Assignment 2 Submissions

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Assignments

Assignment 1 Details and Reporting | Submissions
Due February 12

Assignment 2 | Submissions
Due February 26

Working in a group?
Let us know by March 12

Assignment 3 | Submissions
Due March 26

Assignment 4 | Submissions
Due April 23

Extra Credit | Submissions
Due May 7

Final Project | Submissions
Due May 14

Submission Instructions

This assignment is due on February 21. Grading for this assignment is on a 5-point scale; late assignments will be docked 1 point for each day they are late (assignments submitted 4 days late or later will have a maximum grade of 1 point).

Please name your file "wikiusername_Assignment2," where "wikiusername" is replaced with your username, to avoid overwriting someone else's assignment or causing errors in the Wiki by including forbidden characters. So if your username is "jdoe" and your file is a Word document your file should be named "jdoe_Assignment2.doc."

Upload your rough draft here: Upload file. If you have trouble finding the file you uploaded, check the list of uploaded files.

In the submissions section below please post the following information:

  • Name or pseudonym:
  • Prospectus title:
  • Link to prospectus: (add your link here)

Comments

Everyone will receive an additional participation grade for this assignment. You should read through everyone's proposals after they are uploaded and add constructive comments below the proposal on which you're commenting. Comments should be submitted by March 5 so you have time to incorporate them, if applicable, into your project outline. Please remember to sign your comments by adding four tildes (~~~~) to the end of your contribution. This will automatically add your username and the date/time of your post. If we don't know who you are we can't give you credit for finishing this assignment!


Name or pseudonym: interestingcomments Prospectus title: “Does US Trade Treaties Advance Internet Freedom in South America.” Link to prospectus: http://cyber.law.harvard.edu/is2013/File:LSTUAssignment2.docx Interestingcomments 18:47, 24 February 2013 (EST)

Interstingcomments: I am curious if you would be able to observe blogs or online community discussions on this topic from the respective countries of study. The local citizen perspective might offer additional insight. --Dear Alice 13:54, 28 February 2013 (EST)

Interestingcomments: You might be able to find some communities talking about this subject on globalvoicesonline.org. I think it can be a good idea to compare communities from each country to find out if they have the same opinion. Milenagrado 16:00, 28 February 2013 (EST)

Pseudonym: "Asmith" Prospectus title: “Diaspora* A Social Network for the People by the People” Link to prospectus: http://cyber.law.harvard.edu/is2013/File:Asmith_Assignment2.doc

Asmith 00:10, 25 February 2013 (EST)

Asmith: Sounds like a perfect community to observe for this project. I would be interested to see if the diaspora community comes up with a governance model that mirrors other social networking models or if they come up with a truly unique model of their own. --[[User: Alice|Dear Alice]] 13:58, 1 March 2013 (EST)


Hi Asmith – Your proposal is clear and the questions you've set forth are important. In reference to your final paragraph, it may also be interesting to evaluate pros and cons surrounding centralized content control versus the lack thereof. For example, from one perspective, a collaborative online community is important because everyone is considered equal (there is a flat/circular management structure). From another perspective, however, when a primary leader (site administrative team) who controls online content is absent, decision-making processes change, i.e., when controversies or disputes arise, who addresses them? Comparing Diaspora with other collaborative communities, such as Wikipedia, is an interesting approach to analyze the pros and cons of online community management. As a conclusion, based on your findings, you may be able to set forth some important content management recommendations that highlight best practices for the Diaspora user-base. Zak Paster 11:44, 3 March 2013 (EST)

Pseudonym: Rich Cacioppo Prospectus title: "The Limits of Fee Speech In Light of Cultural Senility and Pragmatism" Link to Prospectus: http://cyber.law.harvard.edu/is2013/sites/is2013/images/Internet_Control_proposal_February_24_2013.pdf Rich 00:45, 25 February 2013 (EST)

Rich: Of the three case studies that you're considering, the FreeSpeechDebate at the University of Oxford seems to be the most appropriate because it specifically addresses the thrust of your research. Examining judicial opinions weighing all arguments and The Open Net Initiative at the Berkman Center both seem to be too ambitious in scope.JW 20:33, 26 February 2013 (EST)

Pseudonym: AaronEttl Prospectus Title: "The Market's Impact on Operational Policies" Link to Prospectus: http://cyber.law.harvard.edu/is2013/File:AaronEttl_Assignment2.docx AaronEttl 13:11, 25 February 2013 (EST)

Aaron,
I think focusing on the consequence these search engines have on the users, rather than the websites in the search results, is unique and will be really fascinating to look at. Although you did narrow down the specific community you would look at -- the SEO community -- I think you will need to narrow it down further, perhaps to a specific website or set of websites serving a larger online community.
One thing you didn't mention in your prospectus was how you would go about researching the SEO community. I think finding a specific community would be beneficial here as well -- it would give you a better idea as to what specific research methods you could employ. Once you have a more specific community I think everything else will fall into place.
BeccaLuberoff 17:51, 3 March 2013 (EST)

