Most college students in this day and age have used some form of Instant Messenger. While some may use it more frequently than others, even those who do not use it a lot are probably familiar with the grammar and lingo that is typically used when conversing through IM. A first time user may be confused when their friend responds to their question of “What are you doing?” with the letters “NMU?” but a regular user would understand right away (Not much, you?). It doesn’t take long to learn that IM conversations are very informal. It is fairly unusual to type complete, grammatically correct sentences. People also rarely use correct punctuation.
If one were to enter a chat room with very little chatting experience, he or she would be easily confused. There would be many abbreviations being used and lots of different people talking about random topics. Sometimes people’s questions are directed at one person. It’s hard to follow if you are not used to it. If one were to ask what all the abbreviations meant each time he or she didn’t understand, people in the chat room would get annoyed. They would most likely eventually tell the “newbie” to stop asking questions, and come back when they knew what was going on. The best way to learn is to practice; go into a chatroom and just observe, or talk to some close friends one-on-one and try to understand their codes. The AOL Instant Messaging Website actually has an Acronym Dictionary with over 100 abbreviations and their meanings. This is a great website for those new to online chatting.
Wallace spends chapter 4 of Psychology of the Internet discussing the ways in which the Leviathan is enforced in cyberspace. At the beginning of the chapter she wonders if it is possible to have such social norms on the internet,but comes to the conclusion that it is. On the Internet, the Leviathan would “emerge with more difficulty were it not for human willingness to conform and our eagerness to preserve a productive online group environment.” When people fail to follow social norms face to face, they may receive “the arched eyebrow”, a small sign that lets them know that they aren’t following the group’s tendencies. If one were to enter a chat room having no experience, it would not take long for he or she to understand the Leviathan. People may criticize them for entering a chat room and not knowing what was going on, or they may be ignored altogether.
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I found this post very intriguing, Gretchen. I think I might have overlooked the IM Leviathan. You bring up an interesting point about the specific language that is used in these chat rooms and, I have to admit, I was (and probably still am) behind on the AIM lingo; it was difficult communicating because I kept having asking what they were saying. I guess you could say that the users are collectively the Leviathan because they dictate what they want to discuss and how they want to discuss it in a chat room. That’s what’s great about the Internet, we have the chance to make our own rules and even have other people follow them too.
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