The sense of community is both personal and profound -- but at a remove, I'm not sure how much I'm reading into it and how much is already there, if that makes sense.
I think it makes sense. A problem with online-only interaction is that you can read into text in ways that the author didn't intend. Vocal inflection carries a lot of weight in face-to-face conversations. It's our primary way of conveying sarcasm, irony, and sympathy, for example. If the inflection is missing, especially in text that acts as a dialogue, we tend to provide our own guesses as to what was 'meant by that.'
Some writing styles are more open to this treatment than others, but generally in an online relationship, it means that you can't be sure how much of the other person's personality you're imagining. Or, how much of the other person's personality is actually you.
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branchandroot
no subject
Date: 2004-12-15 04:45 pm (UTC)I think it makes sense. A problem with online-only interaction is that you can read into text in ways that the author didn't intend. Vocal inflection carries a lot of weight in face-to-face conversations. It's our primary way of conveying sarcasm, irony, and sympathy, for example. If the inflection is missing, especially in text that acts as a dialogue, we tend to provide our own guesses as to what was 'meant by that.'
Some writing styles are more open to this treatment than others, but generally in an online relationship, it means that you can't be sure how much of the other person's personality you're imagining. Or, how much of the other person's personality is actually you.
Is that what you mean?