Pseudonym: Hgaylor Prospectus:“Access for Open and Secure Communication” An In-depth analysis of government’s role in the Global Collaborative Data Network. Link to Prospectus: http://cyber.law.harvard.edu/is2013/?title=File:Hunter_Gaylor_Prospectus(_Internet_Society).docx&oldid=9645

Hunter: I like the idea of investigating the government’s role in controlling access. However, I found the explanation of your research paper’s quarry regarding the investigation of the ability to shut the system down in states of emergencies a bit confusing. All in all, I look forward to seeing how you develop your prospectus even further. AaronEttl 14:21, 2 March 2013 (EST)

Hunter, your idea is magnificent. I enjoy your paradox. The thing I notice best about your proposal is that you are using your own ideas, when you could always plagiarize unintentionally. Johnathan Merkwan 19:27, 3 March 2013 (EST)


Pseudonym: Dear Alice Prospectus Title: "One Company, Multiple Social Media Platforms, Numerous Conversations" Link to Prospectus: http://cyber.law.harvard.edu/is2013/File:Internet_Assignment_Two_Prospectus.docx --Dear Alice 17:50, 25 February 2013 (EST)

Dear Alice: I like the commercial aspect of your project. You don't mention this in your prospectus, so I'm wondering how is Starbucks driving traffic to the internal site? How are they driving it to their Facebook page? Are there rewards for the consumer if they post on either one? Do the rewards differ? How? Is there a dedicated group or person watching traffic on the internal page? What about the Facebook page? If yes, are they the same group? Will you be able to say something about the resources Starbucks allocates and if/how that has an impact on the response on either? Will you be monitoring for deleted posts? Finally, you aren't including Twitter in your project. Is there a reason?Raven 17:48, 1 March 2013 (EST)

Dear Alice: I think this is a great starting point for a research paper, and I love the idea of looking at Starbucks, since it is such a huge corporation. However, I think your hypotheses are too easily proved. I think you could go much further with your topic if you think about questions after answering your initial questions...for instance, say posts/comments are regulated differently. Some questions to consider could be, shy would Starbucks spend more/less time managing comments on one site than another? Is there a pattern to how Starbucks regulates comments/posts on their different social media websites? What are the consequences of managing comments differently between websites? Does the user body have anything to do with how Starbucks regulates comments?…etc.
BeccaLuberoff 18:36, 3 March 2013 (EST)

Michael Keane "A Single Site Case Study of the Effect of Censorship on a Web Community" http://cyber.law.harvard.edu/is2013/File:MichaelKeane_assignment2_prospectus.docx

Michaelekeane 18:20, 25 February 2013 (EST)

Hi Keane, interesting assignment. I think it would be easier if you define the kind of content control you want to study by looking at how it is implemented (by law, for example) instead of looking at the purpose that explains it’s put into effect. I think it might be hard to find out certainly what intention does the subject has to exercise some kind of control, but you could for sure see how these controls are being implemented. --Maria 10:45, 3 March 2013 (EST)

Name or pseudonym: Daniel Cameron Morris Prospectus title: “INTELLECTUAL PROPERTY RIGHTS, RIGHTS TO INFORMATION AND FREEDOM OF SPEECH ON INTERNET: CONFLICTING RIGHTS?” Link to prospectus:http://cyber.law.harvard.edu/is2013/File:Natalia_Assignment2.docx

Daniel Cameron Morris comments: Natalia, Your topic is very interesting, like mine (please comment!) quite broad and could as a suggestion focus completely on one case study that you think most illustrates and answers your hypothesis. I saw that you gave three, just curious as to is there one that is the overarching example for national and internatinal jurisprudence, or does this fall more into the realm of international governing bodies... or decided by national standards? Ultimately are you asking, is freedom of speech or protection of ideas more important on the internet? I like how you tie in that curbing freedom of expression starts to curb human rights, but that some regulation is necessary in civilization. A suggestion is to offer a framework that can be used interactively, involving a way for future bodies looking at legislation on intellectual property and freedom of speech and benchmarks for them to judge whether a law or regulation is infringes on human rights, or is necessary for to preserve civilization.

