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Communities encountering internal conflict will, depending upon the severity
of the problem, resort to a vast array of possible solutions. Physical,
geographical communities in Canada have at their disposal various governmental,
institutional, cultural and religious facilities which provide services
of reconciliation, judgement, incarceration, and other means of dealing
with individuals or groups within a community whose actions are contrary
to custom or law. Virtual communities in Usenet, however, have no access
to external recourse unless the misdeed is extreme, and even then results
are not always guaranteed. Consequently, within Usenet newsgroups one
finds many alternative methods of problem solving and enforcement of community
rules, including FAQs, flaming, and kill-filing, to name a few.
I have been an active member of the Usenet newsgroup alt.vampyres
since November 1997. In this time, I have been a witness to and a participant
in several long and drawn-out flame wars. These conflicts caused a great
deal of divisiveness and threatened to destroy all sense of community;
instead, however, they strengthened that sense, causing the group to
redefine itself to ensure that a similar lack of internal cohesion could
not happen again in the future. This entire episode resulted in two
major actions taken by certain members of the group; the first was a
revision of the alt.vampyres FAQ (a list of Frequently Asked Questions
about the group's purpose and about vampires overall) [1],
and the second was the creation of a new Usenet newsgroup, alt.culture.vampires.
CONFLICT IN ALT.VAMPYRES
The conflict which caused so much turmoil in alt.vampyres began before
my arrival in the group, with the appearance of individuals who claimed
to be real vampires and who posted to the group their explanations for
vampirism. Writing in character as a vampire is not frowned upon in alt.vampyres,
as is stated in the FAQ: "The people on this group who write as if they
were vampyres, are not intending to mislead anyone; they are doing it
purely for entertainment, creating a sort of interactive story in this
group" [2]. Even claiming to be a real vampire may not
draw flames if the individual does not attempt to preach his or her version
of the truth; it may, however, cause a flurry of questions, and the vampire
may find he or she has been added to a growing list of "real vampires"
kept by Baby Jinx, an alt.vampyres regular [3]. Similarly,
posting one's personal beliefs concerning the nature of vampirism is welcomed
only if those beliefs are not presented as the one and only truth. In
essence, what angered the alt.vampyres community was not that these individuals
claimed to be vampires, but the manner in which they posted their beliefs,
and the subsequent way in which they responded to the group's questions
and criticisms. For example, on several occasions Winged Wolf posted a
long document containing her beliefs. It was statements such as "The thing
that makes a person a vampyr is essentially a symbiotic, psychic 'lifeform'.
If you feed it, it grows more powerful, and changes you more. If you do
not, it grows weaker, and feeds off you" [4] which, on
each occasion when she posted the document, caused a flame war to erupt.
Group members demanded that she either provide indisputable scientific
proof for her claims, or stop presenting them as fact:
...What gets my goat is when these people write rambling fiction
and call it scientific research, boast that they know the Real(tm) Truth(tm),
claim to have proof but refuse to provide it when asked, run around
the internet and set up websites so that they can spread their delusions
and seek converts, whine and cry and get upset when someone with a modicum
of intelligence and independent thought challenges their delusion, etc.
Believing something is one thing. Keep your beliefs to yourself
if they border on delusional, and no one has anything on you. Evangelizing
it is something else. If someone expects the right to harangue others
with their delusions, they must harangue with the knowledge that those
others can and will question them diligently and may even write them
off as either liars or mental flakes [5].
It is possible, perhaps even likely, that had these "truthsayers" either
initially posted their beliefs as hypotheses rather than fact, or revised
them after encountering opposition, no internal conflict would have resulted.
However, in nearly every case, the "truthsayer" maintained that he or
she was correct. In direct opposition to the wishes of many regulars,
these individuals occasionally resorted to reposting their documents at
irregular intervals, and either ignored further responses or engaged in
long flame wars, continuing to insist that they know the truth. Catherene,
who believes that vampirism is caused by a previously undiscovered retrovirus,
periodically posts "related" news articles (which generally mention neither
vampires nor retroviruses), even though group members have repeatedly
asked her not to post these. She continues to post, however, explaining
that she does so not for the regulars, but for those individuals who lurk
(read, but do not post) and may be receptive to her claims:
Oh, I fully realize that this post will be jumped on and I shall
be called a liar by one of the 'clickish' 25 who founded this board.
[...] I expect this kind of abuse of anything I post. I continue to
do so, even though I was asked and then ordered not to post here, in
the hope some of the more silent readers have more open minds and at
least will read and perhaps remember where you heard it first. In the
end they shall all have the proof they say does not exist and when presented
with such proof from other authorities they will still insist it is
all lies [6].
