Yes, that makes perfect sense; and I suspect that’s what people (such as Downes) mean when they say the network should manage itself.

I would hope that part of that management by the network would include helping people deal with (cope with, process) the provocation who may not have experienced it before because it’s a shame when people are driven away.

On a slightly different note, Downes’ post in the Daily this evening (“People versus Posts“) speaks volumes about the usage trends of the students.

“A forum like this Moodle discussion area is too much like a broadcast environment – there’s a limited number of connections, a limited number of ways you can participate, and hence, everywhere you turn you see the same people with the same message.”

I may stop my train of thought here because I feel a full blog post coming on!

Cheers,

Mike

Thanks for the detailed reply. I think what I’m suggesting could well be within the spirit of connectivism, it is just its flip side. What I mean is, if the group as a whole disapproves of the interventions of an individual, and hence ignores their posts even if they are deliberately provocative, then that person is denied the google juice and other benefits that we’ve been discussing on the course that occur in the interaction between course members and which add such value.

I’m not sure if the above makes sense, but it’s very early and I’ve not had my coffee yet

BW
Lisa

I’ve been thinking a lot about this topic since writing the post and I must admit I’m beginning to agree with you. Personally I still disapprove of and have a problem with the use of harsh language, but that is just my opinion. Furthermore placing this in a Connectivism context, perspective depends on context; I may not agree with the situation, but that doesn’t make my view any more “true” than the ones leveling the criticism. This and the fact the course is distributed are perhaps the strongest arguments on why people should be allowed to speak their minds.

To quote a comment I left elsewhere:

“…Interestingly too the reading I did yesterday by Stephen Downes more or less said the same thing (“Networks and Connective Knowledge“) – that the network needs to come to terms with how to regulate itself. At least that was my interpretation anyway…

The part I’m grappling with currently is the impact on the individual, and how much weight that should carry. So I guess the ultimate train of thought I’m on at the moment is the place and significance of the individual versus that of the network, and where one fits relative to the other in the landscape (AND whether it’s a flat structure or hierarchical).

One of the readings we did for the Facilitating Online Communities course might be worth referencing here. “Gender and power in online communication”

The idea was that moderation was important in online communities, because often times use of strong language alienates and/or silences a portion of the community.

The [difference] here is, we’re not centralised, we’re distributed – and this is a very different situation. Personally I think whatever a blogger includes in their blog is fair game – it’s their space after all. But what about central spaces like the Moodle forum? I’m still trying to get my head around this.

In some ways this does point to the value of PLNs, because I’ve had people visit my blog who were bothered by the debates and have since gone elsewhere. The result was the development of connections and mini-networks outside of the centralised space – which seems as in keeping with the external/social elements of Connectivism as anything.

Cheers,

Mike

On a more positive note, I think your blog is great and I’ve just found you to follow on Twitter

Best wishes
Lisa

Nice to meet you. I had a Twitter notification come through saying you added me as a contact and have responded in kind. Thanks for that It’s great to see networks beginning to emerge amidst all the excitement, chaos, and debate this first week.

I’ve had similar experiences as you actually – my first blogging incarnation was as a political blogger. I managed to avoid flame wars during that period; largely, I suspect, because I tended to take a different tact. I’d rather let the facts do the arguing than the personalities. It seems much easier to emerge on the other end still on speaking terms that way.

Cheers,

Mike

Over the past few years I’ve read a lot of political blogs so I’m used to rantings and ravings, but I hadn’t experienced much of that from the “edublogosphere”. I agree the best way to get past the noise is to concentrate on developing one’s own PLN.

This morning I read all your CCK08 posts and found them very, very useful. I look forward to reading more.