Democracy online: civility, politeness, and the democratic potential of online political discussion groups

TLDR

Proponents claim that online discourse will boost political participation and create a democratic utopia, yet scholars argue that conflating civility with politeness overlooks the democratic value of robust, heated discussion. The article investigates the potential for civil discourse in cyberspace by analyzing civility levels across 287 political newsgroup discussion threads. Civility was defined broadly as behaviors that enhance democratic conversation, and the study examined these behaviors across 287 political newsgroup threads. The study found that most messages were civil and that the absence of face‑to‑face interaction fostered heated discussion, suggesting cyberspace could promote Lyotard’s vision of democratic emancipation, and concluded that the internet can revive the public sphere if discussion diversity and volume increase.

Abstract

The proponents of cyberspace promise that online discourse will increase political participation and pave the road for a democratic utopia. This article explores the potential for civil discourse in cyberspace by examining the level of civility in 287 discussion threads in political newsgroups. While scholars often use civility and politeness interchangeably, this study argues that this conflation ignores the democratic merit of robust and heated discussion. Therefore, civility was defined in a broader sense, by identifying as civil behaviors that enhance democratic conversation. In support of this distinction, the study results revealed that most messages posted on political newsgroups were civil, and further suggested that because the absence of face-to-face communication fostered more heated discussion, cyberspace might actually promote Lyotard’s vision of democratic emancipation through disagreement and anarchy (Lyotard, 1984). Thus, this study supported the internet’s potential to revive the public sphere, provided that greater diversity and volume of discussion is present.