Five Essays: Issues of Internet Textuality

Five Essays: Issues of Internet Textuality is written and published by majors in the Literature and Language Program at The Richard Stockton College of New Jersey. It is the first in what we hope will be an occasional series of academic e-zines. The first essay, "The Shift From Print Media to Electronic Media Presents a New Challenge to Old Rules," describes the negative and positive effects of the internet as they pertain to publishing. It attempts to sort through changes to copyright and public domain. "The Literary Canon: Its Past, Present, and Future" tackles the difficult task of discussing the term "canon" in its historical and present-day senses. It concludes by suggesting ways the Internet will change "canonicity" in the future. "Reading and Writing Today" discusses various changes that electronic writing has brought to reading and writing. "Fiction and Literature on the Net" suggests that the conventions of literature shift when literature is created expressly for the internet. "Gender Issues on the Internet" focusses sharply on advertising on the internet, then shifts to a discussion of gender- swapping, pointing out major changes that the internet brings to our culture.

October 12, 1997

Comments Welcome

The Shift From Print Media to Electronic Media Presents a New Challenge to Old Rules
The Literary Canon: Its Past, Present, and Future
Reading and Writing Today
Fiction and Literature on the Net
Gender Issues on the Internet

The Shift From Print Media to Electronic Media Presents a New Challenge to Old Rules

Tina Baez, Tina LoDico, and Toni Ann Gisondi

The Internet is a new medium through which information can be accessed and copied at an accelerated rate. Laws have not yet been written to control plagiarism and to determine copyright on-line; the lines between right and wrong have not yet been clearly drawn. Copyright law that exists was developed for print technology, and simply does not apply to the new digital media. The ease involved in accessing and copying content over the Internet makes controlling plagiarism and copyright violations more difficult than it ever was in print media.

Before the invention of printing and the wide-spread use of paper, information was painstakingly copied in manuscripts or conveyed orally; people could build new devices that were improvements on the original or people could share knowledge or techniques with one another to use. But such inventions and knowledge might well be isolated. With paper and the printing presses, people were able to copy knowledge and information more easily and it could be dispersed in a fixed media. With this new mechanical way of distributing media, intellectual property could be easily reproduced, and in turn creators began to demand the protection of their work. New laws were passed in order to allow creators to control the production and dispersal of copies of their works. Although the printing press made reproduction of original works considerably easier, printing took time and money and could not be done on an individual basis.

The Internet can be "instantly transmitted, frequently stored for later attention, does not require simultaneous log-on, can be sent to one recipient or to a mass mailing list, is a channel for extending text via the computer, occurs in normal time, and is asynchronous, unlike messages which occur in real time, and is based on user participation, which facilitates collaborative action between users" (Copyright & Internet). These characteristics of the Internet have brought some concerns to the surface: "whether the current legal system and the political structure have the capacity to deal with problems the Internet might bring about" (Copyright & Internet). The Internet as a new medium has not been clearly identified; there is the need to discuss and decide whether the First Amendment, privacy laws, access rights, and/or copyright laws should be applied to the Internet or if new regulations should be made for the new medium.

Some argue that once work is put on the Internet it becomes public domain. Public domain does not mean that the information belongs to no one, but that it belongs to everyone (Public Domain). Others argue that nothing is in the public domain unless the owner puts it in public domain (Myths). Unfortunately, people are working to make sure that there are public domain electronic versions of many important works, which can be freely copied. This is where the issue of copyright begins. On the Internet everything is digitalized and anything that is be digitalized can be copied and distributed almost instantly.

As it stands, Copyright is a form of protection provided by the laws of the United States (under title 17, U.S. Code) to the authors of "original works of authorship" including literary, dramatic, musical, artistic, and certain other intellectual works"(Copyright Basics). Copyright laws are meant to protect two conflicting rights: content creators and content users. The issue on the Internet then becomes how to define the principle of balance between authorship and readership.

The only law protecting those who use copyrighted works is the Copyright Act under the section of Fair Use. Fair Use gives copyright users the right to use copyrighted material without the permission of the copyright holders. However, copyright holders raise the issue of liability of the Internet providers for copyright infringement by their users. They argue that providers should be responsible for the copyright infringement committed by their users and should take steps to ensure that it does not occur.

Even though the battle continues, not much has been done to safeguard either party, but by assuming that the laws stand as they do in print media, protect yourself. According to Brad Templeton, "10 Big Myths about Copyrights Explained", "After April 1, 1989, everything created in the USA, for example, is copyrighted and protected whether it has a notice or not. The default you must assume for other peoples' work is that they are copyrighted and may not be copied unless you know otherwise."

Even though these laws exist, the Internet presents a new situation, where individuals can easily make copies of original works, or use the content created by someone else in new works. Controlling copies becomes a nearly impossible feat on-line.

Publishing on the Internet is a great way of drawing a wide range of attention to an author or creator. Authors or creators should be able to charge a fee for their works, but people pay for what is rare and not easily reproduced, any work created on the Internet can be reproduced in seconds with a couple clicks of the mouse.