Daniel Cameron Morris 20:33, 3 March 2013 (EST)


Rebekahjudson Title: "'Weird Twitter': Critique from Within?" Link to Prospectus: http://cyber.law.harvard.edu/is2013/File:Judsonprospectus.rtf

Rebekahjudson 21:09, 25 February 2013 (EST)

Rebekahjudson: Fascinating, I had not heard of this. Do users of Weird Twitter self-identify using that label? How do participants signal they are contributing to Weird Twitter rather than just making a joke or nonsensical post on Twitter? To the untrained eye, it doesn't seem like there's much community going on here - but maybe that's the point. I very curious to know how, without a centralized "Weird Twitter" aggregate or some other means to look for Weird Twitter posts (save the map you mentioned), a community of "Weird Twitters" can exist and interact with one another. Look forward to hearing more about this. Asmith 15:52, 27 February 2013 (EST)


Name or pseudonym: Joshywonder Prospectus title: Lawbuzz_Prospectus Link to prospectus: http://cyber.law.harvard.edu/is2013/File:Lawbuzz_Prospectus_-_Joshywonder.Feb25.13.docx

Joshywonder: It might be difficult to study the now archived site as many of the posts/pages are not good links. In your research question you proposed to measure the anonymous users' "reactions when this privacy was stripped away" - will this be entirely interpreted/extrapolated from posts made on the site? Mattyh 15:57, 2 March 2013 (EST)

Joshywonder: I think you have a fabulous idea and have sources that have interested you on this topic. I wonder if you are interested in discussing the difference between Canadian English versus either the United States English or "Official English" as it may be. Johnathan Merkwan 19:13, 3 March 2013 (EST)

Matthew D. Haney "Online Review Platform Yelp – filtering for hire?" http://cyber.law.harvard.edu/is2013/sites/is2013/images/Matthew_D_Haney_-_Assignment_2_Prospectus%2C_02262013.docx

Matthew: You and RobMcLain have proposed the same research questions about Yelp. Maybe you can collaborate?JW 22:04, 26 February 2013 (EST)

Matthew, your writing is very scientific; and I applaud you for this. The reader can be left skeptical and that is a matter of definition. Keep up the good work. Johnathan Merkwan 19:27, 3 March 2013 (EST)

Milenagrado "Duolingo and Copyright Issues" http://cyber.law.harvard.edu/is2013/File:Assignment2milenagrado.doc Milenagrado 21:34, 25 February 2013 (EST)

Milena: I think the idea of contacting the users through Twitter, Facebook, and Duolingo’s blog is a good resource to provide some context as to the structure of the site. I also feel that it would be helpful if you could find out how the policies have changed in the past as a result of previous laws. AaronEttl 14:36, 2 March 2013 (EST)

Tessa May 02:52, 26 February 2013 (EST)

Tessa - this looks well-thought out and do-able within the parameters of the class. Reading through your prospectus, the following questions occurred to me: Do the deleted users have something in common? Are the moderators of the groups you are observing similar in some way? (For example, do they have manager or above in their title?)Is there a higher authority or forum for protesting deletions? And finally, in a professional forum such as LinkedIn, how would you distinguish keeping the conversation professional or productive or on-topic vs. censorship?Raven 12:03, 27 February 2013 (EST)

Reposted following deletion/edit conflict Raven 13:31, 27 February 2013 (EST)

Tessa,
This looks really, really fascinating! I'm curious - are you considering comparing multiple groups in differing categories? I ask because it may be interesting to see if two groups in similar categories have similar patterns in deleting posts.
Another thing that came to mind: it may be interesting to look at the profiles of the group members to see if there is any pattern between those whose posts are deleted, those who tend to align with group moderators, etc….since LinkedIn profiles generally provide members' current, and often prior, employment and education, you may be able to identify a pattern based on members' socioeconomic status.
BeccaLuberoff 18:15, 3 March 2013 (EST)

Hi Tessa, This looks very interesting and you seem to have your ideas extremely clear. I love the idea of having a survey sent to group owners at the end of your investigation period. I would also suggest, if I may, to contact Linkedin directly and see if they have a comment in regard. GregB23 15:22, 4 March 2013 (EST)


Name or pseudonym: Daniel Cameron Morris Prospectus title: “Moderation or Censorship in LinkedIn Groups?.” Link to prospectus: http://cyber.law.harvard.edu/is2013/sites/is2013/images/Tessa_May_Assignment_2.pdf

Daniel Cameron Morris: Tessa, exploring the idea of censorship on LinkedIn groups sounds good. My suggestion is perhaps attempting to see why some might censor or remove content, for example, if the poster is attempting to get them to go to another group on the same topic. Perhaps content subtractions occur when the owner(s) of the group want simply to exert more control over the group as opposed to encouraging as many comments as possible. Other times, comments might be deleted due to not fitting into the general standards of professionalism that is expected on LinkedIn. Mabye you can come up with your own categories for deleted comments to expand on this, and determine if the deletions are leaning more toward censorship or content control.

