Module 3 Blog Task 2

In your learning log, record your ‘top five tips for new bloggers’.

I am relatively new to the world of blogging, so drawing from personal experience and what I have learned so far, my top five tips for new bloggers would be:

1. Research the available Blog hosts to find one that is going to suit your blog style. You may want the ability to edit the code, personalise your blog some more etc. Most blog services offer varying degrees of the control you have over your blog so take time to assess which is the right one for you.

2. Think about a theme for your blog which can either be very loosley based or can be adhered to on a more stricter basis. Theming your blog helps people to recognize what it's about so it's a good idea to stick to it.

3. Be consistent in both your writing style and your posting frequency. If you post sporadically in an abstract fashion people are bound to lose interest. However, if you set up a good posting routine and writing style, visitors to your blog will be more likely to return as they know what to expect.

4. Choose a good blog design that complements your theme and writing style. The design should not detract from the content of your blog, so keep it streamlined and well layed out.

5. Make your blog scannable by keeping posts short and to the point. Highlight the most important points and include links to other posts or sites that includethe more detailed information.

Many of the blog services out there offer tips as well, so it's a good idea to check the information on the blogging site that your interested in, it will normally provide some helpful information for first-time bloggers.

Module 3 Blog Task 1

1. Take a screen shot of your blog and paste into your learning log.

Well, as I have had a blog for over a month now, I have pasted a copy of my first blog post below:

Actually, now having had an introduction to blogging since embarking on this NET11 unit, I have decided that when I build myself a website I will definitely link a blog companion to complement it. Primarily due to the fact that it is so easy to edit is great for any information that needs updating on a frequent basis.

Module 3 FTP Task

Try uploading your web page (or your draft info bank or learning log) to your student web space in Oasis or your own web space provided by your ISP if you have one using ftp.

As there have been a few problems re students uploading their pages to the student webspace in Oasis, I opted to upload to a free hosting account provided by Atspace: www.atspace.com. They have a free web hosting option and it is popup/banner add free so thought it was ideal for this task.

For this task, I used the FTP client FileZilla: http://sourceforge.net/projects/filezilla for Windows. The upload process was really straightforward and I was able to connect straight away. I then dragged my files to the remote host folder which included index and css files plus the images folder. I then checked the address and found that my test page had uploaded successfully. Here is the url of my uploaded page: http://conradnet11.atspace.com/index.html

I found this task to be much less complicated than I thought it would be, it was a very simple process.

Module 3 Legal Issues Task

1. Have you used images or words on your web page or website that contravene copyright laws?

No, the website that I uploaded to the NET11 Student Presentations area states that it is for the purpose of studies associated with the NET11 Internet Communications course. The content is my own and serves mainly as a portal to the assignments for this unit eg this blog. I have not utilised any images as yet, although I am planning to. For images, I would either use my own or free online stock images etc. In the case that I were to use an image, other than my own or stock, it would be for research purposes only and I would state the copyright owner and for what purpose it was being used for. For any written material, I would make sure it was referenced fully including where I sourced it from.

2. Would you be in breach of copyright if you put the Curtin logo at the top of your web page for an assignment?

Curtin's copyright statement does state that content from their site can be used for research purposes etc but I would be in breach of copyright if I used their logo as it has no bearing on any type of research associated with my studies. If for any reason I wanted to include their logo as a reference of some sort, I would be inclined to set up a link to their homepage from my site.


While on the subject of copyright, I have been considering incorporating audio into the site that I am building for the NED11 Internet Design course. This also got me thinking as to what the legal issues associated with audio on a website would be. To date, I think if I were to use an audio file, it would have to be sourced form some type of free online audio stock. So, still researching this issue.....


Web Resources:

Copyright Website LLC, "Website Copyright." http://www.benedict.com/info/info.aspx (accessed March 30, 2007).

Curtin University, "Copyright at Curtin." Last updated March 28, 2007.http://www.copyright.curtin.edu.au/index.cfm (accessed March 30, 2007).