The extended arguments that result from posts like this have, in the past,
consumed nearly all conversation within the group, until almost every
thread is dedicated to them. A common theme was for regulars to point
out that the FAQ for alt.vampyres specifically states that it is a newsgroup
created for the discussion of the vampire in literature, mythology, and
film, and that any discussion of the vampire in reality should be of a
speculative nature: "This group is for the discussion of vampyre mythology,
such as the psychology, physiology, and relation of the vampyre to modern-day
human life, and the distribution of original fiction, such as stories
or poetry, that are within the vampyre realm" [7]. However,
others claimed that the FAQ was somewhat vague as to exactly what comprised
an appropriate post, indicating that nowhere in the FAQ did it say that
vampirism as a real medical or supernatural condition and related theories
could not be discussed, and further, that until such "truths" were accepted
by the scientific community, they would be perceived as modern mythology,
which could be interpreted as being completely on topic in alt.vampyres.
In January of 1998, after a great deal of flaming, the concern was
raised that the alt.vampyres community was in danger of disintegrating:
What is (in part) really destroying this newsgroup is not their
[the "truthsayers"] arrival, per se (a simple 'you bore me: fuck off'
once it is established there is no truth in their claims should be sufficient
to end the conversation); what's destroying the 'feel' of this newsgroup
is the long-drawn-out hammering and bad feelings that results from trying
to get an admission from these people that they don't have physical
evidence for their claims. As i have stated in the past; if they're
delusional enough to believe that their 'theories' are true, then there
is no point aiming a logic-gun at them and firing it. They're effectively
immune to the rays [8].
It was then suggested that the FAQ be revised such that claims of absolute
vampiric knowledge would be off-topic. Theories would still be acceptable
as long as they were presented as such, but "truthsayers" would no longer
be welcome and would find no loopholes in the FAQ with which to justify
their posts. However, the group seemed divided; some believed that revising
the FAQ would solve the problem, while others felt it would do nothing
at all, or perhaps make the situation worse, as pointed out by Chiller:
What will happen if we add this to the FAQ?
Residents of alt.V will simply take it as carte blanche to flame
the "truthsayers" ad nauseam in the name of the FAQ - which is in
fact what has already been happening. I have not seen this have any
effect whatsoever upon SeekerSA [Catherene] or WingedWolf, both of
whom seem to regard it as an evil necessity of existing on alt.V,
something which must simply be "put up with".
It is quite possible that flaming "truthsayers" helps them feel
put upon and thereby even more heroic for keeping up the "good work",
no? In other words I believe that incessant flaming, with or without
a FAQ to back it up it may be making the situation worse rather than
better.
If the FAQ is amended, what weight does that carry with the "truthsayers"?
We can say to "truthsayers": "Hey guys - check out the FAQ and
then fuck off"; but I suggest that if a simple "fuck off" was not
sufficient in the first place, one embedded in the FAQ will fare little
better, unless someone can show me that a FAQ is sufficient reason
to have people kicked off NGs by sysadmins [9].
In recognition of the potential problems presented by Chiller, it was
further suggested that, not only should the FAQ be changed to essentially
outlaw the discussion of vampirism as a real condition, but that a new
newsgroup be created specifically for such discussion. After much debate,
two conclusions were reached. The first was relative agreement that the
FAQ should be changed, resulting in several additions which clearly made
any claims of factual knowledge without supporting proof off-topic in
alt.vampyres [10]. The second was almost unanimous support
for the creation of alt.culture.vampires,
a newsgroup dedicated to the discussion of real vampires and vampirism
in the modern world. Although these actions did little to reduce the amount
of flaming on alt.vampyres, and did not cause the "real" vampires to move
to alt.culture.vampires as had been hoped, the amount of infighting was
drastically reduced. It would seem that by working together as a community
to redefine the rules of conduct, the members of alt.vampyres were able
to reestablish a sense of solidarity and boundedness; concerns about the
potential destruction of alt.vampyres virtually disappeared. This assertion
is enforced by Derek Foster's observations, in that the "...spirit of
community is essential to the viability of virtual communities. That which
holds a virtual community intact is the subjective criterion of togetherness,
a feeling of connectedness that confers a sense of belonging" (1995:
7).
CONFLICT RESOLUTION IN ALT.VAMPYRES
A certain amount of conflict within a Usenet newsgroup is unavoidable;
at the heart of Usenet is communication, conversation, and debate. Ideas
are presented and refuted, proof is demanded and debunked. Conflict can
be civil, especially when the individuals involved in the disagreement
consider themselves to be friends and do not wish to offend each other.
