I decided to venture to an internet chat room for this assignment. I have always noticed that while in a chat room, there is always a “moderator” to monitor the doings of chatters. The moderators act as a leviathan (or the thing that punishes you for violating rules) for chatters in these rooms.
The norms in a “clean” or friendly room are usually the same. No swearing, no inappropriate behavior, and no being annoying to fellow chatters. If anyone violates these rules, the moderator is allowed to punish or ban chatters. In the chat room that I entered, the moderator had the option of “silencing” chatters, so that they could not chat for a certain amount of time.
The moderator is the leviathan because they regulate punishment to bad chatters. People follow the rules that are set because they are the norms, and they could potentially be ejected from the chat room by the moderator. The non-conformist or inappropriate chatter can also face being mocked or looked down upon. Sometimes, other chatters can be a leviathan as well, by reporting to the moderator inappropriate behavior by other people.
Also, in a clean chat, if there is a chatter that is inappropriate, they may get the “raised eyebrow” from chatters who are following the norms of staying within the boundaries set by the rules. The chatters who conform to the standards feel more group identity, because they are compliant to the chat room norms.
The leviathan of every online or social situation presents consequences if rules are not obeyed. If the leviathan did not exist in this type of chat room, the rules would probably not be enforced or followed. Norms that would usually have consequences if violated would not be mandatory to obey. And, if chatters did not uphold norms by scolding those who disobeyed, all heck would break loose.
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2 comments:
Great job Ashley at categorizing the moderator as the leviathan in online chat. However, even if the moderator wasn't present, there still would likely be a leviathan in the chat room, however subtle. Although the moderator represents a physical leviathan, other levithans might include fellow chatters who pick on someone who is overly sexual (wow, someone is horny), etc. This "raised eyebrow" effect would ensure that the social norms were known and met.
Hello Ashley, it's a great post. Your post is a perfect example of conformity. You describe very well how the norm is consisted, why and how it is enforced and most importantly, the consequence of not conforming to the norm. Indeed, it is essential to have punishments to enforce the norm effectively. I also liked that in order to maintain order, cheaters are willing give up part of their right and obey to the moderator. These features all foster group identity.
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