Re:Non verbal communication in chat

Sorry if the example was distracting ! Sexually oriented examples of communication aren't essential, but they are highly characteristic, I think. There are good reasons why most of the Internet (in many quantitative and economic terms) has always been adult sites, and why most informal chat that isn't highly topic-focused has at least a faint sexual tint to it.

The reasons are at least twofold, I think. For one, there is the one thing Freud got at least partly right, that a lot of our behavior has indirectly to do with facilitating our reproduction. And for another, even if you don't buy the Darwin-esque version of libido theory, there is a cultural reason as well. There is a straightforward 'puritanical' background to large segments of Western culture. So when we are exposed relatively suddenly to a vast playground of adult entertainment to be perused anonymously, many of us become fascinated and even obsessed. (With apologies to the Puritans, who in reality were probably far from the most restrictive in their views of human sexuality).

In addition, communication serves a purpose, that is to say, effective communication serves action. So it helps when we give examples to have a clear target for what we are trying to accomplish. Different implicit rules and schema probably apply to conversations held for different purposes (purpose referring not to conscious representation of purpose neccessarily, but behavioral function).

Indeed, small talk often has no obvious conscious purpose, but it does serve various important functions in regulating social networks. The same happens in mailing lists and newsgroups, where networks of mutual help and expertise are established by both content and perceived intention. "Chat" is still a very primitive way of communicating intention in situations that have traditionally been strongly visceral, so there is still
a huge gap between what we expect to be communicated and what is actually present in writing.

kind regards,

Todd

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