I find interesting about the conversations occurring on this site, but that would be ideas for other posts--but I guess you as well as anyone else can post questions--they'll get answered as people see fit, I guess.
Thanks Jen! (Your pointing out the John Best thread as an example was helpful.) I'm guessing that many people on this forum would be interested in engaging in intellectual musings with respect to issues you might raise. For sure, I would be. Have you any Aspie friends in real life to discuss your ideas with?
Hope you recover from being sick soon!
Jen
Maybe you could start a thread on a topic something like 'What is aspie empowerment?' and ask people to post links to articles, their own ideas, references to ongoing threads, whatever.
The threads that I personally find empowering may not be of much relevance to your research, because they are more personal than social. I guess I see empowerment as self-discovery first, then social activism second. I haven't gotten to the second stage yet. But people like Amy sure have!
Jen--On the issue of empowerment--check out the thread called "elitest additude" on the last page in this Forum (i.e. one of the very first posts). Many of the seminal issues, I think, are raised in this thread.
I'm gradually working my way through the pages and for some reason tonight decided to go back to the beginning of AFF time. Amy's articulation of the purpose of AFF is helpful, also, if you haven't read it.
On the issue of empowerment--check out the thread called "elitest additude" on the last page in this Forum (i.e. one of the very first posts). Many of the seminal issues, I think, are raised in this thread.
This was really helpful - what a profound discussion this one was! I guess "seminal issues" is the word. I'd like to look at that in a lot greater detail.
Also thanks for your suggestion of starting a new thread - I'll give that a try. Do you mind if I reference you in the post?
Nice to meet you, catffeinated. Love your screen name and your kitty... which reminds me of a question I've been meaning to ask: it seems like there is quite a large proportion of AFF members with cat avatars. Do you know why that is? (I am also a cat-lover; if I could get my hands on a camera, I'd proudly display my own kitty, who is now sitting in my knitting bag and looking very pleased with herself.)
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Also thanks [energeia] for your suggestion of starting a new thread - I'll give that a try. Do you mind if I reference you in the post?
Fine if you want to but doesn't seem essential :)
Actually, I was wondering: what are the professional standards in ethnology for referencing alias internet posters? Since the posts are public, can't you cite them as: "Member 840, alias energeia, said, quote: bla bla bla, end quote. Why do you have to ask permission?
Seems like getting permission could be a real problem where posters have disappeared, no longer have the same email address etc. It would sad to lose some of your anecdotal examples for this reason.
Hi again, everyone - sorry _again_ for the delay - am in the midst of final papers, and keeping up with the rest of my life always gets tricky this time of year!
Amy, you asked about knitting - I'm working on a cable-knit sweater these days; it'll probably take years at the rate I'm going, but I manage to get a little bit done now and then. It's dark purple - very pretty. It also attracts cat hair like a magnet!
energeia: as for professional standards in ethnography for citing internet posters - that's a really good question. A few people have written about the ethics of internet ethnographies, and some have made the point that for online communities, your screen name is just as "real" (i.e. personal) as your own name, and your online identity is just as sacred. Plus there's the problem of search engines - it would be relatively easy for someone to "find" an individual's screen name online if they had enough info to do a search. So while some people might feel comfortable sharing their online language, others might reasonably feel it's an invasion of their privacy. This is part of why studies of the internet are so fascinating to me, because they're public and private at the same time - yet it really complicates the ethical situation.
Of course it would be easiest to do as you suggest and assume it's all just publically accessible - but I'd hate for anyone to feel that I'm invading their privacy by doing so. I just figured asking for permission would be safer - but you're also right about the potential drawbacks. I'll just have to see how far this strategy gets me, I guess!
This is part of why studies of the internet are so fascinating to me, because they're public and private at the same time - yet it really complicates the ethical situation.
I guess I think that once something is stated, written or verbal, it's no longer private. That being said, I hope that none of my work colleagues or, worse, family members read Aspies for Freedom and make the connection, as I've posted a fair amount of personal reflections here. But this is a risk that I take. I definitely think that anyone doing research on internet communication should do so respectfully, but I don't see how the equivalent of signing a consent form can be done.
necrobump!
MoH was asking for things that might write up well.