This brings us to the concept of plagiarism: the stealing and passing off the ideas or words of another as one's own, also referred to as literary theft, counterfeiting, infringement of privacy.

Although the Internet allows you to obtain a wide range of information worldwide, its great convenience may be too convenient for someone who will take advantage of the simplicity of accessing another person's work. The move from print media to electronic media has been convenient and quite helpful in many aspects, but the existing challenge we still face is that some people will continue to present ideas or products derived from an existing source as their own.

Although there has been a great deal of negative discussion about the lack of control through the Internet, that it breeds copyright violation and plagiarism, the Internet does not present merely a bleak view for creators and users. For authors, the easy and rapid copying method which exists through the Internet could be viewed as the opportunity for plagiarism to run rampant or as a unique way of marketing their material. If an author writes something and someone loves his or her material, one may copy and forward the work to one's friends, and in turn this author receives broad exposure and perhaps begins to make a name for him or herself.

Another positive issue, from the perspective of both authors and users, is the ease of publication on-line. Achieving publication in print media is difficult; there are many good writers that never get published in print. A good writer, who may not otherwise have been able to get his or her work published can publish the work on-line; the Internet gives many authors a chance at publication and if his or her work is good, the on-line user benefits.

There is need for some type of control of on-line material and how it is used, but if too many constraints are made the Internet will cease to be the grand communication and information system that many enjoy and benefit from today. Some believe that the Internet cannot remain an open system of communication and collaboration if constraints are enforced, limiting the use of much of the information on-line: "Either information wants to be free or we can all put barbed wire around the tracks we leave--but we can't have both a free information range and system of information ownership" (Ownership of Transactional).

Perhaps the answer does not have to be as black and white as control or no control of material presented over the Internet. Esther Dyson suggests in her article, "Intellectual Property On The Net," that in the future novels will sell themselves through the Internet. Dyson suggests that in the future "good novels may find their audience by themselves or through the efforts of filter agents who get rewarded for finding (not creating) good content. She also proposes that "the novelist, then, will be rewarded by fees for his performances, . . . He may write serials and find people who will pay for his continuing service" (Property On the Net).

The Internet poses new challenges to current copyright law; it can become a breeding ground for massive plagiarism. But the answer to the problems posed by this new medium is not to make the system so strict that its purpose is useless or to allow the rules to be so loose that plagiarism and copyright violation flourish. One thing that does seem clear is that the rules for print media do not work well for electronic media. Electronic media forces people to think in a different direction.

WORKS CITED

Dyson, Esther.(January, 1995).Intellectual Property on the Net..

Johnson, David.(April 4,1994).Barbed Wire Fences in Cyberspace:The Threat Posed by Calls for Ownership of Transactional Information..

Kim, Yong-Chan. (1997).Copyright & Internet..

Seltzer, Richard.(Feb. 1994). The Public Domain and the Worldwide Web--Keep the Frontier Open..

Templeton, Brad.(1994).10 Big Myths about Copyrights Explained..

The Literary Canon: Its Past, Present, and Future

This essay was completed on 7 October 1997 with the combined efforts of Rachelle Benigno, Shannon King, and Carlisa Russell. The project was completed for a class in which the three were enrolled titled, Introduction to Research in Literature at Richard Stockton College. All three literature students, they chose the topic willingly and submit for your reading the following.

The debate over the literary canon has existed since the beginning of Christianity.

In order to understand the complexity of the issue, one must define "canon." Many definitions exist for the term, but pay particular attention to the seventh definition which states that the canon is "an authoritative list, as of the works of an author." This definition relates most closely to our idea of the literary canon, and it is the one we will use to explain our position of the literary canon and its past, present, and future. The authoritative list is the canon of which we speak in this project. George P. Landow, a professor of literature at Brown University, explains, "the idea of a literary canon also implies some such official status. To enter the canon, or more properly, to be entered into the canon is to gain certain obvious privileges. The gatekeepers of the fortress of high culture include influential critics, museum directors and their boards of trustees, and far more lowly scholars and teachers" (Landow).

The idea of the canon, and the idea of privilege associated with belonging to it, has roots in an ancient historical debate.

Some origins stem from heretical movements and their teachings. Three groups, Marcionism, Gnosticism, and Montanism, pushed the Christian church to decide the Biblical canon, and so the debate began. The process was arduous. Early Christian religious leaders had to decide what parts of the Bible would be "canonical." In essence, they had to decide which words of God they should leave in and which words they should leave out. Marcionist and Gnostic sects began their teachings around the year 140 AD; their popularity rapidly grew. Marcion, the leading proponent of Marcionism, "rejected the Old Testament entirely and regarded the God depicted there as an inferior Being. Jesus had come to liberate mankind from the authority of the God of the Old Testament and to reveal the superior God of goodness and mercy whom he called the Father" (Voorwinde). Marcion had his own views about the Biblical canon, so he "set up a canon, a definite group of books which he regarded as fully authoritative, replacing all others. These comprised ten of the Pauline epistles (without the Pastorals) and Luke's Gospel. He seems to have edited these books, purging them of what did not accord with his views" (Voorwinde). According to Stephen Voorwinde, Professor of New Testament Reformed Theological College in Australia, Marcion's views set the first "clearly defined canon." In organizing a canon, Marcion became a dangerous man; he acquired quite a following of people who accepted his words as the Biblical canon. These actions, combined with those of the Gnostics, challenged the established church to decide more rapidly on its Biblical canon.

