Communities on the Internet

1. Communities on the Internet Natalie FordAccess the Internet (2005)

2. Virtual Communities • May be geographically widespread, but share a common interest. • May exist for social, cultural, sporting or political reasons, etc. • Interact using the internet for the purposes of emailing, conferencing, chat and newsgroups. Communities on the Net

3. Newgroups • Online discussion groups, generally based around special interest, where a collection of messages are posted by individuals to a news server. Similar to a public bulletin board. • The server is a computer that can host thousands of newsgroups on many subjects or topics. Communities on the Net

4. Newgroups • Organised in hierarchical manner, using categories and sub-categories, e.g. alt. • To post or read newsgroup messages, you need to have a news reader. A news reader is simply a client software that is installed on your computer. • Microsoft Internet Explorer comes bundled with its own news reader, ie. Outlook Express. Communities on the Net

5. Newsgroups • Web-based services, such as Usenet and Google, are directly accessible through your browser. • Generally, your ISP will have news (NNTP) server so you can access and work with newsgroups. • Investigate all newsgroups and chat rooms carefully before subscribing. Communities on the Net

6. Newsgroup culture • Netiquette – ‘network ettiquette’ is the unofficial rules defining the proper behaviour on the Internet, e.g. sending spam and unwanted emails is bad ettiquette. • Flame – an insult or derogatory message sent via email, Usenet or mailing lists to a person or group – not recommended. Communities on the Net

7. Newsgroup culture • Emoticons (smileys) – ‘emotion icons’ are used to represent human facial expressions and convey an emotion on the internet, created from typing certain characters on your keyboard eg. :-) is a smile. Communities on the Net

8. Newsgroup culture • Acronyms and abbreviation – Internet slang used in various computer-mediated communication (ie. Instant messaging, emails and chat room) between two or more individuals. • For example, LOL means laugh out loud. Communities on the Net

9. Real time technologies • Ways of communicating which require immediate feedback or response. • Alternatives to email and newsgroups. • Examples of real time technologies:- Internet phone (e.g. Skype), Internet conferencing and Internet chatting. • Limitation – coordinating a time to meet online. Communities on the Net

10. Skype • A peer-to-peer Internet telephony network founded by the Niklas Zennström and Janus Frii. • Skype allows for users to call other users from their computer and communicate via microphone, as well as call and be called from regular phones. Communities on the Net

11. Skype • A communications system notable for its broad range of features, including instant messaging, file transfer, voice and video conferencing. Communities on the Net

12. Internet Relay Chat • IRC relies on the existence of ‘channels’, communication spaces dedicated to dialogue among a specific group of participants. • Two popular server networks:- DALnet (www.dal.net) and Undernet (www.undernet.org) • Need to install an IRC client, mIRC from www.mirc.net and configure the software. Communities on the Net

13. Internet Relay Chat • Join a chat room by logging onto an IRC server. • After joining a chat channel, you would type command line instructions at a prompt (similar to DOS commands). Communities on the Net

14. ICQ – I seek you • Popular instant messaging program (sometimes referred to as a buddy list program) can be used to chat, send emails, perform file transfers and undertake a range of other activities such as playing network games. • Need to install ICQ software, available when you sign up for a Hotmail account. Communities on the Net

15. Thanks for your attention! Communities on the Net