Just found this interesting article on status seeking in online communities. I still say that's what all the beefing and scratching ultimately derives from:
Exerpt (put your smartypants and intelligentshirt on):
"More generally, in online forums participants textually converse with each other "as if" they are actually present in a specific place (Burnett, Dickey, Kazmer, & Chudoba, 2003). As contributors narrate their consumption experiences, others form a picture of contributors' virtual self. This picture, however, is composed of both the objective content of the narratives, and the subjective sympathy associating with the emoting that is embedded in the narration. If in modern society consumption is strongly linked to self-actualization (if not self promotion), then the recounting of consumption experience is a key vehicle whereby individuals attempt to convey persuasively to others where they stand socially. In online communication, this recounting uses textual communication that is often embellished with symbols that are popularly referred to as "emoticons." These act as communicative gestures that substitute for body language and other emotional gestures in real-world settings. Through them individuals are able to simulate social presence in a virtual context (Gudergan, Josserand, & Pitsis, 2005).
Thus, to summarize, in online communities the recounting of consumption experience is often part and parcel of virtual identity formation. Given the social dynamics of modern society, this identity formation is often shaped by status seeking. Within the relative safety of online experience (compared to real settings), individuals can project identities that are closer to their ideal self. Inevitably this process elicits powerful emotions on the part of those who engage in the process. These emotions are central to the motivation that sustains online participation in conditions where freely-given information does not necessarily result in tangible benefits to those who labor to provide them."
Let me take this time and post a picture of Julie Christie.
I once dated a girl who resembled Julie Christie. She told me she loved me but wouldn't dump her boyfriend forcing me to become a cheap bit on the side. Women can be so mean.
I could feel at the time There was no way of knowing Fallen leaves in the night Who can say where they??re blowing As free as the wind And hopefully learning Why the sea on the tide Has no way of turning More than this - there is nothing More than this - tell me one thing More than this - there is nothing It was fun for a while There was no way of knowing Like dream in the night Who can say where we??re going No care in the world Maybe i??m learning Why the sea on the tide Has no way of turning More than this - there is nothing More than this - tell me one thing More than this - there is nothing
Comments
this is what's inside of mine...
they're that breed that appear to be smiling every minute of their lives
I once dated a girl who resembled Julie Christie. She told me she loved me but wouldn't dump her boyfriend forcing me to become a cheap bit on the side. Women can be so mean.
I could feel at the time
There was no way of knowing
Fallen leaves in the night
Who can say where they??re blowing
As free as the wind
And hopefully learning
Why the sea on the tide
Has no way of turning
More than this - there is nothing
More than this - tell me one thing
More than this - there is nothing
It was fun for a while
There was no way of knowing
Like dream in the night
Who can say where we??re going
No care in the world
Maybe i??m learning
Why the sea on the tide
Has no way of turning
More than this - there is nothing
More than this - tell me one thing
More than this - there is nothing