The challenge by the Gnostics came in the form of The Gospel of Thomas, a collection of sayings of Jesus, and another "significant Gnostic work was the apocryphal Gospel of Truth written in Rome ca. 140.

The author used practically the same books as our present New Testament canon and the manner in which he treats these documents proves that they had authority for him. However, for the Gnostics true gnosis [or knowledge] was beyond Scripture" (Voorwinde). The Gnostics did not place much adherence to the apostles' words, thus taking away some of their authority. This lack of adherence, and the widespread teachings of the Gnostics, caused the church "to intensify its concern for faith adherence to the teaching of the apostles" (Voorwinde). The church knew it would have to act fast in order to set the authoritative Biblical canon because the pressure became worse when ideas from Montanism began to become accepted as ideas from God.

Montanism began its teachings around the year 156 AD, and its leader, Montanus, "stressed the renewal of the prophetic gift and taught that the Holy Spirit was manifesting himself supernaturally through entranced prophets and prophetesses (notably Montanus himself)" (Voorwinde).

Montanism did not challenge the authority or validity of Biblical writings; however, because of the "claim to inspiration by the Holy Spirit," it did challenge the authority of the church (Voorwinde).

There is little doubt that the work of the three groups mentioned above were the beginnings of the debate on the Biblical canon.

From the history of the Biblical canon, we have had handed down to us an idea that the established authority is what should dictate the standard of a canon. In the light to this authority, the following ideas are presented: "The literary canon, supposedly representative of what Matthew Arnold in the nineteenth century called 'the best which has been thought and said in the world,' is fueled by the institutional power of prestigious literature departments. What texts constitute the canon is less important than the mere existence of the canon as a marker of 'the best.' As such, the institutional canon serves those institutions which promote the value of the canon; the reasoning is circular (we teach the canon, which is the best, because we are the best, because we teach the canon)" (from Stephen Rubio's Curing the Canon.) It is this vicious circle which alienates a large extent of the world population, and in doing so marginalizes that population.

As we move into the next century, statistically, we should be prepared for a demographic change in the population.

It has been estimated that sixty percent of the American population will be something "other" than, or marginal, from European descent. The only logical thing to do for a such a culturally diverse population would be to add to the literary canon that is currently in existence.

   

                                  Tell them all

                         we won't put up with your words

                           and low wages one more day.

                          Those meek who were blessed

                                  are nothing

                           but meat and potato eaters,

                             never salsa or any spice.

                         Those timid are sagging in the soul

                       and those poor who will inherit the earth

                                already work it

                                so take shelter

                                take shelter you

                    because we are thundering and beating on floors

                     and this is how walls have fallen in other cities

This poem is taken from Arnold Krupat's book Ethnocentrism. The poem embodies the feeling of the drowning voices that echo in every aspect of our culture, the voices that have been historically silenced by the dominant hierarchy of the White Eurocentric male. This hierarchy, in respect to the literary canon, has, in the past, robbed most students of a well-rounded view of literature. What is meant by a well-rounded view of literature is a diverse look at literature which allows room for works of literature that challenge Western concepts of truth and beauty to be viewed as well as traditional canon-legitimized literature. If scholastic curriculums stay the same, America will continue to produce a society with a warped perception of what is good and what is best. The outcome of this perception is the prevailing concept that the thoughts and ideas of the White Eurocentric male are best. In 1997, we simply cannot continue brainwashing young people.

I would like to provide some insight on the usage of the literary canon in regard to how it is presently being used.

My fellow classmates and I are all literature majors at Stockton College of New Jersey. Since we all share this scholastic aspect in common, we have all had the experience of having to monotonously follow a canon-legitimized curriculum. This type of curriculum came as a back straightener for me, a student from an inner-city high school where Langston Hughes and Alice Walker were dubbed the cream of the crop of authors to be studied. Nevertheless, MacBeth still haunted my high school hallways, as I am sure he does in every high school, as the literary ghost that he is. At that point, I was unaware that my teacher was actually using literature outside the canon to refresh, enlighten, and inspire her completely African American class who may otherwise have been reading Moby Dick. My point is that my high school English teacher saw the need for true variety in literature. She devised that teaching African American literature and culture as the best way to get her class to take a critical look at a piece of literature and to get something from it. Unfortunately, I later found that the many works of literature that I held dear were nothing but words on a page to the hierarchical society of White Eurocentric males that spawned the literary canon that controls what material is used in general secondary education curriculums.

Authors who are canon-legitimized are deemed the greatest and are included in a curriculum that is repeatedly taught and analyzed in most secondary schools.