However, when tempers flare and manners are forgotten, flame wars can
be vicious, long, and insidious. "...if one person writes a nasty response
to another's message, the result is not just the creation of animosity
between two people, but the creation of a hostile group environment..."
(Baym, 1996: 319). Eventually, extreme solutions are
suggested by group members, such as kill-files (programs used to render
posts by or about certain individuals invisible to the news reader employing
them) or even registering complaints with the offending individual's system
administrator or service provider (McLaughlin &
Osborne, 1995: 105; Kollock & Smith, 1994:
4.3), though this can be difficult even if the individual resorts
to foul or abusive language, threats of stalking or physical violence,
or racist or sexist remarks. As eloquently stated by an alt.vampyres regular;
"Are words in the FAQ sufficient reason to demand that sysadmins discipline
their users for posting here? I think most sysadmins will look at the
'truthsayers'' posts, see no swearing, and conclude that - as this NG
is unmoderated - they have caused no slight and it is still up to us to
deal with the perceived problem" [11].
It was not until the core members of alt.vampyres feared for the survival
of their community that the problematic presence of certain individuals
and the incessant flame wars that erupted because of them were understood
within the group as serious threats. Their fears were based on an increasing
lack of cohesiveness within the community, and the development of formidable
hostility between certain factions; though flame wars are nothing new
to alt.vampyres, certain posts questioning the purpose and scope of the
newsgroup raised concerns that the community was, in fact, falling apart
at the seams. It has been theorized that"...conflict within a group can
only be functional at all, if its members are agreed on core values, since
conflict over core values destroys the group" (Fallding,
1990: 53). Indeed, it was when group members began to reconstruct
a definition for the community that fears of utter destruction were allayed.
The FAQ itself is a means of creating a border around a Usenet community;
not only does it answer the frequently asked questions which give it
its name, it often delineates what is considered on-topic, sets out
rules of conduct, and helps to establish a sense of belonging based
on common interests and ideas. However, it has been demonstrated that
FAQs are not foolproof, and virtual boundaries are easily crossed: "While
there are many resources to construct boundaries in the Usenet, many
of these boundaries exist only by voluntary compliance and are easily
violated" (Kollock & Smith, 1994: 4.1)
When the boundaries presented by the FAQ are willfully ignored by outsiders
to the group, the result is flaming. Tolerance for these individuals
is close to nil; they do not contribute to the group in a way which
individual group members find useful and yet they demand a disproportionate
amount of attention while members attempt to debunk their claims or
convince them to take those claims elsewhere. In Virtual Disability,
Gerald Gold discusses the response of members of the MSN-L mailing list
to aversive behaviour from group outsiders; this behaviour is mirrored
exactly in the actions taken by alt.vampyres members: Though a list
may be "unmoderated" and list membership is open and computer-controlled,
many participants are protective of the boundaries of their newfound
community and respond briskly to public messages which they judge to
be inappropriate or offensive to the list community" (1997:
8). Any threat to perceived community boundaries can cause a major
upheaval within the group: "It takes very few participants to upset
or redefine a group's social environment" (Baym, 1996:
319). If the alteration of environment has a negative affect on
group dynamics (as was the case in alt.vampyres), efforts will be made
to return the community to its original state. In alt.vampyres, this
led to revision of the FAQ and the creation of alt.culture.vampires.
In forming alt.culture.vampires, the intention was not to split the
community in two; in fact, many regulars on alt.vampyres expressed an
interest in also becoming active members of alt.culture.vampires. This
indicates that it was also not intended as a way of simply getting rid
of offending individuals, since alt.vampyres regulars would, by necessity,
interact with these individuals on alt.culture.vampires. The rationale
behind creating a new newsgroup can be understood in a traditionally
anthropological way: "...one response to growing populations is for
bands to split and for 'daughter' groups to establish themselves in
open territories on the original group's boundary" (Wenke,
1990: 138). This response has also been noted in virtual communities:
"The net is a moving frontier in that anyone feeling crowded can move
on to form a new Usenet discussion group" (Nguyen
& Alexander, 1996: 105). In reviewing the history of alt.vampyres
and the ways in which group members have traditionally dealt with similar
adversities, Baby Jinx noted that:
In the past, when a singular topic has become so overwhelming that
it has threatened to splinter the newsgroup and overshadow its stated
mission of being a place for broad discussion of the vampire realm,
there is evidence that the acceptable manner of dealing with this problem
has been for the proponents of the singular topic to split themselves
from this newsgroup and create a place of their own for discussion specifically
related to their concern.
