Tutorial Six: The internet and online communities

Either search online for a community which interest you or choose one of the provided online communities to investigate. Make sure your selected a community that comprises some form of online forum, discussion page or chat room. You may also wish to see if your community has a Wikipedia entry.

Provide the web address and the name of the community you are investigating The community I decided to investigate is called disabled online. The web address is: http://www.disabledonline.com

What is the brief or focus of this community This community focuses on providing a place for people to interact, learn and grow using resources provided by the website. Its primary purpose is to offer barrier free opportunities for individuals who face physical and mental obstacles on a daily basis.

What services are provided? How interactive is this site? How can people contribute? Disabled online offer an extensive directory of related sites listed in specific categories under the Menu section. These categories are specifically aimed to benefit people with disabilities. Some of these include: Employment opportunities, Recreational programs, and Travel destinations. Disabled Online also provides a variety of interactive tools. Access to our chat rooms and forums are available 24 hours a day, seven days a week, year-round.

Consider material presented during the lecture and make comment on why people choose to contribute to this community. What is it they are seeking? People choose to get involved and contribute with this community because it is a means of interacting with others. From this they are seeking information about how others cope with their disabilities and equipment. An example on the forum showed someone who was seeking input into how she could work form home and earn some more money. It is a way for individuals to throw ideas around and form online friendships globe wide.

Cut and paste an example of the type of topics being discussed (you may have to provide a context to your excerpt). Hmm, yes, coveralls - how gross can you get! My research so far has uncovered the following: I tried to buy adapted clothes online in October 07, and found that very few stores sold skirts or pants, for instance, that were cut low in front (to stop bunching) and high at back (to stop gaps), with side or front-opening fasteners and comfortable waist-lines. Of these, even fewer sold what I would call clothes that were both functional and stylish, and the cheapest garment on one of these sites cost over US$150! My intention is to give visitors to my (eventual) website the option to buy and download fashionable pattern prints for garments that, using CAD technology, are made to suit individual wheelchair-users. A print-delivery service could maybe also be offered for those who don't wish to go to the trouble of self-assembly. I am yet to nail down who might be interested in these patterns. Perhaps wheelchair-users who can sew or who are willing and able to use private tailors or dressmakers, and/or their friends and relatives who can sew. As I see it, there are many advantages to making at least some of your clothes in this way - e.g. they are made to fit each individual (=no.1 if you want to look your best); you can choose the fabric, fabric-suppliers and sewers; you can re-use the patterns; and it's more eco-friendly than shipping single items of clothing all over the globe. Certainly, such a system should be cheaper if the clothes are home-made. What do you think? And so, this year, I embark on the serious research and development phase. I already have rudimentary website design and construction skills, and in the second semester (August or so) I will do a small business management course. Hopefully by that time one or two local design schools will have come on board to help me to really get this project up and running in 09. Well, there you have it. Should keep me off the streets for a while. Oh, by the way, what sort of garments might you be interested in, lilnatz (and any others who might like to reply)? Men's/women's, jackets, suits, skirts, pants, dresses, tops, blouses, shirts, vests?? Any special concerns with functionality that you'd like addressed? I might copy this and post it and under the clothing topic. Thanks so much for your interest, it's a real motivator. All the best, monkey

Considering material presented during the course and make comment on the potential ethical issues that may arise in this community e.g. lack of identity and accountability. As this is a public website anyone can make an account and access information - ethically for personal safety this is why user names are used and it is suggested not to make personal information public. Those who are contributing to this community are also facing a lack of identity and accountability. This is also due to not providing personal information.

Consider material presented during the lecture and make comment on the benefits this community holds over traditional notions of community e.g. communities reliant on geographic proximity The benefit that this community holds for those accessing it is that individuals are able to interact and connect with others of similar interests, needs and concerns. It can compliment a real life community and provide large amounts of information. It is a way of silent observation and anonymous input and does not cost money.

Consider material presented during the lecture and make comment what this community lacks or can not provide which traditional communities can. - The opportunity to meet most of the people that you form online relationships with. - The option to limit who accesses the forum/chat rooms. Anyone can see what you write and the conversations you have with others. -Limited communication tools -The management of the site is just through one person. -Different peoples technology may not be compatible, therefore limiting them form communication.