Daniel Cameron Morris 19:52, 3 March 2013 (EST)


Alicia Phan | APhan "Assignment#2 - Law As Culture; Facebook & Privacy Rights" http://cyber.law.harvard.edu/is2013/sites/is2013/images/AliciaPhan_Assignment2.docx APhan 08:24, 26 February 2013 (EST)

Alicia: If you feel that it's relevant to your paper, I would be interested in reading your analysis of the pending class action Fraley v. Facebook.JW 22:28, 26 February 2013 (EST)
Alicia: While I agree with this statement, I think it needs to be substantiated: "More than ever people are learning about our laws through the mass media, and believing in the media’s representation of the legal realm". I think your methodology is a little too vague as I'm unclear on precisely what parts of Facebook you will be observing: globally public comments? Posts made by businesses? Comments made by others on subscribed updates? Mattyh 16:01, 2 March 2013 (EST)

Name or pseudonym: Daniel Cameron Morris Prospectus title: “Popular culture can interestingly be compared to James White’s article on “Imagining the Law” ” Link to prospectus: http://cyber.law.harvard.edu/is2013/File:AliciaPhan_Assignment2.docx

Daniel Cameron Morris User Comments: Alicia, Your examination of privacy rights on social networking sites such as Facebook is facinating. I would ask, 'Are our intellectual property rights waived automatically when we use a limited privacy social network site?' The topic seems really hot right now, and going into the various privacy settings on Facebook and arguements pro and con in light of legal decisions in the United States and other nations, even international bodies, will be enlightening to fellow Facebook fans. A suggestion could be analysis of each privacy setting, with pro and con arguements for personal privacy being intellectual property that must be waived to share with others. Pretty sure that is what already happens, but really without the examination my comments are just speculation. I await your comments on my proposal as well. Thanks! Daniel Cameron Morris 22:07, 3 March 2013 (EST)

Assignment 2 _USER777 . Facebook-Marketing-Power of "Like" http://cyber.law.harvard.edu/is2013/File:USER777_Assignment_2.docx user777 11:35, 26 February 2013 (EST)

User777: I am left wondering precisely what the research questions are and/or the methodology you will use to prove your hypotheses. Something like "I will also look at the “display ad” effectiveness that drives a significant demand for both online and in-store purchases" is a massive research project in and of itself and would realistically require access to private information controlled by businesses. Mattyh 16:06, 2 March 2013 (EST)

Muromi Prospectus Title: Maintaining Stability in China's Cyberspace http://cyber.law.harvard.edu/is2013/sites/is2013/images/Muromi_assignment_2.pdf --Muromi 12:02, 26 February 2013 (EST)

Muromi: Instead of using Lessig's four factors, I thihttp://www.charitywatch.org/nk it would be interesting to use Zittrain's generativity lens to examine how China manages to innovate in spite of all the existing controls. I'd be curious to find out in what respects China's cyberspace is (or could) be unlimited.JW 21:22, 26 February 2013 (EST)

Hi Muromi, I think that is an extremely interesting final project, and I am looking forward to reading it once you are done. A few years ago I was a visiting professor of law at the Southwest University of Political Science and Law in Chongqing, and I ran smack into the firewall many times. I think facebook was still allowed at that time, but many of the other sites weren't, so I had to use programs like anonymouse.org to get around the firewall. I also used QQ with my chinese girlfriend and she was always scared that our conversations were being monitored for content. The only critique I have is that you may be studying too many different aspects of the firewall. You only have 10 pages to write, you might consider focusing on a few specific aspects of the firewall and the reasons they are in place. i.e. Google is currently banned in China, but is that because the government doesn't like what Google turns up or because they want to protect the competitive advantage of Baidu? etc.. Joshywonder 09:49, 3 March 2013 (EST)


Zak Paster: How will you estimate "effective fundraising" for Research Question A? Question C seems large enough to be the entire project as "conduct external research about online giving and associated industry trends" is a large undertaking. Mattyh 14:54, 2 March 2013 (EST)
Zak Your NGO sounds great. Good luck with it. My question, which I don't know if you'll be able to tackle in this project relates to control. How much tension is there between having an outside entity give you a "pre-formed" website, social media strategy, etc. that may be quite good, and the fund-raising organization's ability to create their own content. Also, just as you want to be sure that the fundraising websites ensure funds go to the advertised cause, donors want to know how their money is being spent. Can organizations have links to places like charitywatch.org or charitynavigator.org?

