Protestantism

» pink101 - Probably a detour, but ...

In response to Probably a detour, but ... posted by paper_turtle:
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Well, there's a lot to bring up regarding such questions.
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Culture, in and of itself, is quite a complicated concept. You could easily spend an entire university study on it all the way through an endless array of doctorals.
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I think it is the subject that leads us to understand ourselves and each other.
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You asked me if I would comment on the interenet in comparison to face to face communication.
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The interenet carries with it an anonymity that face to face interaction cannot share. We give ourselves more freedom to be blunt in our comments than we might in a face to face confrontation. Maybe it can be seen that the standards of contact as you put it are totally up to the individual. It's more about group identity than it is about the media. Even so, the 'Net is considered to be the New Media in comparison to any other kind that is. We really don't understand it; but, we are learning.
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My thoughts are that internet discussion groups are formed to satisfy some interest of the individual members; whereas, face to face groups are generally formed to satisfy the mutual interests of the individual members. This sets up the major differences regarding the forms of communication involved.
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How long ago was it that I attempted to create a site here at Suite101.com in which all the participants would agree to a specific set of rules? Two years ago or so? That effort was met with an immediate and negative reaction. Now, we are coming almost full circle regarding the idea of standards of conduct as though they can be unspoken, but, fully understood.
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It's part of the group formation process and, as such, it is the subject of much study by sociologists. Sociology, as you may know, is a subset of study under the broader fields of Communications Studies which involves a very broad range of schools and universities. Scholars are just beginning to scratch the surface of the issues involved in this what seems to be an inexhaustible pursuit.
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I think we can discuss it; but, I doubt that we will come to any conclusions.
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Maybe we could think of the 'Net as a beast about which one might like to learn its nature? It boggles the mind.
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-- posted by pink101