Logic of Shared Significations on Internet Relay Chat

Abstract

Through the observation of conversations on Internet Relay Chat and the quantitative analysis of “chat-logs”, I investigate the characteristics of this form of communication unique to the digital realm. My research rests on a theoretical framework integrating the semiotic and pragmatism of Charles S. Peirce (as primary groundwork) with the philosophy of Ludwig Wittgenstein and the sociology of Erving Goffman, to grasp shared significations in cyberspace simultaneously as logical process and as social practice. This exploratory case study yields evidence supporting the potential fruitfulness of Peircean philosophy as the foundation for a new paradigm in empirical communication research, and successfully puts to the test a particular type of method (computational and diagrammatic) suggested to accomplish such research.