Susan Goldstein 09:12, 3 March 2013 (EST)

RobMcLain Under the Watchful Eye: Community, Connivery, and Censorship on Yelp http://cyber.law.harvard.edu/is2013/sites/is2013/images/RobMcLain_Assignment2.docx

RobMcLain: You and Matthew D. Haney have proposed the same research questions about Yelp. Maybe you can collaborate?JW 22:04, 26 February 2013 (EST)
RobMcLain: It would appear we indeed have nearly identical projects - let's team up :) Mattyh 14:50, 2 March 2013 (EST)

The Right to be Forgotten http://cyber.law.harvard.edu/is2013/File:Righttobeforgotten.doc Caroline 13:28, 26 February 2013 (EST)

Caroline: You may want to discuss the statue of repose and the statute of limitations in your paper, if you feel that these statutes are relevant.JW 23:33, 26 February 2013 (EST)
Caroline: Fascinating issue, but you may need to pick a community to observe in order to test the framework. I'm thinking of an app like SnapChat, for example. SnapChat lets users send photos and videos to one another and then deletes that content after a certain time limit. Here, the ability to be forgotten is built into the technology of the platform. How does the community use SnapChat? Is it for "sexting" as many people fear, or are there other practices involved? This might help you explore the role of architecture in the right to be forgotten, not just law. What if Facebook and Google gave you the option to publish something temporarily? Asmith 15:30, 27 February 2013 (EST)

http://cyber.law.harvard.edu/is2013/File:Prospectus;_Johnathan_Merkwan.docx is my Prospectus; please read and enjoy. I look forward to constructive comments. Johnathan Merkwan 13:46, 26 February 2013 (EST)

Jonathan Merkwan: Unfortunately your file is no longer on the server - I also tried searching for it on the "uploaded files" page but to no avail Mattyh 16:10, 2 March 2013 (EST)

Name or pseudonym: Free speech, Prospectus title: “The study of Internet control on online travel community.” Link to prospectus: http://cyber.law.harvard.edu/is2013/File:Free_speech_-_Assignment_2.docx (Free speech 14:13, 26 February 2013 (EST))

Free_speech: It is a very interesting point of view. It is important to see how people can face constraints all over the Internet.Milenagrado 17:00, 28 February 2013 (EST)

Hi, this could be an interesting topic. I assume you have some connection to the forum beforehand, because it seems like somewhat of a random choice of community. I like how you will analyze both site specific rules of participation and countrywide laws that are applicable. As a Canadian, if I were to join the forum and participate I would be bound by the laws of Canada and the rules of forum. In contrast, and American would be bound by the laws of the US and forum as well. So perhaps the site acheives greater uniformity in participation through their own regulations than the laws of the countries. Joshywonder 09:59, 3 March 2013 (EST)

Phil: I wonder how you will "avoid direct engagement with members of the community" when you've stated that you will interact with and interview DPLA players and opponents. Perhaps I'm misunderstanding something, such as the teaching staff approving your methodology?JW 23:20, 26 February 2013 (EST)
  • @JW - that is a good question, my thought is that I will be interviewing people who are "Pro DPLA" or "Against DPLA" so there is not much I could do to "influence their behavior to inherently change what I am trying to observe." - but I have not discussed with teaching staff, so I could be a little off. Phildade 23:17, 1 March 2013 (EST)

Name: Susan Goldstein Prospectus title: “What is the Definition of “Open” in a Massively Open Online Course (MOOC)?” Link to prospectus: http://cyber.law.harvard.edu/is2013/sites/is2013/images/Susan_Goldstein_Assignment2.docx Susan Goldstein 15:44, 26 February 2013 (EST)

Susan: I'm curious why you chose those three particular courses to observe. Would it be possible to observe the same (or very similar) course(s) across two to three platforms? (e.g., edX, Coursera, and Udacity)JW 22:28, 26 February 2013 (EST)

JW: I edited out why I chose these courses from the prospectus to get it down to 397 words :) I wanted to stick with Coursera and edX because they are the most well known and I'm particularly interested in Harvard's (edX) participation. My decision was more practical than scientific. I chose courses that were beginning at the end of Feb to mid-March in subjects I thought I'd understand enough to be able to follow conversations about the course. I like your idea of studying similar courses across the different platforms, but am limited by our time frame for this assignment.


Susan: I have never heard of a MOOC. I wondered if an "expert" or credentialed person in the field of study would be allowed to register for the class. If so, how would they be treated? --Dear Alice 14:42, 1 March 2013 (EST) Dear Alice: Anyone can register for a MOOC. An expert in the field of study could register, but would only do so if they wanted to see how someone else was teaching the subject or if they wanted to learn about an aspect of the subject they wanted to learn more about. Since a MOOC is not the same as taking a course for credit to meet the academic requirements of a school, an expert couldn't "cheat" by taking a MOOC to get an easy A. One of the reasons people enroll in MOOCS is to prepare themselves to take a course for credit. Susan Susan Goldstein 20:27, 2 March 2013 (EST)

Kaley Sweeney 15:47, 26 February 2013 (EST) Kaley Sweeney Internet in North Korea: The Changing Scene of Totalitarian Control Under Kim Jung-Un http://cyber.law.harvard.edu/is2013/sites/is2013/images/KaleySweeney_Prospectus.docx