Also, most canonized authors appear in anthologies of some sort that represent the era or period in which that author produced his/her, mostly his, greatest works of literature. One must understand the impact that the anthologies have on literature. It has been argued that the reason why much of the marginal literature produced by Indians, African Americans, Gays, Latinos, and many other marginal groups have not been constructively put together because of its availability to the masses. Anthologies provide that compilation of works that become textbooks to readers across the country. Norton Anthologies are probably the best known. Here is a link that will provide some history about Norton Anthologies. This link should give a general idea of what an anthology is, what it contains, and the significance it has on the literary canon. Basically, anthologies will be the burden bearers of blame for cultivating an ethnically deficient literary scope as we move into the new millennium. Fortunately, just as recently as this year, Norton has published an Anthology of African American Literature. So now we as Americans have a Norton Anthology of American Literature and a Norton Anthology of African American Literature. This split is still fatally dualistic in nature, but at least there is an anthology-legitimized compilation of a marginal peoples' efforts. This anthology is not canon-legitimized, but, since there is that availability of ethnocentric literature, students are allowed to view the world from blue or brown eyes. Here is more information that the Norton Company provides about its latest African American addition to the anthology family.

Fortunately for the students at Stockton, our Literature Program Professors acknowledge the changes which have occurred in our society.

The professors realize there is room for many people in the curriculum; therefore, the curriculum at Stockton has changed as recently as this year. Stockton literature majors were required to take literature classes in the following areas:

Introduction to Literature
British Literature
American Literature
Chaucer,or other major authors
Shakespeare
European Literature.

Since the changes last year at Stockton the literature requirements are now as follows:

Literary Methodologies
Introduction to Research in Literature
Senior Seminar.

That's it!

The students are now required to take a number of literature courses at different academic levels within the new curriculum. What the new curriculum allows is room for the study of literature that falls outside the canon. For example, if a student wants to take African American Literature instead of British Literature or take a class on Literature from the Harlem Renaissance, the course will still fill an academic level requirement. The old curriculum allowed students to take these courses but still forced them to study periods and authors that were included in the canon.

The idea that some texts are never read due to lack of availability is slowly becoming an argument with no validity as the Internet continues to supply information on just about anything one can think of.

With the Internet, it is possible to hold on to the past, appreciate the present, and move into the future.

Following the past and present is the future of the literary canon. In a floundering society such as ours, the need to identify with some type of group either ethnic or gender or religious is growing. The canon is going to have to withstand not only the test of time but also the ever changing culture of its readers. As the readers change and expand so must the canon. The question then becomes, should there even be a canon? With so many authors already on the outside it seems more sensible to just toss the canon aside and study what best serves one's interest. The problem is that in the education realm where curriculum is crucial, there must be some general agreement over what is being taught. School administrators cannot leave the decision of what to read just in the hands of the teacher, or can they? There are really two factors to consider when looking to the future of the canon: people and technology.

One group that has been receiving the literary shaft for generations is women. The female gender has taken the back burner for far too long. Feminists are greatly concerned with the absence of women from the literary canon. They have offered possible solutions to the problem such as Abandoning the canon, Changing the canon's definition, or Creating an alternative tradition (Stockton). Kathryn B. Stockton has written an essay discussing the overview of the literary canon, as well as her input for the future. In regards to the breakdown of the canon, Stockton writes, "It does not solve the truly difficult question that remains: who should we teach and how shall we decide?" (Stockton).

Like women, other ethnic and racial groups who have been excluded by the canon are now striving for recognition. Stockton writes, "Belonging to the canon confers status, social, political, economic, aesthetic . . . belonging to the canon is a guarantee of quality" (Stockton). Simply because minority writers were not included in the curriculum most of us were taught, does not prove them nonexistent or without merit. If the canon is to survive in the future, it will have to be completely transformed. However, other methods of reading and teaching are on the rise which may kick the canon habit. Technology is having a vast affect on the literary world.

Turning to the future of the literary canon, there is one important factor which needs attention: the Internet. Questions on how it is going to affect the canon, negative or positive, have begun to surface. Every moment, more and more information is added to the Internet. The question remains, how much of it is literature and how much of it is garbage. With hypertext classrooms on the rise, the whole concept of education is changing.

Along with advances in technology comes change; traditional skills inevitably change. But do they really change? Instead of using a pen, one moves a device known as a mouse around a little pad. Instead of copying things into one's notebook, there are electronic notepads. The concept, however, remains the same. Whether the classroom is wooden or electronic, the act of learning is no different. On the other hand, curricula are changing. On the Internet, there is no need to waste time waiting for the approval of a publisher to achieve printing privileges. Virtually anyone, youngster and adult alike, can attain some cyberspace and put their self-glorified works onto the Internet for millions to read. This will, as Stockton proposes, cause us to try to decide what exactly we teach and the methods we shall use to do so.

With the literary canon already on the decline because of its exclusiveness, the Internet could wipe-out the idea of the canon completely. Some, however, argue that the opposite is likely to happen. With the growing amount of literature, the need for an "authoritative list" will grow. The need for someone to root through the garbage and see what is actually significant to the literary field is already on the rise. Paul John Barnette Jr. has already developed the The Western Canon, which he explains is "to provide a single location where the Internet community can come and find links to the most important written works of western civilization" (Barnette).

