Re: [-empyre-] the use in girls coming

[Jeff Sonstein <jeffs@it.rit.edu>]

On Thursday, December 5, 2002, at 02:53  PM, "Millie Niss" 
<men2@columbia.edu> wrote:

> When I say that thesee fol, the language definitioon people , have a
> community, I mean it.  They have web sites, email lists, files that 
> they
> pass around.  They know each other on a first name basis, across
> continents. They consider each other to be friends, and gain social 
> benefit from
> theirinterchanges, nit just the pleasure of technical exchange.
>
> Thare is no such community around the more feminine "big picture" usues
> of the same technilogy-- sure there are newsgroups, but nothing 
> focused.

so I guess I would encourage you to *make* community happen
around what you see as "big picture issues"

my experience on the internetwork
both "old" and "new"
is that "community" happens because
someone sets up the infrastructure needed
and communicates to others where to go to plug in
and
if there is interest
a community "grows" more or less organically

while I do teach "techie" topics
my background is actually in the social sciences
and I will admit that that "warps" my view of this issue
somewhat

> application developers.  All the community aspects are centered around
> the tool itself.

so you create a virtual place that has another focus...

I guess my point is that community arises when
someone decides to *make* it happen...
witness this list
which I see as [potentially] the beginnings of
just such a community

as an example
the old vnet-interest mailing list
was primarily *not* about hacking the code
but rather about how to *use* multi-user 3D...
to make art happen
to make virtual communities happen
and so on

it has been my experience that
those who establish themselves
as having something to say
tend to set the tone for
a mailing list or a chat space or a shared 3D space
so I would encourage you to
brainstorm with some friends [online or face-to-face]
about the elements which you [plural] think might enhance 
community-building
and then build such a site and tell everyone you can about it
and spend time there regularly
and it will grow via word-of-mouth
if people find it a valuable experience...
IMHO
it is the experience people have in a virtual space
which determines if it will live and grow
and it is the "tone" set by the "regulars" there
which determines what happens there...
social pressures are powerful
and a respectful tone of exploration and encouragement and support
usually results in a respectful and supportive "space"

please do not take this post in the "wrong" way
for I want to encourage you to make a space happen
which meets your needs
as I think a *lot* of people
male and female
have similar desires and phantasies for the web

gotta run off and babble at a class about XML...
good luck
and drop me a line if I may be of assistance to you in your efforts

jeffs

--
Jeffrey Sonstein
Assistant Professor of Information Technology
Rochester Institute of Technology
=====================================
"They that give up essential liberty
  to obtain a little temporary safety
  deserve neither liberty nor safety."

Benjamin Franklin: 1759
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