Kaley: The part of your prospectus that most caught my attention is the very end: "the changes that are beginning to unfold with the rise in mobile internet access in the country." I would read a 10-page paper entirely focusing on mobile Internet access in North Korea!JW 21:33, 26 February 2013 (EST)

Hi Kaley: I like your topic because it sheds light on democratic freedoms. Will the expansion of Internet usage in North Korea bring new forms of democracy to a select group of citizens? Will outside influences, that emerge via the Internet, begin to alter government relations? At the end of your prospectus, you mention that you...”wish to examine the forces that have perpetuated the insulation of the country from the technological revolution and the changes that are beginning to unfold with the rise in mobile internet access in the country.” To narrow your focus, you may want to consider highlighting a few primary forces, i.e., norms, market, etc., with descriptions surrounding each force. To answer the latter part (changes that are beginning to unfold in North Korea), what types of changes are you referring to? Do you plan to analyze technological changes, societal changes, or both? To this end, defining a few categories may bring additional structure/clarity to your analysis. Zak Paster 11:37, 3 March 2013 (EST)

Raven 15:59, 26 February 2013 (EST)

Raven: Cool topic. When you talk about the "quality of comments" it will be important to address the question, "according to whom?" Is it according to the managers of the site, the community of the site, or to society at large? You might also explore how comments are moderated. It seems like the NY Times screens submissions from commenters whereas The Economist and Boing Boing are more lenient. Is that true? It looks like you can flag or report inappropriate comments on Economist and Boing Boing - does user-generated moderation have an effect on the quality of the comments? I'm also interested to know whether you get higher quality comments with pseudonyms (people are perhaps more willing to be open and express one's view anonymously) or with real names (people are perhaps more willing to be articulate and tolerant). How much identity should be revealed to facilitate the most productive comments? Lastly, with regard to "comment quality categories," here are some other categories you might consider in addition to the ones you mention: Openness (willingness to share private information), Conversation potential (the extent there is discussion among commenters), Healthy debate (whether opposing viewpoints are respected), Spam ( whether comments are just a plug for blog or site), Barrier to entry to comment (easy to do or hard?), and flexibility of comment system (ability to see recommended comments or unfiltered). You may want to narrow these down for the scope of the paper but just something to think about. Asmith 14:47, 27 February 2013 (EST)



Saridder 16:18, 26 February 2013 (EST) saridder Steve Ridder

The Digital Marketplace

Link: http://cyber.law.harvard.edu/is2013/File:Steve_Ridder_Assignment_2.docx

Saridder 16:18, 26 February 2013 (EST)

Saridder: Your proposal made me think of another topic I was considering for this project. This may be a bit of a tangent from what you're looking to do, but when you talk about the shift towards a knowledge economy, peer production, and the future of work, I immediately thought about Yammer, often called "Facebook for companies." Yammer is a social network for employees at a company to use. Last year it got bought by Microsoft for $1+ billion. Users can only connect with other Yammer users at that company. But they can post status updates, photos, documents and it has pretty much all the same features as Facebook. Yammer is touted as a way to "flatten hierarchy" and empower employees by giving everyone a voice. It provides a collaboration tool for people from all over the world. But I wonder, how does this affect the balance of power in companies? Yes, users can sign up for the service for free without their company's permission. But the company can also pay for a premium Yammer account, which gives them greater control over their Yammer community. What elements of control are at work here (i.e. does the architecture of the site encourage some acceptable work practices, but not others) ? How much control do administrators of a Yammer network have over the contents of the network? Does this shift the balance of power in the workplace because employees can interact in a peer network, rather than through a top down hierarchy? Just an idea as you narrow down your topic. Asmith 13:01, 27 February 2013 (EST)


María Paz Jurado Internet regulation in Argentina, the case of Taringa! http://cyber.law.harvard.edu/is2013/sites/is2013/images/MariaPazJurado-Assignment2.pdf --Maria 16:22, 26 February 2013 (EST)

María: I suggest focusing your analysis on only one part of Taringa: posts, communities, music, or games. Also, it might be interesting to compare and contrast that part of Taringa to another country's equivalent, e.g. Reddit, Craigslist, Steam, etc.JW 21:22, 26 February 2013 (EST)
Maria: I agree with JW that trying to follow Taringa! Musica and Taringa! Juegos in addition to the main site would be too large a scope for such a small study. Mattyh 14:48, 2 March 2013 (EST)


Hi Maria: I think using the four “areas to analyze the Internet” (market, architecture, norms, and laws) is an excellent idea and provides structure to your final paper. To make your focus more narrow, you may want to select an example under each domain, supported by an explanation. When analyzing Taringa!’s architecture, you could highlight a few pros and cons surrounding user interactions; when examining the norms within each community, you could outline examples and draw comparisons; when analyzing the market, you could primarily focus on the exchange of music, with specific examples. Overall, I think your explanation is clear and the approach you've outlined will allow you to collect useful data to answer your primary questions.Zak Paster 17:13, 2 March 2013 (EST)