Module 3 Standards Task 2

For this task, I used my website that I loaded upto the NET11 Student Presentations area. I validated my pages by visiting the W3C Markup Validation Services site: http://validator.w3.org/. I have also ustilised this service for the website that I have been building as part of the NED11 Internet Design unit, so was familiar with how it operated. This site allows you to validate your site code as you have declared it on your site pages by either uploading the file from your local machine or, alternatively, by entering the URL address of the site page that you wish to validate. In my case, I wrote my code using XHTML 1.0 Strict and it validated fine without any errors.

However, the service also offers a CSS validation service which I also used and it seems my CSS style sheet, that I use to style the content of my website, did not initially validate. The version being CSS 2.1. This was mainly due to the way I had labeled elements in my xhtml pages and then implemented the styling using some of the wrong style names. I had four errors in total. Having fixed these up, I re validated my CSS page and no errors were apparent yet am a little confused as it does'nt actually state that it is validated either.

If I had not corrected the the errors, it could have had a negative impact on how the information on my site was displayed to visitors.

Overall, I really enjoy using this service. I regularly utilise it to validate my pages while I progress with the building of a site. I find it is an excellent guideline for ensuring that my site is compliant with W3C standards and it gives me an indication of how accessible and usable my site will be for others.


Web Resources:

W3C, "W3C CSS Validation Service." http://jigsaw.w3.org/css-validator/ (accessed 29 March, 2007).

W3C, "W3C Markup Validation Service." http://validator.w3.org/ (accessed 29 March, 2007).

Module 3 Standards Task 1

After reading the articles by Jakob Nielson and Dennis Jerz and from my own experience as an internet user, I would say that the five most important rules for writing online are:

• Credibility - Keep the content credible by using outbound hypertext links, clear and concise writing and good quality graphics. Also incorporate good simple design to enhance the overall look of content. The general look and content quality of a website plays an important role as to whether the reader will stay or go. If the content looks as if it has been produced by an amateur, then I would be unlikey to read any further.

• Scanning - Use scannable text by keeping text short and to the point. Short paragraphs that highlight relevant information. If I am reading online material, I want to be able to see all the relevant points associated with the topic quickly. Being confronted with having to read an endless diatribe means I am less likely to stay.

• Usability - Keep the navigation of the online medium you are publishing on, straightforward and easy to use. Use relevant links and graphics. Make information easy to find. On larger websites where you are reading information, there sometimes can be a tendency to get lost unless it is well set out and logical in it's navigability. Sitemaps for larger sites or indexing with anchors for online articles improves the navigation.

• Priority - By using the 'pyramid style' which incorporates the summaries, conclusions and most relevant information at the beginning of the content, followed by the rest of the details. Keep the main content that contains the most important information at the top of the page to keep the readers interest/attention and avoid them having to scroll down for other relevant information.

• Design - Complement the content by using good simple and effective design to enhance the overall presentation of the written information. Design should be a canvas for the written material by complementing it, it should not detract from the content. Personally, I appreciate good website design and it really does affect my impression as to whether the content is credible.

Although written slightly differently, both articles by Jakob Nielson and Dennis Jerz are equally relevant in that the main points applicable to good online writing are included in both. The Jerz article is more of a summarization whereas Nielson article is more in depth. Having read each, I think most internet users could identify with the various topics covered, in that we have all visited sites where the information has been either poorly or well presented. The contrasts are quite distinct. I feel it makes us more aware of what good writing online should be. We should write and present online from the perspective of being the reader.


Web Resources:

Nielson, Jakob. "Writing for the Web." 1997.http://www.useit.com/papers/webwriting/ (accessed March 29, 2007).

Jerz, Dennis G. "Top 5 Web Conventions (Writing and Design)." April 15, 2003.http://jerz.setonhill.edu/writing/e-text/conventions.htm (accessed March 29, 2007).

Module 3 HTML Task

Managed to get my site uploaded to the NET11 Student Presentations area. I am also doing NED11 Internet Design so had some knowledge on how to build a basic site. Initially I had a problem with the upload as I created a folder holding all my files within the group folder. Thanks to a suggestion from another student, realised that the main files needed to be directly within the group file, hence a successful upload. Took me a while to format the site using css and still needs some work with regards to how it functions. I have posted a screen shot of my uploaded web site here:

I can see why many websites incorporate external links to outside blogs. Maintaining a website is certainly more time intensive in contrast to sites like Blogspot where you can just post contents to your blog with ease. Obviously, for frequent additions of content, a blog is much more efficient whereas a website is better for information that is more permanent in nature.

