Essay # 2 SAY NO TO FREE RIDERS

As the internet grows into a bigger medium of communication many have become aware that with the good also comes the bad. This bad that I am referring to is not always seen by the naked or in this case the computer user. Many times people are easily mislead by the Internet due to their ignorance of the medium as a whole. Not knowing the ins and outs of the Internet can allow for someone to be taken advantage of that much easier. Unlike any other medium the Internet provides people with an abundance of resources at the click of a mouse. However along with providing access to various resources (the good) the Internet has also managed to pick up some parasites along the way who attempt to damage the medium (the bad). Since this is such a new medium which is changing everyday; many fail to notice just how easy it is for someone to exploit it. In order to understand just how easy it is for someone to misuse the Internet an observation will be done. In this observation a focus will be placed on one of the Internets many problems through the use of a communication medium called Usenet. In doing this observation I will take the role of a “Free Rider” and try to understand why these people seem to be such problems amongst the Internet world. As a free rider I will act as a bandwidth sucking leech that does nothing but sit back and read others ideas/information not giving any response or feedback. This observation will hopefully help to shed light on the Usenet as well as the problem of free riders. In the end it will be seen just how easy it is for someone to become a free rider within the Usenet medium.

Before focusing on anything else one must first understand what the Usenet actually is and how it works. According to researchers Kollock and Smith, “the Usenet is one of the largest computer- mediated communication systems in existence”(Kollock & Smith, p.111). Developed in 1981, the Usenet is simply an interface which provides users with various discussion groups where they can share similar likes and dislikes amongst one another. Within these groups people usually post topics of discussion that pertain to the type of group it is; i.e. sports, entertainment, gossip, and etc. However, overtime many have decided to misuse the medium and post information which is useless and unnecessary creating what is called noise within the groups. This noise within the groups has not only made people mad but also caused many to leave the Usenet medium for good. The only people that can be thanked for this are free riders whom create the noise.

To gain a better understanding of what a free rider is a five day observation was done on the Usenet medium to capture a few of the problems that they generate. For those who may not know, a free rider is simply someone whom accepts the benefits of something without contributing to it. Within this medium of communication the free riders are people who post useless information, do not give feedback to discussions, simply read, and engage in various other parasite like actions. On the first day of observation I decided to join a Hip Hop music group called rec.music.hiphop which was simply a group where people who enjoyed Hip Hop music and culture could interact. Upon entering the group I immediately became overwhelmed with the number of various topics that were posted for discussion. I also noticed that some of the topics had nothing at all to do with Hip Hop. From my prior knowledge I was able to realize that this posting of useless information was the work of a free rider. This also allowed me to understand just how easy it was to be a free rider within this Usenet newsgroup. During the next few days of my observation I began to face the realization that I too was a free rider. I wasn’t providing any feedback to the discussions I was reading on day to day bases. Over the next couple of days I noticed another thing about the group that was quite interesting. What I’m referring to is the choice to use inappropriate language by various people within the group. Many people were doing a lot of name calling and ranting that I’m sure they wouldn’t do if someone knew who they were. This showed my just how invisible (unseen/unnoticed) people could be when talking in these groups. By the end of my observation I managed to learn about a number of important elements of the Usenet medium. Upon becoming a successful free rider I began to quickly understand why this role was not the best one. Why would you want to just sit back and not contribute to the discussion at hand, what if everyone else decided to the same? The outcome of course would be that there is no discussion.

In conclusion, after gaining a keen understanding of the Usenet medium and how it is to be a free rider I have learned an abundance of useful information. I have not only giving insight into how the Usenet works but I have also taken the time to get familiar with the medium. My observations also allowed for me to see just how easy it is to become a free rider almost overnight. In researching this medium of communication I have gained an understanding as to why so many dislike free riders. These free riders are taking up valuable space that someone could be using to post useful information and it’s not fair at all. I personally feel that the only way to combat free riders actions within these groups is to monitor them often. Then those who violate the norms of the group should be immediately revoked of their membership. All in all from this observation of the Usenet through the eyes of a free rider, it’s become clear to me just how easy it is for someone to simply see the good and overlook the bad of the Internet.

Bibliography

1.Kollock,Peter & Smith, Marc.(1996). Managing the virtual common: Cooperation and conflict in computer communities. In Susan C. Herring (Ed.), Computer Mediated communication: Linguistic, social and cross cultural perspectives(pp.109-128).Philadelphia: John Benjamin
2.My Blog from Sept 10
3. Google.com Groups : http://groups.google.com/group/rec.music.hip-hop/topics