Also with the rise of hypertext language has come a new genre of literature known as cyberpunk. This is a politically-based genre which is rapidly on the rise. According to the article entitled The Politics of Cyberpunk, ". . . If you've seen Blade Runner, Fortress, Robocop, Terminator, or Lawnmower Man, you know the cutting edge of cyberchic" (Cyberpunk). This is just a peek into the future of not only literature but our society as well. On the other hand, there are groups who look at the Internet as a means of long-awaited freedom. Elliot McGucken has written an article entitled How the WWW is Enabling the Conservative Literary Revolution. McGucken's article deals with how the Internet can be used as a tool against the liberals and preserve the Western Canon. McGucken writes, "The WWW is allowing us to liberate literature from the liberals' vise-like death grip by fostering a free marketplace of ideas where only words that mean things will survive" (McGucken).

The problem with sites such as McGucken's and the Cyberpunk page is that the reader or viewer is trusting someone else's opinion. This is very canonesque. Still, there is a need to trust someone, somewhere. There simply is not enough time to read everything. Because time is precious, it should also not be wasted on literary works that do not appeal to or benefit us in some way. The most plausible solution (or the start of one) is the plea for a new tradition.

How then can we as, perhaps, future teachers come to an agreement on what should be taught and what should be cast aside? Using the Internet it may be very easy to merely steer children in the direction we deem fit. Literature is already becoming redefined by this spectacular device. The Western Canon will most-likely be replaced by some other tradition. Perhaps the Internet Canon, a master list of published works with sub-divisions for every genre of literature, will come about. It would be very convenient to click on one source that will ultimately take you to any of the literatures on the Internet and allow you as the reader/viewer to decide whether it is a great work or not. On the other hand, the Internet and hypertext classrooms may be just another period of literature which my great-grandchildren will call "hypertextualism."

Works Cited

Barnette Jr., John Paul
Cyberpunk
Landow, George
McGucken, Elliot
Norton and Company
Rubio, Steven
Stockton, Karen
Voorwinde, Stephen

Reading and Writing Today

Denise Kelley, Susan Scott, Renee Seddon

In the 1450's Gutenberg introduced the printing press which brought drastic changes to the fundementally oral society of the day. The printing press made books more accessible. This transformed an oral society into a literate society. Now electronic media is making a change in our society. Today, the shift from print media to electronic media has created an extraordinary change in our society. The birth of electronic media has introduced a new way of learning. Accessing information is as easy as pushing a button, thus altering the traditional ways of reading and writing that we practice everyday.

To begin, we would like to focus on two primary terms that are useful and used interchangeably in both reading and writing of text on-line. The first term is Hypertext, defined by George Landow Professor of English and Art at Brown University who defines the term while describing the theories of Roland Barthes and Michael Foucault and their findings from Theodore Nelson in the 1960's.

Hypertext refers to all forms of electronic text, a new information technology, and a mode of publication. Hypertext is non-sequential writing text that branches and allows choices to the reader, best read at an interactive screen. As popularly conceived, this is a series of text chunks connected by links which offer the reader different pathways. (Landow)

The creation of Hypertext has made it easier for the reader to broaden his/her reading. For example, when reading an encyclopedia or reference book, if you come across a "see also" section, normally you would either flip to the section referred to or seek another book to further your research. Instead, hypertext has made it easier for the reader to conduct his/her reading by creating hot spots or links throughout the text which, when clicked on, activate additional information for the reader to see and read, thus creating an amplified text with additional topics in the related field of study. The use of hypertext has made it easier, more exciting, and has expedited the process of reading and research in society today.

In addition to Hypertext, there is also hypermedia. Again, both are used interchangeably. Hypermedia extends the idea of the text by including visual information, sound, animation, and other forms of data.Landow

Hypermedia links various passages of verbal text to that of pictures, sounds, and diagrams. Doing this extends the text beyond just the written works. For example, if you were doing a history research assignment on the Colony of Jamestown, you would not only find written text on-line, but you would also see pictures and illustrations of early settlers and maps of the colony back in that time era. This enables the reader to actually see what was there instead of just reading text and having to imagine what it was like during that era. Hypermedia adds to the enlightenment of information found on-line. It makes it more interesting, while at the same time, gives one a break from written text.

In addition to reading text on-line, there is writing text on-line. Writing on the internet can be either intellectual or frivolous. There are several different types of available chat lines: sports, science, sex etc. Chat lines give people access to topics of their choice, giving them the freedom to choose the type of entertainment they wish to explore. However, much of the writing that goes on in these chat rooms is far from intellectual. Chat room writing is spur of the moment jargon which requires little thought or intelligence. They have become a popular form of entertainment in our society, but are a far cry from a stimulating conversation. Our society has regressed to sitting in front of a computer instead of getting involved with others who share similar interest. On the other hand, chat lines that are based on higher intellectual subjects can be quite stimulating. They can give you a different insight on the topic in question. For instance, if you were writing a paper and had a question about a particular aspect of your subject, you could tap into a chat line and ask various questions that would be answered by people who could lead you to the answer. They too have the same interests and could possibly lead you to new ideas.

