Unit 6 Summary

Unit 6 in the book talks about "flaming" and embedded media. It also hits on the topic of normative-interactional framework. Basically what the chapter is dealing with is the aggressive interactions people come across in CMC as well as how embedded the Internet really is. In a way this unit sort of pulls together the other units of the book that we have read so far.

Flames in CMC are understood to be hostile or aggressive interactions between people. For examples flaming could be descibed rude or insulting messages, verbal attacks, or derogatory, obscene, or inappropriate language. The point in which a message is clearly some form of tension is when that message is considered a flame. Emoticons can also be considered flames if they are used in a way that makes the messages derogatory or sarcastic.

Normative-Interactional Framework focuses on interpretations of messages from multiple perspectives in the situated and evolving context of appropriateness norms.This principle is based on four main principles. Principle one basically says that everyones language is different. One person's "hostile" language could be another person's way of humoring something. Principle two says that an outsider to the conversation could take something differently than the people participating in the conversation. What seems to be rude or offensive to an outsider, could be a joke to the people in the conversation. Principle three states that people make judgement on what they read only based on the words that they see. An example they use in the book is swearing in messages. To some, swearing is bad, therefore it is always negative, but to the people involved in the actual conversation, it may be a way for them to make a point or even something in a joking manner. The last principle is that flamming doesn't only happen within CMC. It has happened to all of us at some point on the phone, maybe even in face-to-face contact, so it is not just limited to how people communicate online.

How embedded is the Internet? When we hear the term embedded media, it means the way that people use the media, in this case the Internet, in our daily life. We use the Internet for everything nowadays. We use it for shopping, school work, socializing with friends, and playing games or listening to music. I'm not sure there is anyone in our generation that does not use some form of the Internet daily, especially those living in the United States. While the Internet definitely gets abused, it is still part of our everyday activities.

In conclusion, unit 6 touches on how aggressive language is through CMC. They call this aggression flaming. The book moves on to explain normative-interactional framework, and its four main principles it is based on. Finally, the book explains the ways in which the Internet is "embedded" into our everyday lives. No matter what part of the country you are from, you use a form of the Internet every day. The Internet itself is something that I believe will be around for a very long time, and will be used for more and more things for the generations to come.