John Floyd Emergent Institutions: Technical Innovation in the Absence of Governance http://cyber.law.harvard.edu/is2013/File:Floydprospectus.txt Johnfloyd6675 16:53, 26 February 2013 (EST)

John - You haven't clearly outlined your process or your specific questions, or what specific tools you'll use to come to your conclusions. That said, the overall topic is a fascinating one. To help you narrow your focus, here are some questions: What access do I have? What overall question most appeals to me? How can I relate it to the course goals? How can I answer that question given the access I have? What is it I am hoping to conclude? Does this conclusion relate directly to the course goals? What evidence will support or disprove this conclusion? How can I gather it efficiently? Will this be sufficient to meet the terms of the final assignment? Can I do this in the time provided? Am I willing to do this? Good luck. I look forward to your final result. Raven 16:46, 28 February 2013 (EST)

Pseudonym: CyberRalph Prospectus: Anonymous and Their Aggressiveness in the Twittersphere http://cyber.law.harvard.edu/is2013/File:Martins_Assignment2.docx CyberRalph 16:55, 26 February 2013 (EST)

Hi Ralph, I think that sounds like an interesting project. I know it may be difficult, but I'd also be interested in discovering how those ananymous twitter accounts interact with real life. Are multpiple people using the same account? Are those people actually the ones doing any hacking? Almost certainly those accounts would be monitored by the authorities if they were claiming responsibility and the users identities would be discoverable.Joshywonder 09:39, 3 March 2013 (EST)

Hi CyberRalph: This is an interesting topic. As I read your prospectus, the notion of responsibility and liability came to mind. If this group advertises cyber-attacks, can they inevitably be held accountable? For example, could law enforcement officials follow the leads to IP addresses, and ultimately discover the group(s) behind such attacks? It may be interesting to compare the concepts of online crime with other forms of illicit activities (is online crime more isolated and easier to commit without paying the consequences?). As an intro or conclusion, you may also want to consider highlighting current trends with cyber-attacks and security measures that governments/large companies take. Furthermore, to strengthen your analysis, it would be interesting if you state your personal hypothesis upfront, followed by your question surrounding motivation for these types of attacks. Zak Paster 11:34, 3 March 2013 (EST)

Name or pseudonym: Julian Prospectus title: We the People: On the Effectiveness of Public Outreach Link to prospectus: http://cyber.law.harvard.edu/is2013/sites/is2013/images/Julian_Assignment2.txt Julian 17:10, 26 February 2013 (EST)

Julian:You've presented some intriguing research questions. In part, it sounds like you plan to measure effectiveness numerically. If so, I look forward to the statistical analyses in your paper, possibly accompanied by figures/graphs/charts/etc.JW 21:22, 26 February 2013 (EST)

Hi Julian, I find tools to promote public engagement very interesting and useful, great topic to investigate about. It might be useful for you to see also moveon.org and signon.org, the latter is actually a website to create petitions and promote them through online communities. It might be interesting to compare how both government and NGOs use different approaches to deal with the same kind of issues. --Maria 11:08, 3 March 2013 (EST)

Aly Barbour Prospectus: The prevalence and moderation of the ‘Pro-Ana’ movement http://cyber.law.harvard.edu/is2013/File:Abarbour_prospectus.docx Alybarbour 17:17, 26 February 2013 (EST)

Aly Barbour: In order to narrow your field research, it will be interesting if you focus on one or two specific communities. It will be better wether they have an intense activity.

Hi Aly, it was shocking to read about these communities, very interesting subject to investigate. I think it’s a good idea to focus in comparing activities in pro anorexia communities and recovery support groups in reddit.com, leaving aside the other platforms to narrow your scope. I think you should also define what will you observe from these communities in order to reach a conclusion for your investigation: do you want to know how control is being implemented? Or maybe focus in one particular constraint and see how it plays a role in regulating the community?--Maria 11:40, 3 March 2013 (EST)

Pseudonym: JW

Prospectus title: Reddit's Dox Paradox: Proper or Not?

