1. Steve Rubio writes that "problems arise out of the solipsistic nature of home pages....There is a kind of community happening here, but the relationship of home pages to that community is
uncertain." What does this quote mean? Do you agree? Why or why not?

He is saying that all of the interaction that takes place on the Internet goes back and forth with no clear ground of distinction. Community is hard to recognize because the discussion groups and message boards he speaks of gives no real evidence of true communication. I agree because it just goes round and round and it all can be bias---one can build a home page that only accepts the reality of admiration or condemnation, without any real exchange taking place.



2. Several authors from this section discuss the relationship between body and identity
and the way that CMC can potentially separate our identities from our bodies. Explain
this relationship and its importance for CMC. Do you agree that CMC can separate our identities
from our bodies? Why or why not?

The way we interact humanly is heavily important on our bodies. Non-verbals is near 60 percent of how we send something across to a person in a face-to-face interactions. CMC takes away the non-verbal distinction. Our identity is unclear because our bodies are displaced. It is hard to find honesty when our identity does not consist of our bodies.



3. Several authors from this section discuss the way that CMC, particularly web pages, are
a form of self_fashioning, a technology of the self, or a way to construct the self. What
do these concepts mean? Do you agree that the internet and CMC provides ways to construct the
self? What kind of self can be constructed?

When we construct a homepage, we are constructing a way for others to view us, our self, very particularly. We chose what and what not to put on the page, and therefore show ourselves in a specific way. Those constructs of self can be totally fictitious and/or real. The internet is a perfect place for fantasy. I would bet my life that thousands of web pages are complete fabrications. On the internet, any kind of self can be contructed---any.



4. David Chandler argues that "The medium of web pages offers possibilities both
for the presentation and shaping of self which are shared neither by text
on paper or face_to_face interaction." What are some of the differences between presentation
of self face_to_face, in a diary/journal/writings, and on a homepage and why are they
important?

The shaping of the self on an homepage are dramatically different than any other way. To present your self on a homepage lets you get it just the way you want it. You can leave out your flaws, and pronounce your strengths. A dairy is very personal, and why people post them on the Internet is beyond me. I guess they want to reveal their dark secrets in this fashion as a way of release. Presenting yourself in a face to face interaction leaves no room for correction. In other words, you are who you are, and people will eventually know you as that. Homepages gives you the opportunity to lie more than you would be able to in a face to face communication.