The Performance of Humor in Computer-Mediated Communication

TLDR

Humor in computer‑mediated communication has been understudied, and some research suggests the medium is inhospitable to it. This essay argues that humor can be achieved in CMC and is essential for creating social meaning online. The authors examine humor in the Usenet newsgroup rec.arts.tv.soaps by combining user surveys with message analysis to gauge its prevalence and importance. Analysis of five humorous messages shows that humor emerges from juxtaposing close and distant readings of soap operas, fostering group solidarity and individuality through shared meanings and idiosyncratic play.

Abstract

There has been very little work on humor in computer-mediated communication (CMC). Indeed, the implication of some CMC work is that the medium is inhospitable to humor. This essay argues that humor can be accomplished in CMC and can be critical to creating social meaning on-line. The humor of the Usenet newsgroup rec.arts.tv.soaps (r.a.t.s. ), which discusses soap operas, is analyzed. The method combines user surveys with message analysis to show the prevalence and importance of humor in r.a.t.s. Close analysis of five exemplary humorous messages shows how the group's humor arises from the juxtaposition of close and distant readings of the soap opera, which place the participants in close relationships to one another, and distance them from the soap opera's writers and producers. Group solidarity is also created as participants draw extensively on previous messages to ground their own humor. Humor is also shown to be a primary mechanism for the establishment of individuality, as participants combine the shared meanings and play with the shared parameters of the group in idiosyncratic ways.