LANGUAGE SOCIALIZATION IN VIRTUAL COMMUNITIES
A growing body of research in computer-mediated communication has shown the emergence of social
and political interest groups on the Internet and the use of language within these groups to construct
communal affiliations, social and cultural beliefs, identities, and relations of power. For example, in her
study of a Usenet newsgroup (rec.arts.tv.soaps) devoted to the recreational discussion of daytime soap
operas, Baym (1995) reveals various forms of conventional expressions shared by members of the group.
Such conventions include the codification of acronyms for the soap operas and nicknames for the soap
opera characters, the expectation that newsgroup members would disclose personal details of their lives
akin to the narrative devices of the soap operas, and the development of unique forms of jokes that draw
attention to the hilarity and absurdity of the soap opera world.
Similarly, Tepper (1997) analyzes the use of trolls -- insiders' jokes and peculiar forms of spelling -- as a
boundary mechanism for consolidating group culture and distinguishing insiders from outsiders in the
Usenet newsgroup, alt.folklore.urban (AFU). Not only do new posters who wish to become part of the
AFU culture have to learn the trolls, they are also advised to study the FAQ (frequently asked questions)
file that contains a long list of legends and codified information about the group's culture. All this
constitutes the process of initiation into the AFU newsgroup culture. As Tepper comments,
Posters must recognize and adhere to the group's standards, and new readers must be trained in
the group's ways. Furthermore, if no one can be prevented from reading or writing to the group,
there must be some way of distinguishing between these posters to the group who are actually
"in" the group and those who are still "outside" it, and all this must be accomplished through
asynchronous textual production, with none of the verbal or visual cues that are so crucial to