Free Rider Problem Part 2

Through the years the internet has become one of the largest growing communication Media available. Everyday thousands of people log onto the internet and participate in online discussions. The free-rider problem is something that has been around since the creation of the internet, and is slowly becoming a non-issue. In this essay I will describe to you the encounters I experienced with the free-rider problem, and give you my opinion on its affects.

This week in class we were assigned to monitor a pre- World Wide Web technology, and react on the things we saw. There were many different social media available to us, but I choose to monitor a Usenet group. Usenet is a place where a bunch of people with the same interests can come and post messages about that specific topic. (p.111) Authors Peter Kollock and Marc Smith wrote “Managing Virtual Commons,” which presented many problems and solutions for the Usenet communities. According to the authors, Usenet has “grown exponentially, and currently consists of several thousand discussion groups.” (P. 111) Basically, you can go onto Usenet and find almost any group you are looking for. One major problem that faces the members of these Usenet groups is Free Riding. To me a free-rider is one who benefits from the work of others without doing their fair share, or actively disrupts a community. The group I joined was alt.sports.football.pro.ny-jets. This is a board where New York Jet fans from all over can come and discuss the happenings of their team. Over the course of the week that I monitored this media, subjects such as the coaching staff, New England Patriots, Chad Pennington, and of course Brett Farve were discussed. Opinions were thrown around, and some bad mouthing accrued. I decided to not join this group, but to sit back and watch the types of interactions that were taking place. From the beginning I knew it was going to be a very interesting experience because I am currently on a New York Jets message board on www.espn.com. I was very anxious to see the difference between the boards, and the way they operated.

Now let’s get to this issue of free-riding. Throughout my first two days observing the Usenet group, there were no clear cut signs of free-riding. Maybe I caught one person posting positive messages under a guest name, where no accountability was to be had. Zero spam, or off topic threads were posted and it seemed to be a happy little community. I figured that sometime during this period I would certainly encounter some sort of free-riding since it is such a large issue. Still, day three and four gave me nothing. But as I logged on this morning to do my final blog reaction there were a couple spam threads up, and some off topic discussions. I began to think why there would be four cases of spam in this one day, but none on the other. Do these spammers wait until after the Jet fans emotions are stirring a day after a brutal loss? Are they that smart? I came to the conclusion that it had nothing to do with that, a little bit of spam is just no big deal. Kollock and Smith discussed the different things a Usenet community might do in the face of free-riding and spam. Discussed by the authors were strategies such as penalizing them, kicking them off the group, ranting and raving at them, or simply ignoring them. (p. 124) Out of all of those options, the least likely I believed to happen would be to ignore them and hope they go away! Personally if I were a diehard member of this group, the frustration with spam would drive me through the roof. But not alt.sports.football.pro.ny-jets, all four cases of spam had zero responses. The members of this community chose to ignore spam such as, “Carmen Electra P*S*Y Flash,” or “Watch Videos and Earn Money on Super100sports.com.” These actions seemed to have worked. Shortly after those off topic post were added, normal conversation went on again about the Jets, and what do to for next week. It seems like this free-rider problem is not so much of a problem.

With the internet growing at the speed at which it is, and the communication media expanding faster than ever the occurrences of this free-rider problem will always be around. In my opinion the people today are so used to this spam that we take it with a grain of salt. We don’t give it the attention someone like Kollock and Smith might have in 1996. Its 2008, we deal with this type of junk on a day to day basis. I learned a lot from the time I spent observing this Usenet group, and was surprised with their reaction to their encounter with free-riders. It goes to show you the normalcy that we now have adapted for these types of nuisances.

Kollock, Peter & Smith, Marc. (1996) Managing the virtual commons: Cooperation and conflict in computer comminutes. In Susan C. Herring (Ed.), Computer-mediated communication: Linguistic, social and cross-cultural perspectives (pp. 109-128). Philadelphia: John Benajmins.

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As I log onto my Usenet group for the last time, I notice some things that I have not seen in the previous four blogs. SPAM!!! There were four different accounts of spam posted ranging from “Britany Spears and her pink panties,” to “boobs webcams.” Surprisingly not one person responded to any of the posts. (Maybe they read Kollock and Smith lol) There was a bunch of talk of the game next week which was nice to see, and also some reactions from the Monday night football game. There was some apparent Farve smashing, and one topic calling for the firing of the head coach. I am going to do some thinking on why there was just spam on this one day, but not all the others. (That just sounded like Passover, I guess the holidays are around the corner.)

