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Usenet World. Jakob Metzler. Motivation . “People confuse neighborhood with community” (Barry Wellman: The Network Community) Maybe we can make community and neighborhood “equal” again Apply this idea to Usenet newsgroups. Usenet World. Graphical map (2D/3D) of Usenet communities
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Usenet World Jakob Metzler
Motivation • “People confuse neighborhood with community” (Barry Wellman: The Network Community) • Maybe we can make community and neighborhood “equal” again • Apply this idea to Usenet newsgroups
Usenet World • Graphical map (2D/3D) of Usenet communities • Not based on location, but interest • 8 continents: comps, news, sci, humanities, rec, soc, talk, misc • Each continent has a number of countries based on the hierarchy, eg. Continent rec: • rec.animals, rec.antiques, rec.art
Usenet World • Continue with hierarchy: • Continent -> country -> city -> neighborhood • Use “Sim City” engine to display neighborhood. • Each main thread is a building • Subject displayed on top of map • Size matters – number of responses determines size of building
Content Signals • Autonomous agents can parse threads for content • display different graphics next to buildings according to content characteristics: • Flaming • Inappropriate language (?) • User’s interest keywords • Etc.
Some Considerations • Search functions extended to point to areas in the world map that match keywords • Houses deteriorate when thread is inactive, and eventually disappear => Dynamic landscape
Advantages • Can browse newsgroups much more intuitively (“walk around neighborhood”) • People have motivation to continue the discussion • “who builds the highest building?” • => Increases social exchange • People are more likely participate in neighbor’s discussion