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Participating in Online Groups One of the unique aspects of cyberspace is the opportunity to access thousands of discussion and support groups that address almost any personal issue you can imagine. A critical component of eQuest is for you to find groups that address the issue that you are exploring. These groups either be chat groups, message/discussion board groups, or e-mail groups. Most tend to be e-mail groups. At these web sites you can search for groups that are related to your issue:
Yahoo Groups
AOL Groups
MSN Groups
Directory of Publically Accessible Mailing Lists
Delphi Forums
HealthyPlace
SupportPath
Mental Health and Psychology Resources at PsychCentral
Google's list of Usenet Groups
Look around for different possible groups before deciding on which to join. Remember that every group is different, so try to join at least two. Small groups (less than 10) may not be very active or may not be friendly towards newcomers. Large groups (more than 30) may be very active and somewhat confusing for the newcomer. Also keep these things in mind when you join a group, and write about these things in your paper:
Create a room - If you're joining an email group, use your email program to set up a separate folder or mailbox for that mail, and create a filter to direct and save mail there. This creates an archive, a kind of "room" for that group. If you're participating in a chat group, see if your program allows you to save the conversations. If so, create an archive for those meetings too.
Create a profile - Some groups have a page where you can provide background information about yourself for other members to see - your "profile." Before you create one, take a look at what other members did for their profile. At least at first, you may want to be conservative in what you reveal about yourself. For example, you may want to leave out your home address and phone number.
Sit back and observe - After you join, just sit back and observe the group for a while to get a feeling for how it works and how people talk to each other.
Introduce yourself - When it feels right to do so, send an introductory message in which you say a little bit about yourself to the group. Only say what feels comfortable to you.
Feeling welcomed - A good group welcomes and shows interest in a newcomer. Beware of a group that is not friendly to newcomers.
Be comfortable - Trust your gut level feelings about the group. If something doesn't feel right about it, if things are happening that make you feel uncomfortable or bad, leave the group.
Stay in touch - Stay in touch with me to let me know what's happening, especially if you're feeling uncomfortable in the group.
You don't have to announce to the group that you're working on an independent study project, but don't keep that fact a secret either. Be honest about who you are. You are in the group to learn about your issue. Your goal is NOT to study the group or the people in the group. If you mention a group or people when you write your final paper, never mention real names or any information that could identify them. Remember the ethical principles of informed consent and the protection of confidentiality. Make sure you read my article about ethics in cyberspace research. Let me know you have any questions about this aspect of your project.
Exercise: Reviewing the Archive
Go back and look through all the messages or conversations you have saved in your archive for that group. If it's email, look at the titles for the messages. Do those titles capture something interesting about what has been happening in the group - something that's important to you personally? Have there been any interesting patterns or trends? Reread some of those old messages. By doing that, can you gain some new insights or a different perspective on what has been happening in the group that's important to you?