Users should exhibit the same ethical behavior they would consider proper for face-to-face communications. People in the electronic environment sometimes feel less inhibited about insulting others or being abusive. Users need to include paralinguistic cues to express the emotions usually conveyed by body language. If this is not done, misunderstandings frequently occur and lead to the property of flaming (angry feedback loops). Users need to socialize and develop trust within communicating groups in order to be able to work together as an effective networked group. Users sometimes need to be more open about their feelings than is necessary in face-to-face groups.
Predictor: Hiltz, Starr Roxanne
Prediction, in context:In a 1992 paper they presented at a workshop titled “Rights and Responsibilities of Participants in Networked Communities” for the Computer Science and Telecommunications Board of the National Research Council, researchers Starr Roxanne Hiltz and Murray Turoff say: ”There are some very important [ethical] guidelines for service users as well. Some of these are a function of specific capabilities that the network offers. For example, an important capability is the provision of anonymity or the use of pen names. This has a number of advantages in allowing free and open discussion on sensitive issues, and encouraging people to offer experiences without embarrassing themselves or the organizations they are associated with. For example a manager can provide case histories of bad decision situations without identifying the company, by employing anonymity. However, anonymity and pen-names can also be abused. Users should exhibit the same ethical behavior they would consider proper for face-to-face communications. People in the electronic environment sometimes feel less inhibited about insulting others or being abusive. Users need to include paralinguistic cues to express the emotions usually conveyed by body language. If this is not done, misunderstandings frequently occur and lead to the property of flaming (angry feedback loops). Users need to socialize and develop trust within communicating groups in order to be able to work together as an effective networked group. Users sometimes need to be more open about their feelings than is necessary in face-to-face groups.”
Biography:Starr Roxanne Hiltz, the co-author of a seminal book about the electronic frontier, “The Network Nation: Human Communication Via Computer” (MIT Press), was a professor of computer and information science at the New Jersey Institute of Technology and the author of many Internet research studies. In 1994, Hiltz received the “Pioneer Award” from the Electronic Frontier Foundation for her “significant and influential contributions to computer-based communications and to the empowerment of individuals using computers.” She was among the first to note that computer conferencing could form the basis of new kinds of communities. (Research Scientist/Illuminator.)
Date of prediction: November 1, 1992
Topic of prediction: Community/Culture
Subtopic: Ethics/Values
Name of publication: Rights and Responsibilities of Participants in Networked Communities Computer science and Telecommunications Board National Research Council (NRC)
Title, headline, chapter name: A Normative View of Networking Applications
Quote Type: Direct quote
Page number or URL of document at time of study:
http://web.njit.edu/~turoff/Papers/dcgov.html
This data was logged into the Elon/Pew Predictions Database by: Anderson, Janna Quitney