Electronic tribes : the virtual worlds of geeks, gamers, shamans, and scammers / edited by Tyrone L. Adams and Stephen A. Smith.

Format:

Book

Contributor:

Adams, Tyrone.

Smith, Stephen A., 1949-

Language:

English

Subjects (All):

Online social networks.

Internet--Social aspects.

Internet.

Tribes.

Communication and technology.

Physical Description:

1 online resource (332 p.)

Edition:

1st ed.

Place of Publication:

Austin : University of Texas Press, 2008.

Language Note:

English

Summary:

Whether people want to play games and download music, engage in social networking and professional collaboration, or view pornography and incite terror, the Internet provides myriad opportunities for people who share common interests to find each other. The contributors to this book argue that these self-selected online groups are best understood as tribes, with many of the same ramifications, both positive and negative, that tribalism has in the non-cyber world. In Electronic Tribes, the authors of sixteen competitively selected essays provide an up-to-the-minute look at the social uses and occasional abuses of online communication in the new media era. They explore many current Internet subcultures, including MySpace.com, craftster.org, massively multiplayer online role-playing games (MMORPGs) such as World of Warcraft, music downloading, white supremacist and other counterculture groups, and Nigerian e-mail scams. Their research raises compelling questions and some remarkable answers about the real-life social consequences of participating in electronic tribes. Collectively, the contributors to this book capture a profound shift in the way people connect, as communities formed by geographical proximity are giving way to communities—both online and offline—formed around ideas.

Contents:

Introduction, Where is the shaman? / Jim Parker

"Tribe by any other name..." / Tyrone L. Adams and Stephen A. Smith

Mimetic kinship : theorizing online "tribalism" / Veronica M. Davidov and Barbara Andersen

Electronic tribes (e-tribes) : some theoretical perspectives and implications / Bolanle Olaniran

Revisiting the impact of tribalism on civil society : an investigation of the potential benefits of membership in an e-tribe on public discourse / Christina Standerfer

Theorizing the e-tribe on MySpace.com / David R. Dewberry

Don't date, craftsterbate : dialogue and resistance on Craftster.org / Terri L. Russ

Guild life in the world of Warcraft : online gaming tribalism / Thomas Brignall III

At the electronic Evergreen : a computer-mediated ethnography of tribalism in a newsgroup from Montserrat and afar / Jonathan Skinner

"Like a neighborhood of sisters" : can culture be formed electronically? / Deborah Clark Vance

Gerald M. Phillips as electronic tribal chief : socioforming cyberspace / Ann Rosenthal

Digital dreamtime, sonic talismans : music downloading and the tribal landscape / Michael C. Zalot

Magic, myth, and mayhem : tribalization in the digital age / Leonie Naughton

Mundanes at the gate

and perverts within : managing internal and external threats to community online / Steve Abrams and Smaragd Grun

Brotherhood of blood : Aryan tribalism and skinhead cybercrews / Jody M. Roy

Radical tribes at Warre : primitivists on the net / Mathieu O'Neil

"Tribe" migrates crime to cyberspace : Nigerian Igbos in 419 e-mail scams / Farooq A. Kperogi and Sandra Duhe.

Notes:

Description based upon print version of record.

Includes bibliographical references and index.

ISBN:

0-292-79396-0

OCLC:

309871445