------------------------------------------------------------------------ Information Sources: the Internet and Computer-Mediated Communication ======================================================================== WHO === Compiled by John December (decemj@rpi.edu) WHEN ==== The internet-cmc project last update: 22 Jan 94. WHERE ===== Anonymous ftp Host: ftp.rpi.edu; File: pub/communications/internet-cmc.readme WHAT ==== This file (internet-cmc.readme) describes files relating to my project to list information sources related to the Internet and Computer-Mediated Communication. The purpose of my project is to list pointers to information describing the Internet, computer networks, and issues related to computer-mediated communication (CMC). Topics include the technical, social, cognitive, and psychological aspects of computer networking and applications of CMC. Comments always welcome. WHY === I've gathered this information because I'm working on a PhD dealing with CMC and the use of the Internet. I'm sharing this information because I feel it belongs to the network community, for free, because that is where and how I got it. If my effort is worth something to you, I'm glad. Just cite me or acknowledge my work, and preserve my copyright statement. If you have a commercial project or publication idea, I'm interested, as long as this information and updates can remain available on the net for free. In preparing this list, I first developed an ASCII file version, internet-cmc. However, I have recognized the need for this information to be more amenable for entry into other information systems, so I have developed a file tagged with identifier information (internet-cmc.dat). HOW YOU CAN HELP ME =================== 1. Tell me of any errors in this document. --------------------------------------- I try to do a complete re-check of the information in this document for the .00 releases---this is a monumental task. So if a link is old, I might not get to it for a while. Let me know if you have problems with any source, and feel free to suggest new ones. 2. Tell me why you are using the Internet. --------------------------------------- I'm doing research on why people use the Internet. Send me (decemj@rpi.edu) an email note with the subject line "Why I Use the Internet" describing why you use (or don't like to use) the Internet. This is not a scientific sampling, but your free-form answer to this question can help me to devise a future survey instrument. Tell me about what attracted you to use the Internet in the first place and why you continue using the network. What do you find on it that holds your interest (or is repulsive to you)? In other words, tell me---in a way that makes sense to you and using your own terms---why you use the Internet. 3. Let me know where you see/find out about my internet-cmc files. --------------------------------------------------------------- I'd like to know from where in the network my internet-cmc files have traveled. Below are access points that someone has already informed me about. If you encounter any of my internet-cmc files in a place other than those listed below, please send me an email note with the subject line "Use report" and tell me the source. Thanks. Known access/information points for internet-cmc* files: ftp ftp.rpi.edu pub/communications/internet-cmc* (no need to tell me about any other ftp sites, as I can find these with archie) gopher (no need to tell me about gopher menus or directories, as I can find these with veronica) Mailing lists: NETTRAIN@ubvm.cc.buffalo.edu net-happenings@is.internic.net Cmc@Vm.Its.Rpi.Edu Ejournals The Arachnet Electronic Journal on Virtual Culture ISSN 1068-5723 November 30, 1993 Volume 1 Issue 7 mail LISTSERV@KENTVM.KENT.EDU "GET EJVCV1N7 CONTENTS" The CYBERSPACE MONITOR / EJVCV1N7 MONITOR Email mail mail-server@rtfm.mit.edu "help" Usenet posted as a FAQ every 21 days to the groups: NOTE: this distribution is done automatically sponsored by Cyberspace Reality Advancement Movement (CRAM), and this version (.txt) might be older than the one at the ftp.rpi.edu site. comp.infosystems alt.culture.internet alt.internet.services alt.culture.usenet comp.answers alt.answers news.answers WWW: http://www.ncsa.uiuc.edu/SDG/Software/Mosaic/MetaIndex.html http://cui_www.unige.ch/w3catalog http://nearnet.gnn.com/wic/netinfo.21.html http://www.cs.yale.edu/HTML/WorldWideWebTop.html Books: Hahn, Harley (1993) A Student's Guide to Unix. New York: McGraw-Hill. Hahn, Harley and Rick Stout (1994) The Internet Complete Reference. New York: Osborne McGraw-Hill. Fisher, Sharon (1993) Riding the Internet Highway. Carmel, IN: New Riders. Braun, Eric. (1994) The Internet Directory. Ballantine. FILES ===== Here are the files available: Anonymous ftp Host: ftp.rpi.edu; Directory: pub/communications/ File Explanation -------------------- ------------------------------------------------ internet-cmc.readme this file internet-cmc.dat the `raw data' file for other internet-cmc files, tagged according to the KEY, described below. internet-cmc a human-readable (wide column) version which can be manipulated or reformatted using Unix scripts; some scripts are suggested in this file itself. internet-cmc.txt a human-readable version which stays in 80-columns; useful for reading as static text (printed or online), but not as useful for scanning and reformatting as internet-cmc internet-cmc.tex the LaTeX version (source) internet-cmc.ps.Z the compressed PostScript version internet-cmc.html the Hypertext Markup Language (HTML) version Thanks to Kevin Hughes (kevinh@pulua.hcc.hawaii.edu) for developing an early version of the software to convert internet-cmc.dat to internet-cmc.html. Link to this file with the URL: ftp://ftp.rpi.edu/pub/communications/internet-cmc.html internet-cmc.dvi the device-independent (binary) version internet-cmc.gif The graphics image that I use in the .html version. internet-cmc.bib This is a selected listing of items related to Computer-Mediated Communication, the Internet, and network information infrastructure and use. The source code for translating internet-cmc.dat into its various formats is available on request. USE === Basically, o internet-cmc.ps looks best for reading on static paper. o internet-cmc.txt is good if you want the 80-column constraint (other wise, it seems a bit awkward to read with all the continuations). o internet-cmc is great for manipulating with Unix scripts. o internet-cmc.html is useful in a WWW server; Connect to URL: ftp://ftp.rpi.edu/pub/communications/internet-cmc.html Biographical Note ================= John December is a Ph.D. Candidate in the program in Communication and Rhetoric at Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute. He is a Teaching Assistant at Rensselaer and researching Computer-Mediated Communication tools, forums, and technology. He is beginning a doctoral dissertation dealing with CMC. John recently presented papers on CMC: "Characteristics of Oral Culture in Discourse on the Net" at the 1993 Penn State Conference on Rhetoric and Composition and "Directions for Computer-Mediated Scholarship" at the 1993 International Professional Communication Conference of the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers. He is third author, with Fay Sudweeks and Mauri Collins, of a chapter, "Internetwork Resources" in the book, _CMC and the Online Classroom: An Overview and Perspectives_ (Cresskill, NJ: Hampton Press). He is the author of a chapter on navigating the Internet in the forthcoming book, _Computer Networking and Scholarship in the 21st Century University_, a collection of essays edited by Teresa M. Harrison and Timothy Stephen (Albany, NY: State University of New York Press). Prior to studying at Rensselaer, John earned a M.S. in Computer Science from the University of Wisconsin--Milwaukee, an M.F.A. in Creative Writing (Poetry) from The Wichita State University, and a B.S. in Mathematics from Michigan Technological University. From 1985 to 1989, he developed software in the Operations Analysis Department of Boeing Military Airplanes in Wichita, Kansas. He has published poetry in many literary magazines including Mid-American Review, Sou'wester, Passages North, and others. .