• become discerning observers of a virtual community
• become familiar with describing characteristics of a virtual community
• be more aware of how technology shapes human interactions and vice versa 
• become familiar with the professional, educational, ethical, social and cultural dynamics of a virtual community 
• share and discuss your observations with class members 

Virtual communities can be rich resources for acquiring knowledge and reaching out to people with shared interests throughout the world. Members of virtual communities communicate in various ways, including newsgroups, listservs, synchronous and asynchronous online discussions. Members of virtual communities visit Web sites related to their interests. Many Web sites now cater to virtual communities, providing information and chat rooms, etc. 

Most of us have heard about hate groups and other groups with questionable and sometimes dangerous agendas who dispense their views over the Internet. We should be aware of such groups, but it may not be wise to get involved with a "malignant" group for fear of being identified with their agenda and getting unwanted material or being harassed. Choose wisely the groups you join for this assignment and for your personal use. We will establish criteria, in class, about the types of groups most suitable for this assignment.

You will investigate and report on a variety of cybercultures/virtual communities: You will observe and write about four (4) virtual communities (each investigation and write up will be 5% of your grade), and also compose a final report (worth 15%). Each investigation will be posted in the Virtual Community folder in Townhall. Your final report, which you should title "Cyberculture Report," will be posted on your course Web page. 

Investigation 1 - virtual communities related to arts and entertainment
Investigation 2 - virtual communities related to a social issue (gender, health, politics, protest, cybercrime etc. Pick one category) 
Investigation 3 - virtual communities related to your chosen field of study/career goals
Investigation 4 - blogging communities  (Pick your own .)

Resources:
 

-	listservs and newsgroups: http://mason.gmu.edu/~montecin/how-to.htm#news
-	blogging resources: http://mason.gmu.edu/~montecin/blog.html
-	cyberculture information: http://mason.gmu.edu/~montecin/cyber-resources.htm

Issues to consider when addressing your 4 investigations:

Here are some possible questions to guide your virtual community investigations.  Please also consider additional or different questions suggested by the communities you study. 
Provide detail and examples to support your points. Give addresses of sites, with active links. Include citations for sources. 

1. Does this community have an identifying name or label? Do they have a general name they call themselves? (Different groups that make up the larger community may or may not know of another group's existence.) 

2. What Web sites does this culture point you to?  When discussing relevant Web sites, provide the URL of the sites. Give an overview of the kind of content on the Web sites.  Also describe the theme of the graphics and multimedia and how these elements are used to represent their themes. Do they or do they not enhance your image of the community? Why? Why not?  [Perhaps the community forum is part of a Web site. One Web site will not give you an accurate picture of the larger community that shares the same interests. Even if you visit a number of sites related to the subject interest of the group, your short term investigation will not be a definitive study of the community, but should give you some idea of the group's interests and personality.]

3. Describe the various ways this culture uses to communication with one another (newsgroups, Web sites, listservs, chat rooms, etc). Be sure to include the title of each site, newsgroup or other place you investigate and include working links (URLs) to the forums you visit. Does this group have face-to-face meetings? What is their agenda/s? 

4. Do they have predominant interests, themes, philosophies and styles? Describe some of the personality profiles and illustrate with examples. Is there a predominant tone in the correspondence? Did you discover any ethical, social, and cultural issues that are of concern for the community? When you joined or visited the community through various online mediums, did you feel welcome in the group? Did anyone flame you? Is it a group you would be interested in joining? Why? Why not? Do members of the group have their own language - terms or expressions that are unique to the group? Give examples.  Could you understand the terms? 

5. Provide a conclusion that sums up your impressions of the virtual community you investigated. 

6. Use clear, descriptive language, proper grammar, punctuation, and spelling. Provide specific examples and details.

How to investigate: 
Decide how many newsgroups, listservs, Web sites, etc. you will need to investigate to get a fair picture of this group. Too many may bog you down. Too few may be misleading. Look at various mediums of communication and various Web sites. A look at one newsgroup or one Web site is not a broad enough sample to give you a fair picture of the community.

Before you join the virtual community groups, lurk for several days on various discussion groups and read the postings. When you feel comfortable, add your own voice to the discussion. If possible, interview someone who is a member of the group. Let the group know you are doing a report on virtual communities. How are your comments received? Develop an understanding of how the community operates. Take notes and include the Internet addresses for the places you visit so you can return. Keep a bookmark list of the sites you visit. 

Keep a log of your notes and any discussions you participated in or lurked on online. The more data you have, the more rich will be your report. For example, when you discuss the philosophies and interests of the groups, give details/proof, including quotes from the sites. 

Guidelines for your final report: 

• Write up a final report ( 500 -750 word hypertext report) and post it on course Web page.
• Refer to and provide extensive information from your 4 investigations of the various communities for your final hypertext report. Refer to all of the communities you investigated in these categories:  arts and entertainment, college students' interests, social issues (gender, health, politics, protest, cybercrime etc.),  your chosen field of study/career goals. 
• Cover these issues (and feel free to include other aspects of your own choosing:

• Create a title for your report.
• Include an introductory paragraph which sets up the purpose of your project, which virtual communities you investigated, why you picked these communities.
• At the end of your report, discuss your overall impression of the phenomenon of virtual communities and use rich evidence and detail to support your points.
• Include a separate section in which you discuss at least 3 New Century College Competency skills you enhanced from doing this project.   Though the obvious competency is Information Technology, please also include others. 
• Provide detail to support your points. 
• Give addresses of sites, with active links. 
• Include citations for sources. 
• Divide your report into different sections, linked together as html files. 
• Include an index of links to all sections of the report on each page.
• Include appropriate free or original graphics (pulling graphics off of other Web sites, without express permission, is a violation of copyright rules). Graphics and content should not violate the agreed upon course guidelines for what is appropriate to post on your course Web site. 
• Use clear, descriptive language, proper grammar, punctuation, and spelling. 

• Include documentation of information, links to sites, addresses of sites, newsgroups, etc.
• Cite sources of quotes and paraphrases. 
• Include a list of all sites you used in your report, including the name of the site, newsgroup, etc., and a hypertext link. 
• Refer to appropriate documentation guidelines, such as Hacker's Research and Documentation Online (http://www.bedfordbooks.com/hacker/resdoc/) and the NCC Online Writing Guide (http://classweb.gmu.edu/nccwg/researchdocument.htm).

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