Sender: |
|
Subject: |
|
From: |
|
Date: |
Wed, 2 Apr 1997 20:14:42 -0500 |
Reply-To: |
|
Parts/Attachments: |
|
|
In a message dated 97-04-02 17:58:30 EST, kjk writes:
> It seems to me that written text has been around longer than any of us or
> our computers, and those of us who consider ourselves competent (please do
> not read "expert") writers can, like those who came before, get our
> messages across through a judicious use of the written word. This
> certainly can be done without resorting to the use of smiley faces,
> frowns, etc., although I will defend to the death (maybe) your collective
> right to do so!
>
I couldn't agree more with everything that has been said so far re. net
etiquette. I think the above comment needs an anthropolgical perspective,
however. There is a clear difference in how we communicate with the written
word: one that is designed to be read over and over again in a (relatively)
permanent format, where a person writes for the unknown, unseen reader, and
the internet. The internet email is an amazing blend of written and
non-verbal communication that is nearly "face-to-face" and immediate. What
is more natural than the evolution of a written communication that receives
an almost immediate response (and hence the need for non-verbal communication
added in, ie. happy faces, underlining, shouting...etc.)
Frankly, I hope museums (and not just computer museums) begin collecting
email in some fashion, because it is clear we are at the beginning of a new
form of communication in human history, which seems to evolve and change much
more rapidly in some ways than verbal languages!
Jeff Kelley
|
|
|