CSCI E-10: Assignment 2, due February 11, 2002

The tool for using Listserv is e-mail, once you know the administrative and list addresses for a LISTserv. To sign up, you will need to visit www.topica.com to browse for a suitable list. Usenet newsgroups may be read from a UNIX account by using rn, and from a PC or Macintosh or PC using either the built-in newsreader or, via groups.google.com, a web browser.

Students should begin the following as early as possible in the week, to give you time to receive information. If you must begin late because of late registration for the course, do not rush the assignment. I would rather you get it in a few days late with some real results than to get it in on time without having truly immersed yourself in any community.

1. Pick at least three Listserv groups of interest to you (from the list at http://www.topica.com), and subscribe to them. Notice the activity level listed by topica before joining -- low-activity groups may not be your best choice for this assignment. Do this as soon as you can. Carefully read any introductory information. If all your selected LISTservs are quiet (no messages are received) for a day or two, pick some more. The hope is that you will find at least one active group to write about.

   Sometime into the week, choose the most interesting group you joined and participate in some way -- whether by asking a question, or answering a question, or just chiming in to an ongoing discussion.

   At the end of the week, write up a brief report about your experiences to be shared with the class (by e-mail). This report should include:

   • (a) A description of the group you followed and the nature of the postings;
   • (b) how active the group was, in terms of number of messages per day or per week;
   • (c) how many different people sent messages (total active membership);
   • (d) how you were received when you actively participated;
   • (e) your general experiences, including whether you found the group as interesting as you had hoped when you first picked it and whether you plan to remain a member of the group.

2. Fire up your favorite Usenet news reader (Netscape, rn, google, or any other you already use) and begin to follow at least three newsgroups of interest to you. Read a week's worth of postings (some of which may have already been available in the newsgroup when you first subscribed). If all your selected newsgroups are quiet (no messages are received) for a couple of days, pick others.

   Sometime into the week, pick one reasonably active newsgroup and participate actively in some small way, by asking or answering a question, or joining an ongoing discussion.

   At the end of the week, write a one-page report to the class, with:

   • (a) a description of the newsgroup and the nature of the postings;
   • (b) how many messages were sent, in total (and the average per day);
   • (c) how many different people sent these messages;
   • (d) whether you found the information as interesting as you had hoped when you subscribed.

3. Mail both of your one-page reports to the class mailing list, libcse10@fas.harvard.edu.

4. Stay subscribed to at least one mailing list, and continue following at least one Usenet Newsgroup. You may unsubscribe to the others if you wish. You will be asked some follow-up questions in a future assignment.

Extension Activities and Thought Experiments:

1. Continue as an active participant in one or more communities, and think about the following:

   (a) Do you get answers to your questions, or thanks for your responses? If you asked a question, how long did it take to get a useful reply, if you did get one? Did you receive information you would have had a hard time finding in any other way?

   (b) How were you and others received by the community as either a passive or an active participant? Is it possible to tell who is lurking in this community, or are you essentially invisible until you did participate? Are different people welcomed differently depending on their behavior?

   (c) Do you feel as if you have in fact joined a community? Are the elements of community present in this group? Do the other posters seem to have a real community going? Are you a real part of it, or just on the fringes?

2. Compare two different communities (two Newsgroups, two Mailing Lists, or one of each). Here are some guiding questions, but feel free to improvise. You might find yourself on the way to a final project topic!

   (a) If you joined both communities as an active participant (by posting several informational articles, questions, or replies), how was your reception different in each community?

   (b) How would you characterize each community? Before you can answer that question, you need to think about what variables you would use to characterize a community. Use the sample worksheet I handed out, or create your own.

   (c) Can you tell from just one week's worth of postings whether a newsgroup has leaders or spokespeople (whether official or unofficial)? Are there any fringe elements or troublemakers?

   (d) Is the group polarized around any substantive issues, or is there a general consensus of opinion, or is the group "tame", in the sense that there is no cause for contention?