Tune in, Log on : Soaps, Fandom, and Online Community

by Nancy K. Baym

• ISBN13: 9780761916482
• ISBN10: 0761916482
• Format: Hardcover
• Copyright: 1999-10-22
• Publisher: Sage Publications, Inc

Summary

Tune In, Log Out is an ethnographic study of an Internet soap opera fan group. Bridging the fields of computer-mediated communication and audience studies, the book shows how verbal and non verbal communicative practices create collaborative interpretations and criticism, group humour, interpersonal relationships, group norms and individual identity. While much has been written about problems and inequities women have encountered online, Nancy K Baym's analysis of a female-dominated group in which female communication styles prevail demonstrates that women can build successful online communiciteis while still welcoming male participation. In addition, a longitudinal look at the development of fan group allows an examination of the endurance of the group's social structure in the face of the Internet's tremendous growth. Lively and enagaging, Tune In, Log Out provides an entertaining introduction to issues of online and audience community.

Author Biography

Nancy K. Baym is Assistant Professor of Communication Studies at the University of Kansas, where she teaches courses in computer-mediated communication and interpersonal communication. She earned her doctorate in speech communications at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign in 1994.

Table of Contents

Acknowledgments	ix
Introduction: Three Tales of One Community	1	(196)
The Structure of Usenet and rec.arts.tv.soaps	5	(9)
Audience as Community?	14	(7)
Community as Practice	21	(3)
Researching rec.arts.tv.soaps	24	(7)
Stay Tuned for the Rest of This Book	31	(4)
The Soap Opera and Its Audience: TV for the Less Intelligent?	35	(34)
The r.a.t.s. Newsgroup as an Alternative	41	(5)
Then Who Is the Soap Opera Audience?	46	(2)
Understanding the Soap Opera Genre	48	(16)
Dismissing the Soaps, Take 2: Misreading the Genre or Its Viewers	64	(5)
Interpreting and Comparing Perspectives in the Audience Community	69	(27)
Interpretive Practices	71	(12)
Informative Practices	83	(8)
The Interpretive Functions of Informative Practices	91	(1)
Social Functions of Pooling Perspectives	92	(4)
It's Only a Soap: Criticism, Creativity, and Solidarity	96	(23)
Evaluating the Soaps	97	(7)
Watching Despite the Faults	104	(3)
From Criticism to Humorous Performance	107	(6)
Criticism and the Creation of Group Identity	113	(6)
``I Think of Them as Friends'': Interpersonal Relationships in the Online Community	119	(24)
Accomplishing Friendliness	120	(1)
Managing Disagreement	121	(8)
Ritualized Space for Friendliness	129	(5)
Dyadic Friendships	134	(1)
The Limits of Online Friendship	135	(2)
Influences on the Development of Online Social Norms	137	(4)
Appropriation and the Creation of Community	141	(2)
The Development of Individual Identity	143	(32)
To Post or to Lurk	144	(3)
The Computer Medium as an Influence on Identity	147	(5)
Offline Identities	152	(5)
Situating Online Identity in an Online Community	157	(14)
Community Affirmation of Identity	171	(4)
Futureflash: 5 Years Later	175	(22)
Consistency Over Time	178	(6)
New Tensions	184	(9)
Coping With Change	193	(2)
From Village to City	195	(2)
Conclusion: Tune In Tomorrow	197	(22)
Studying Online Community	198	(11)
Rethinking Audience Community	209	(7)
Studying Communities Through Practice	216	(2)
Toward a Convergent Future	218	(1)
Appendix A: Surveys	219	(3)
Survey 1 (posted to the newsgroup in the winter of 1991)	219	(1)
Survey 2 (posted to the newsgroup in the fall of 1993)	220	(1)
Survey 3 (posted to the newsgroup in the spring of 1998)	220	(1)
Survey 3 (version e-mailed directly to current and former participants in the spring of 1998)	221	(1)
Appendix B: Genre Analysis	222	(3)
Method	222	(1)
Categories of Genre	223	(2)
Appendix C: Analysis of Agreements and Disagreements	225	(6)
Coding Procedures	225	(2)
Message Components of Agreements and Disagreements	227	(1)
Topics of Agreements and Disagreements	228	(3)
References	231	(10)
Index	241	(8)
About the Author	249