So it became that such singular topics as the books of author
Anne Rice or the mythologies and rules of vampire role-playing games
attained their own status as places where these subjects could be
discussed ad nauseum. Directions to these sites were then added to
the alt.vampyres faq so that persons interested in this specific milieu
could be referred there. In the long run, both alt.vampyres and these
sister sites have benefitted from this arrangement [12].
Thus it would seem that it is not the population of the group which grows,
but the scope of discussion; when the number of topics discussed reaches
a critical point, it becomes necessary to relegate some of them to other
places. Likewise, when one topic becomes so prominent that it overshadows
all other discussion in the newsgroup, that topic must also find a new
home. The single most important factor, however, is the desire to save
the community from dissolution.
CONCLUSION
Alt.culture.vampires was created on Wednesday, February 11, 1998,
largely because of the work of Chooch and the advice and technical assistance
of klaatu. Shortly thereafter a FAQ [13] was written
and is currently posted on my own website, as I am the FAQ keeper for
alt.culture.vampires. On February 14, 1998, Chooch posted the following
message to alt.vampyres, apparently in the hopes that those individuals
who had caused so much stress within the community would simply pick up
and move to the new newsgroup:
To all Real (TM) Vampires still here:
With the revision of the AV FAQ, this topic has now become off-topic
for this newsgroup.
Do not despair, a new set of chambers has been prepared for your
comfort
and convenience. This is not an eviction, merely a relocation.
I think you will enjoy your new quarters, especially now that
the workmen have cleared the premises and the smell of fresh paint
will disappear in time, hopefully to be replaced with a much more
appealing odor of dankness and fresh blood.
Don't forget to say "Thanks" to the denizens of alt.vampyres
for providing temporary quarters. We've left a forwarding address,
I'm sure they'll be happy to provide directions for any friends that
show up later looking for us, and will most likely be willing to misdirect
the occasional mob of angry peasants long enough for their torches
to burn out.
Please gather up your belongings here (don't forget the renfields!)
and follow me. It's not far, just up a few levels, take a right, and
it's a few doors down the hall on the left. You can't miss it, the
sign on the door says alt.culture.vampires.
Currently, the flame wars between real(tm) vampires and their adversaries
continue on alt.vampyres, though there is no longer any concern expressed
over the potential destruction of the community. It was not, I believe,
the actions of revising the FAQ and creating alt.culture.vampires which
strengthened the community, but the symbolism of these actions; working
as a group to overcome a perceived threat instilled in the members of
alt.vampyres a sense of solidarity and common interest that allowed them
to withstand the continued presence of aversive elements without fearing
for the survival of the community.
[14] To view the full article see Google Groups (Usenet
Archive): "YOUR
ATTENTION PLEASE" posted 1998/02/14 by Chooch.
REFERENCES CITED
Baym, Nancy K. 1996 "Agreements and Disagreements
in a Computer-Mediated Discussion" in Research on Language and Social
Interaction, 29(4), pp 315-345. New Jersey: Lawrence Erlbaum Associates
Inc.
Fallding, Harold. 1990 The Social Process Revisited:
Acheiving Human Interests Through Alliance and Opposition. New York:
P. Lang.
Foster, Derek. 1995 Can we have communities in
cyberspace? Carleton University: working papers in technology and
culture.
Gold, Gerald L. 1997 "Virtual Disability: Sameness
and Difference in an Electronic Support Group", in press in P. Devlegier
and F. Rusch eds., Similar and Different: Core Concepts and the Coming
of Disability Studies. In press. University of Michigan Press.
McLauglin, Margaret L. and Kerry K. Osborne.
1995 "Standards of Conduct on Usenet" in Steven G. Jones, ed., Cybersociety:
Computer-Mediated Communication and Community. Thousand Oaks: SAGE
Publications, Inc.
Nguyen, Dan Thu and Jon Alexander. 1996 "The Coming
of Cyberspacetime and the End of the Polity" in Rob Shields, ed., Cultures
of Internet: Virtual Spaces, Real Histories, Living Bodies. Thousand
Oaks: SAGE Publications, Inc.
Wenke, Robert J. 1990 Patterns in Prehistory:
Humankind's First Three Million Years 3rd ed. New York:
Oxford University Press.
Comments? Questions? Concerns? E-mail
me!
~ Home ~ Thanks again to all my friends on alt.vampyres who didn't flame me
to oblivion when I asked if I could study them... many would not have been so understanding.
; ) ~Thornleaf
This document copyright 1998 by Kristina Day
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