THE METHODS, POLITICS, AND ETHICS OF REPRESENTATION IN ONLINE ETHNOGRAPHY

Abstract

in cyberspace, one dwells in language. and through language. i exist as myself in language online... it feels more like being me than i sometimes feel offline... i think myself in language is more communicative of who i am. and because i’m a good writer, elo-quence makes me beautiful... —Sherie, online interview participant Here, I can edit what I think before I say it. This makes communi-cation easier between my friends and I. There are fewer errors in meaning when our thoughts have been written clearly. —Robin, online interview participant My ambiguity makes you nervous. I can be many things at once here. Are they all ‘me’? Who am I? ‘He ’... ‘Her ’... ‘Per ’... ‘It ’... ‘We ’...? Can’t you tell? Why do you want to know??? —DominOH!, online interview participant Whether one studies the Internet as a social structure or utilizes Internet-based technologies as tools for research, Internet-based technologieschange the research scenario. Computer mediation has a significant