The Performance of Humor in Computer-Mediated Communication
Issue Date
1995-09Author
Baym, Nancy K.
Publisher
Blackwell Publishing
Type
Article
Article Version
Scholarly/refereed, author accepted manuscript
Metadata
Show full item recordAbstract
There has been very little work on humor in computer-mediated communication. Indeed, the
implication of some CMC work is that the medium is inhospitable to humor. This essay argues that
humor can be accomplished in CMC and can be critical to creating social meaning on-line. The humor of
the Usenet newsgroup rec.arts.tv.soaps (r.a.t.s.), which discusses soap operas, is analyzed. The method
combines user surveys with message analysis to show the prevalence and importance of humor in
r.a.t.s. Close analysis of five exemplary humorous messages shows how the group’s humor arises from
the juxtaposition of close and distant readings of the soap opera, which place the participants in close
relationships to one another, and distance them from the soap opera’s writers and producers. Group
solidarity is also created as participants draw extensively on previous messages to ground their own
humor. Humor is also shown to be a primary mechanism for the establishment of individuality, as
participants combine the shared meanings and play with the shared parameters of the group in
idiosyncratic ways.
Description
This is the author's accepted manuscript. The definitive version is available at www.blackwell-synergy.com.
Collections
Citation
Baym, N. K. (1995), The Performance of Humor in Computer-Mediated Communication. Journal of
Computer-Mediated Communication, 1: 0. http://dx.doi.org/10.1111/j.1083-6101.1995.tb00327.x
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