Web 2.0

For Wednesdays class we were assigned to read a chapter by Tim O’Reilly called “What is Web 2.0.” In this chapter O’Reilly tries to explain the Web 2.0 technology, and the many ways in which it has advanced since the “Web 1.0” technologies. He states “This article is an attempt to clarify just what we mean by Web 2.0.” The author discusses how the whole idea started, and the founding meetings in which the basis of it was formed. O’Reilly also stresses that a “platform beats an application every time.” The power to control the actual platform, gives a company like Microsoft the ability to almost force the use of their programs. He speaks of the rise of blogging as a Web 2.0 technology, and the development Wikipedia.

In my reflection I wanted to focus on the topic of folksonomy, and how it affects my daily life. I find the invention of this “tagging” to be amazing. Every time I buy something on amazon.com, or eBay.com they store these key words, or items I bought. The next time I log onto their websites there are recommended items for purchase. I receive emails everyday from Amazon stating “save 50 percent on all blu-ray DVD’s,” or “don’t wait, pre-order Grand Theft Auto 4.” The way the web can now almost act as a human, and think like a human is mind-boggling. The invention of Wikipedia is another Web 2.0 technology that O’Reilly feels “changes the dynamics of content creation.” This online encyclopedia has almost everything, and I can even log on and make a change to a page. This new way of collecting information, using everyone intelligence is something could not be imagined pre Web 2.0. The breadth of its subjects is really endless. My best friend is an extremely talented college lacrosse player, and he even has his own Wikipedia page! (I must admit I have logged on and messed with it a couple times..ha)

O’Reilly, Tim (2005). What is Web 2.0:Design patterns and business models for the next generation of software. Retrieved August 21, 2008 from http:/oreillynet.com/pub.a.oreilly/tim/news/2005/09/30/what-is-web-20.html.

essay 2 post 4

A little bit tipsy as a return from the bar disappointed in the Jets performance, I stumble onto my Usenet group to see what is being discussed. Still, not much discussion about the game itself, but increasingly more skepticism of Coach Mangini. There were a bunch of posts about the Jets sucking, or Electrician stating “someone take out farve’s knees, Jets suck.” There was also much discussion about getting a big time hear coach. Many fans are sick of Mangini, and want to throw a bunch of money at hall of famer coaches that are willing to still coach. The only discussion of the game was a message posted about the Jets blitz pickup, and how the offensive line struggled. It is only 11:51 pm, and I will check back in the morning to see if there is more talk about the game. (I’m not really that tipsy, just thought it would be funny to state).

essay 2 post 3

Here I am Monday morning and there is still no talk of the big game
tonight. There is one post about the punter, and how he is healthy and
active for tonight. There was more some Patriot trashing, as one poster
commented on how Randy Moss was sitting by himself on the bench near the
end of the game. The Miami linebacker Joey Porter was also mentioned
because of his bold comments about the patriots before the game.
Comments and predictions they actually executed on. I wish there was
more talk about the game, but I am assuming it will start heating up a
couple hours before game time when the pre-game shows are on.

2nd essay blog 2

Today I chose to blog because it was football Sunday, and I wanted to see how the people reacted to the day’s games. The Jets do not play until Monday night, which is a very special event. Most teams do not even get one Monday night football game, so to see their team in the national spotlight is a special thing. Surprisingly there was no talk of the game, but more talk about the New England Patriots. The language was increasingly hostile, as I am guessing some patriot fans had logged onto the Jets board to defend their team. Jack Thomas even stated “Please do be getting facefucked by a cinderblock,” to describe what he thought about the Jet poster. Also, there was talk of how the Dolphins did not need Ex-Jet quarterback Chad Pennington because they ran all over the Patriots. It should be interesting to see if there is more talk about the game tomorrow.

THE NEW YORK JETS

I have chosen the New York Jets usenet group on Google groups to observe and report about. I decided that if I was going to observe a group I might as well make it something I am very interested it. As I stated in my last blog, I follow a message board on www.espn.com on the New York Jets so it will be interesting to see the different opinions on the different boards. The activity on the board today was discussing the game from last week where the Jets lost to the Patriots. People were criticizing the coach’s decision to run it three times in a row. I am looking forward to seeing the development of these arguments, and observing the different comments these Jet fans have.