Another aspect of writing is E-mail. It is another form of writing found on the Internet. Almost everyone you meet has their own spiffy address on line. E-mail writing is not a long thought out process, sentences are kept short and to the point. E-mail is made up of E-mail - IRC Shorthand for commonly used phrases on the internet. Emoticon or Smiley is another form of writing found in E-mail writing. These symbols are inserted in the text to bring attention to the fact that what was written is not to be taken seriously.

When writing on the internet people should be weary of what they type and also how much they type. Many people may get offended by what you find humorous. One must always be aware that these people do not know who you are or what you are like. There is a list of various pointers which can be accessed on the internet. These pointers describe the writing style for the internet. This list suggests the type of writing style as well as the net style which should be considered when one writes on the internet. This list can be useful if you are unaware of how you should write while on the internet. Our society has become skeptical to writers on the internet. This is due to the fact that we are not able to believe everything that is written on-line. In some instances, the writer hides behind a made up character which exists in a made up world where nothing is truly what it seems to be.

Another aspect of writing on-line is the use of hypertext writing. Hypertext writing has made an impact on our society's learning process. Using hypertext hot spots within writing gives readers the opportunity to access more detailed information. Writing on the internet with hypertext gives the writer additional information to consider while writing. Now the writer not only has to contemplate what is written, but also the additional information that the reader may need to know. The application of hypertext within writing enables readers to further influence their intellectual need. Thus, making the writer a teacher as well as writer.

In Conclusion, the birth of electronic media has made society prosper. It has made it possible for people to share information and ideas faster and more effectively over a short period of time. Furthermore, the conventions of reading and writing have change too. Electronic media has made reading and writing more fun, much easier, and much faster than the old days of pen and paper. While at the same time, it has opened a new door to learning. The use of hypertext and other methods of communication for reading and writing has positively changed how we read and write today. The use of electronic media via the internet can be described as the most advanced and widely used communication medium of our time.

Work Cited Landow
IRC Shorthand
Emoticon or Smiley
writing style

Fiction and Literature on the Net

Zach Mason, Kim Glenn, and Giovanna DiDino

Before the invention of the printing press, literature as we know it was nearly non-existent. Use of books was a privilege reserved for the rich, and the poor relied on the art of oral storytelling. Since the introduction of the printing press nothing has had a greater impact on fiction and literature than electronic media. Over the past decade the internet has grown exponentially from a tiny network of colleges to a worldwide community. Thanks to the internet, computers allow us to communicate with people from different parts of the world with extreme facility. The internet has opened up a whole new world for authors and readers. With its revolutionary influence, the internet has also modified literature, bringing a radical change to the way of thinking and writing of many authors. Coming across many forms of hypertext, it's easy to notice the difference between fiction and literature on the net and the traditional form.

One of the ways that fiction and literature on-line differs from conventional "book" literature is its interactive nature, its hypertextuality. In fact, this research project itself is an example of hypertext, "jumping" from one web page of text to another. The reader simply clicks on a highlighted word, and he will be brought to a different page. This means that the reader can start to read a story and, as it goes along, pick which direction he wants the story to go. For example, children stories can be made fun and actually have the child involved physically and mentally within the story. There is an interesting site on "Star Wars"; since this film series has become popular once again, this is a place where fans of the movie can read different stories and pick and choose their endings. In addition, hyperlinks can be used to give background information on a certain character, location, or event. For example, the reader can click on a name of a person or a room and get a description on the respective selection. With all of this interactivity, it makes the reader more interested in the reading and it could be a good way to get children to read more. If this is the case, then putting something like Shakespeare on-line would be beneficial for children in getting them to read some of the classics early in life. Someone would have to change the prose to make it a bit more "child friendly," but it would be a step forward in educating our children. This can be done through hyperlinks on the many characters, places, or words that may be unknown to the child or anyone reading it.

Interactive advertisements are also becoming popular on the net. There are sites where an individual or a company can buy endings to different stories so they can put their advertisement somewhere within the story. The one main source which was found on this topic is called Mind's Eye. About 430 people or companies are registered users with this site.

Another difference between traditional literature and net literature is the style. HTML code, the formatting of the web, has not always allowed indenting of paragraphs; in order to start a new paragraph, it has been necessary to skip a line. Some on-line short stories give the impression of reading an everyday dialogue. The use of common expressions ("old school") and contractions ("I'se") is often present. Authors seem to write their thoughts as soon as they come to mind, without following a precise organization. They give us the impression of improvising. There's also a noticeable presence of repetitions, typical of oral dialogue. An example of all these characteristics can be found in the short story: "On writing..." by Ben Blanchard. The author seems to be giving a speech, but it's written down and we are able to read it.