Link to prospectus: http://cyber.law.harvard.edu/is2013/File:JW_Assignment2.txtJW 17:36, 26 February 2013 (EST)

JW: One of the most interesting constrains here relates to social norms - doxxing is used as a way to regulate and control speech. If you post truly terrible things, the article on the Violentacrez seems to suggest, you ought to be outed to the public. On the one hand, this policy may reduce offensive material - people may be scared to post things like child pornography for fear of being publicly shamed. But "justifiable doxxing" also leads to a kind of vigilantism which has all kinds of moral implications. Who decides who deserves to be outed? It would be interesting to observe doxxing behavior on Preddit and Reddit to see if there is any recognition of where moral boundaries are drawn, if any. Is there any discussion of when doxxing is justifiable (i.e. journalism) and when it is not (i.e. trolling) ? Reddit's stance was clearly: doxxing is bad, period. But do community members feel differently? Asmith 12:30, 27 February 2013 (EST)


Pseudonym: Jax, formerly known as Jaclyn Horowitz Prospectus Title: Ignorance and the Colonization of Rap Genius Link to Prospectus: http://cyber.law.harvard.edu/is2013/File:Jax_Assignment2.docx Jax 17:57, 26 February 2013 (EST)

Hi Jax: This is an interesting topic and one that will allow you to make many connections between the artists and those who critique the artists. You mention that you’re...“interested in examining the characteristics of popular contributions and contributors in relation to broader reader and contributor demographics, exploring whether objectivity can emerge in this venue.” What preliminary hypotheses do you have? Does this website cater to the Ivy League crowd or does it attract rap enthusiasts from all walks of life? Examining demographics and objectivity is a valid approach, but stating your hypotheses upfront may provide an interesting twist. Do you think people are generally objective or subjective, and what demographics do you think most reviewers represent? If you follow this method, the data you collect will either confirm or negate your upfront interpretations. All in all, this is a very current topic and I look forward to learning about your findings. Zak Paster 17:21, 2 March 2013 (EST)


Becca Luberoff
Prospectus title: Issues of Privacy and Security in Online Mental Health Communities
Link to Prospectus: http://cyber.law.harvard.edu/is2013/File:BeccaLuberoff_Assignment2.docx
BeccaLuberoff 19:41, 26 February 2013 (EST)

Becca: I've noticed that Google caches content from purportedly private forums. If content from your three closed communities is publicly searchable, how does that affect privacy issues?JW 22:42, 26 February 2013 (EST)
Becca: I followed the link to the "Living with Bipolar Disorder" category on bphope.com and it appeared that the most recent post was 3 months ago with many being from years ago. Will not being able to observe activity (particularly censoring) in real-time have an impact on the research? Mattyh 14:42, 2 March 2013 (EST)

Pseudonym: baughller Prospectus title: Ethical Implications of Personalized Search Link to Prospectus:http://cyber.law.harvard.edu/is2013/File:Assignment_2_-_Prospectus.docx

I really like the comparison you drew between online libraries and physical libraries such as the library of congress. I think this can serve as a good comparison point for most of your research and provide valuable information. The idea of DuckDuckGo and being given similar information could be a big theme/discourse for your project as well. AaronEttl 14:39, 2 March 2013 (EST)


Hi Baughller: This is an interesting topic. Given your research focus area, it may be interesting to forecast the future in relation to identity-type searches (from your perspective). For example, if search results continue to show information based on people’s background / historical searches, what will the long-term outcomes be? Is this a positive search trend or a negative trend, and why? I think it may also be interesting to look at this scenario from a marketing viewpoint. Today, advertisements frequently appear as we surf the web, based on our preferences; this wasn't the case years ago. To that end, how is this new trend changing certain products and/or services? Are some industries profiting more than others, or can all types of marketing reap the benefits? Overall, your topic is very relevant in the current Internet environment, and this search-reality may only be in its infancy. Zak Paster 17:27, 2 March 2013 (EST)


Laurence Girard

Laurence Girard Prospectus

Question: What effect does reading online health information have on the health of our society?

Many people search for online health information on a daily basis, but most of this information is not reviewed by physicians. As a result, many people self-diagnose and as a result this can result in very dangerous health outcomes. I am interested in studying websites such as WebMD and seeing what type of impact this has on people’s health.

I am particularly interested in seeing how online health content relates to online health products. For example, perhaps someone reads an article on WebMD about how Vitamin D affects their health and then as a result they buy it on Amazon.com. What types of supplements are people buying and what affect is this having on their health?I am also interested in websites such as Teladoc.com where users can consult with physicians. In other words, I am interested in studying how people access health information, products, and consultations online. I have read one statistic that says 80% of people in our country search for online health information. For this reason, I think this will be a particularly interesting project to complete and is relevant to the healthcare debate in our country. We need to focus more on prevention and less on treatment and the Internet can certainly be one modality for doing this. I am interested to hear about what my fellow classmates have to say about my chosen assignment.

Laurence: This sounds like a very interesting topic, but would be a huge project to undertake. Can you find one community where people are talking about health issues? I imagine every major disease or condition has some kind of community such as the American Cancer Societies’ Online Communities and Support [[1]] and choose one or two subgroups to study. Then I think you would be able to look at issues similar to those that Becca will be looking at for her project about Issues of Privacy in Online Mental Health Communities. Susan Goldstein 14:48, 4 March 2013 (EST)

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