Summary
The first of these papers, “Identity and Deception in the Virtual Community”, looks at the methods and displays of identity and deception in the virtual world. It sets a basis for the prevalence of deception online, by stating how the physical body is a means of identification for most people. Without it, we only have the online user’s speech which he or she can manipulate at will. However, this article also brings up some ways to better identify people online. Ultimately there are two types of signals we look at to determine honesty, assessment signals and conventional signals. Assessment signals are costlier but directly related to the trait, while conventional signals are unstable and are often used as a means of deception. Things such as voice, language, and other traits given off by the writer help us develop our identity of that person.
The paper “4chan and /b/: An Analysis of Anonymity and Ephemerality in a Large Online Community” dove into the short-lived and radical community of 4chan. It starts by identifying two key components of 4chan, which are ephemerality and anonymity. Posts made to 4chan have a very short lifespan. If people are not commenting and “bumping” a post, it is only a matter of minutes before that post will be pushed down off the website. On one hand, this keeps no archive of well-liked posts, but on the other hand it forces the website to come up with fresh and unique posts. Along with this, anonymity is a factor in 4chan’s success. It allows users to post difficult questions without feeling like they are looked down on. This also allows other users to answer difficult questions from their own experience without having to give away personal details. However, there is also a negative side to anonymity which most people are familiar with. This negative side, is the ability to post anything the mind can think of without having to be held accountable for that post. This leads to many insensitive and radical posts that have helped give 4chan its bad reputation.
Reflection
These articles really got me thinking about what we perceive as identity online. It made me consider the identity that other users give off from their voice and language online and what their identity actually looks like from a physical perspective. These articles also made me consider the pros and cons of anonymity online. It has great benefits for those who are in need of help and don’t want to give out personal details. It also has consequences, though, since people who want to post terrible things now have the ability to do so without direct consequence.
Questions
What are the consequences of anonymity when a law is broken?
Is there a greater reward posting when you get recognition?
Will anonymity always be a possibility online?
Can word language be used more easily to identify a user?
