I would have gotten this up sooner but with the heatwave that hit last week all of my computers were out of service. I couldn't connect to the internet even if they were working since we had major networking problems with the heat and our server came pretty close to blowing up >.<
It started with a one on one chat with one of my fellow students. Which was fine. One on one or even in small (and I mean small, no more than 5 or so) groups this kind of chat is fine, but then the rest of the people got online for that evenings chat group and that's when I started to hate the experience.
Everyone that logged on had been doing so every Sunday night for a few weeks by the time I joined and it was very easy to feel like I didn't belong (even if it wasn't meant that way it still came across as though I was an intruder). It was like being the new kid at school... again. To top it off, there were over ten people logged on and vertually everyone was trying to talk at once. Anytime I did pluck up the courage to say something it didn't matter as it was either to late by the time I'd finished typing, or whatever I did say got spammed out by everyone else's questions and comments.
Instant messaging is a great medium for communication, however when it comes to large groups of people it would be easier to keep up with the conversation in a face to face setting. As it's easier to determine when a person is finished saying their piece and in a face to face situation people rarely talk over each other (unless they're in a heated argument, then everything is fair game).
However this is just an observation about that nights chat group. I've had heated arguements and rolling conversations with an entire Linkshell of people (Linkshells can have hundreds of people in them but the average linkshell will have around 15 people) and there's not really been an issue with talking over everyone. I guess a certain amount of familiarity with the people involved with the conversation is one of the most important factors as to how well this medium works or doesn't work.
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These are astute observations to make, especially the one about feeling like an intruder. Perhaps the online is really not all that different to the real world where social existence requires an earning of one's stripes so to speak. Do you think the problem is one of technology or of something in the realm of the development of cultural norms in group interaction? Or something completely different? Not expecting a reply, just prompting further thinking.
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