Even the subject matter of fiction on the net is common. Daily events that hold no universal importance are the focus of much literature on the net. Subjects that, traditionally, authors would never think of writing about are found. In traditional fiction, before an author can write a book, a poem or tell a story, he has to gather the most information he can (sometimes even travel to find it), he has to pre-organize his thoughts and then start writing. If his work does not satisfy him, he has to re-write it. After that, he still has to make sure that the language he used is proper and the paragraphs are well defined. Authors on the net do not seem to research before writing their works. In the story "The green ice" by Virginia Miste, the subject matter is very simple; the story takes place in Macy's. There is no search for higher tasks or moral teaching as in traditional fiction.

Even poetry has changed on the net, although at a first glance poetic structure remains familiar. For example, in the poem "Lightning Bugs" by jah, there is something that would never be found in a traditional poem. In between the lines the author adds personal expressions as "ya know," or "I Say" and, as in the prose, he seems to be having a conversation with someone. Here as in the prose, there are a lot of repetitions (star-star, then-then) which suggest a lack of revision.

The internet has also spawned a new form of literary criticism. On-line readers can immediately respond with their thoughts on poems for the author to read (who can in turn respond to the reader). This is a luxury, or hardship, not available to traditional fiction. In "paper" fiction, once the author releases his or her product, that is the end of the "tweaking" process. With on-line fiction the author can constantly make changes and fix something anytime he or she desires. Another important difference compared to traditional literature is that the author seeks help. He asks for comments from his readers in order to modify a certain word that may not be to their liking.

The internet gives us a much easier way to become a writer. It's only necessary to rent a space and immediately you're published. This is inexpensive compared to the expensive procedures and the stress a writer has to go through to be published in the traditional sense. Maybe this is something that in the future, somehow, the net will change too. There are many advantages on the internet for publishing. Almost anyone can get something published on the net, it just takes a bit of computer knowledge and actually having something to put on the net. There is tons of poetry, even literature like comics books, which is put on the internet everyday. Of course, if someone has something published on the internet, it does not mean that what they are writing about is any good. That is one disadvantage to reading things on the net. One has to be a thoughtful reader; readers have to judge for themselves whether net literature is well written.

Also, there are publications that are created expressly for the internet such as e-zines and comic books. E-zines are magazines that can only be seen on the internet, and are mostly geared towards computer related subjects. A list of several e-zines can be seen here. On-line comic books are relatively rare on the internet, so they can easily be seen without swimming through an endless stream of text. This is a smart way for would-be comic creators who cannot get their foot in the door of a "paper" publisher.

On the net, literature has already lost much of its didactic character and its rules. It has become more accessible. In the future maybe we won't even need to step out of our house to go to the library. Perhaps the net will have every single book of every single library in a mechanical version. It is quite overwhelming to think of where all this technology is going and to think what is going to become of it in the future. Why should we waste all that energy in turning a page or risking a paper cut when we can just click on a certain icon to read a book? More and more stories and novels are being put on-line every day, and it seems much easier to click up a book on your computer than to actually go down to the library to take one out. It probably would be a bit tiring to sit in front of the computer and read Milton's Paradise Lost, but soon, computer companies will come up with a hand held tiny screen which will make reading such works a pleasure.

Even with all of this technology appearing so quickly, however, regular fiction and literature are not in any danger. The traditional text will always be around. Even if computers dominate the world, some readers will always prefer to cuddle up on a cold night with a blanket and a good book rather than a computer.

Gender Issues on the Internet

Michele Kakos, Kyra De Blaker and Jason Siegert

Throughout the past few years the internet has changed the way many people in the world live. It has made it easier to find information, communicate with others, and most of all it has turned the advertising community upside down. Traditional advertising has been eclipsed by the prejudice-free computer. This has greatly affected gender-geared advertising, because ads considered offensive or risqu� by so called family television networks cannot be boycotted . The internet cannot stop people from seeing what they want to see. There are many web pages which play to the "ordinary" gender roles, heterosexual male and female, but now homosexuals and transsexuals can experience advertising that is directed towards them. The internet allows the people that advertise such things to remain fairly anonymous, sparing them prejudice. This changes the entire face of gender roles as we know them. This new technology makes it possible for one to advertise themselves on the internet through personal web pages. It allows people to advertise themselves in any way that they choose, for example, a 50 year old man can describe himself as a 20 year old woman. This ability to disguise oneself makes it possible to experience things from a different perspective. This is shown through the MOOS and MUDS. By using this different perspective people can better understand different genders. The internet has drastically expanded gender roles, opening up new avenues for everyone.

Although there have been many changes, traditional gender based advertising is still present on the internet. Magazines and advertising have remained the same from print to computer screen. On-line you can still find basic male / female advertising as shown in these examples:

playboy.com
The world's most popular male magazine!

beerismylife.com
A male geared site relating to all of the breweries in the United States and other countries.

digiweb.com
Links to magazines of female interest.

fashion911.com
Links to the world fashion industry.

These sites show that traditional advertising is still present on the internet; there is nothing in these sites that you will not see at your neighborhood newsstand. Playboy magazine and beer commercials have become a way of life, or at least a familiar acquaintance for most men, and they are not widely protested. The sites that are related to women are also traditionally female aspects. There are links to female magazines, such as Cosmopolitan and Glamour, which are subscribed to by an astounding number of women. The fashion industry is also related to women, and what you will see in these sites you may well see on a billboard. In this area the internet has not changed advertising.

One major change in advertising is that of homosexual and transsexual geared media. These were once views that were made silent by public advertising, and boycotted by network television and high circulation magazines. Using the internet it is now possible for people to advertise without facing prejudice. On-line people can be more open about their sexuality, not having to deal with possibly violent face to face confrontation.

Tstar is one of the many examples of transsexual geared web sites. In this you can browse through articles and advertisements in the privacy of your own home. This allows those who have the tendency to stray from public "norms" to experiment with alternate lifestyles. You will not see Tstar magazine in Cumberland Farms: the people of the United States would be up in arms if that were to happen. This is simply one of the examples in which people are free to be whomever or whatever they desire on the internet. Unlike real life people on the internet have the ability to hide their "true" identity behind their computer screen.

No matter your gender, age, race, while on-line you can be whomever you want. This brings us to the most highly talked about gender issue on-line, gender-switching. In the past all forms of communication, i.e. face to face, telephone, have made it obvious to know the gender of the other person with whom you are communicating through the sound of their voice or personal appearance. With the popular use of personal computers comes a new highly used form of communication. We do not know of many people who are not connected to an internet server. Computers give people the opportunity to browse the web, talk in chat rooms, or e-mail friends from around the world. This fairly new concept offers us a range of opportunity that we never had before, one of the most interesting is gender switching.

How many of us have thought about what it is like to be a member of the opposite sex (or wanted to switch). It is natural to wonder how the other half really lives. People are constantly commenting on how much easier the other sex has it; the grass is always greener on the other side. Now in the twentieth century we are fortunate enough to have technology which allows people to experience rather than merely observe what it feels like to be the opposite gender or have no gender at all.

Although the three basic on-line genders are male, female and neutral, while communicating on-line we can be anything we choose; men can easily be women, women can be men, we can change our age, race, and attitude. These opportunities have both good and bad aspects to them.

In his article "Do Boys Just Wanna Have Fun" John Suler, Ph.D. told about a college senior who met a girl on-line. When he started to fall in love with her he insisted they talk on the phone, only to find out this "girl" was a fifty year old man. In cases such as this the ability to switch gender is taken advantage of.

We are not suggesting this is a negative ability we have; when not taken advantage of the effects are beneficial. A fine example of this is shown through the results of a survey by Gladys We. The findings show that 88% of people feel that communication between men and women is much easier on-line than face to face. Both sexes feel that women have more of a "presence" on-line and that it is easier for women to make their voices heard, partly due to the fact that they can finish a thought without being interrupted. I find this to be true because I, like many women, am passive in conversations.

Another advantage is that women can change their gender in order to gain more respect from the men they are talking with. Let's face it, when a women goes on-line she usually has to deal with excessive hellos and sexual innuendoes from men. Despite the fact that computer networking systems obscure physical characteristics, many women find that gender follows them into the on-line community, and sets a tone for their public and private interactions there, to such an extent that some women purposefully choose gender neutral identities, or refrain from expressing their opinions (Truong). As a man she has the ability to bypass prejudices and have an intellectual conversation like she planned.

On the other hand, being a female on-line (whether you are or not) can be fun. Women can easily flirt with men and get all the attention they desire. People, both male and female, enjoy the attention paid to female characters. Male players will often log on as female characters and behave suggestively, further encouraging sexual advances. Pavel Curtis has noted that the most promiscuous and sexually aggressive women are usually played by men. If you meet a character named "FabulousHotBabe," she is almost certainly a he in real life (Bruckman).

In her essay "Gender Swapping on the Internet, Amy Bruckman concludes that gender swapping is an extreme example of a fundamental fact: the network is in the process of changing not just how we work, but how we think of ourselves and ultimately, who we are. On the internet we can be whomever we choose, masculine or feminine; but this even goes beyond gender. We can reach into the darkest part of our soul to become even the most vile character. Through the internet one cannot be punished the way they would be in actual circumstances.

Online we do not have to wear the masks we so often wear in real life. If one has tendencies to stray from the "norm" the internet is the ideal place to do so. In many aspects we are lucky to have these opportunities. We are not given many chances to reinvent our lives, but on-line we have the ability as many times as we would like. This is a fascinating concept and when not taken advantage, one that is sure to open the doors to many new experiences.

The internet has opened up the world to a whole new form of advertising. Magazines and advertisers have taken over the internet. There is the more traditional advertising, as well as a new breed of advertising and web sites that cater to alternative lifestyles. Men and women have learned the freedom of a gender free internet, where they are able to advertise themselves as anything they choose. Gender on the internet is now what you make of it.

Works Cited

Bruckman, Amy S. (August 1993), Gender Swapping On The Internet
Suler, John, (May 1997), Do Boys Just Wanna Have Fun
Truong, Hoai-An, (1993), Gender Issues in Online Communication
We, Gladys, (April 1993), Cross-Gender Communication in Cyberspace