Module 3 Overview

This is a brief overview Module 3 - Contributing to the Infosphere: E-Writing? The purpose of this module is to explore the various methods and tools used for publishing information and communication online in a more 'permanent' fashion.

The two mediums that are most widely utilised for this purpose are either a Website or a Blog. However, each serves a different purpose in the way it presents and communicates information and how it is read by the viewer.

LINEAR DOCUMENTS - These types of documents are normally read from start to finish by the reader if they want to understand the information presented in it's full context. Most linear type web-based documents can be downloaded.

NON-LINEAR DOCUMENTS - These types of documents are read as more of a reference, there is no need to read the entire document, the reader may only need to pick out the information that they feel is relevant. Most non-linear web-based documents are diplayed and navigated on screen.

WEBSITES:

• Need to be coded when they are updated
• More non-linear in form
• Normally a more formal presentation
• Links are more information orientated
• Only updated when content needs to be revised

BLOGS:

• Easily published, websites need to be coded
• More linear in form
• More informal
• Links more communication orientated
• Blogs updated/added to more frequently

It was interesting to note the distinctions between a blog and a website. I had never really thought about it prior to this NET11 course and, unitl recently, having never had a blog before, it's now good to have a greater understanding of how each can be used. After reading about blogs I would probably say that a website is more appropriate for presenting information to its audience whereas a blog is better for sharing information on a more communicative basis.


Web Resources:

"Contributing to the Infosphere: E-Writing?."http://webct.curtin.edu.au/SCRIPT/305033_a/scripts/serve_home (accessed March 27, 2007).

Week 5 Objectives

This week I will be making a start on Module 3 - Contributing to the Infosphere: e-writing? I will work through the reading material and complete the associated tasks.

Module 2 Summary

I found Module 2 to be an interesting journey into the world of online communication. While researching resources for my Resource Project, I found myself often becoming engrossed in the behavioural aspects of why people behave the way they do on the internet and how it influences the way we communicate, depending on what form of communication we are using. For eample, one might behave differently when using email opposed to using a chat program like MSN messenger. I suppose some of these allow us more freedom of expression than others. Yet if we know how to use these communication tools properly we can maximise their potential for our benefit and be able to recognise and interpret/decipher the information in data that previously may have seemed extraneous.

I achieved most of my goals this week, having completed two more annotations for my Resource Project and having explored the various concepts more in depth. I decided to make my two annotations revolve around the topic of Online Communication and Behaviour, as I felt that there were some very good resources that encompassed many of the sub-topics within the module but this looked at them as a whole, including both the behavioural and technological aspects of communication in cyberspace.

Concept 9

I found the subject of Concept 9 - Permanent Ephemerality to be quite an interesting one. On the surface, I guess many people think of the web, on the whole, as being ephemeral - never staying the same, a continually evolving cyber-universe where nothing is permanent. Looking at the web as an entity in itself, then I would say yes, it is ephemeral but some of it's facets are tending to become more permanent due to newer technology that enables the management, archiving and recording of web content.

The view that email is ephemeral in nature was and still is widely held, but was particularly so in the internets early years. This in turn naturally flowed through to how people perceived email as a communication tool. However, these days, email as an ephemeral form of communication, is by and large more of a presumption than anything else. There is a distinct shift from the ephemeral to the eternal in that email management now allows the storing, correlating and filing of our communications, whether initiated by a third party or ourselves.

When one considers email ephemeral, one is more likely to be careless with it's use and less mindful of how it can be perceived or used by the recipient or, in some cases, even other parties:

"Although email may seem ephemeral, producers should bear in mind that it may be treated like any other form of communication as far as legal discovery of documents is concerned. Programme makers should be aware that email may be required to be produced as evidence in a legal action e.g. where a court is attempting to discover the identity of a journalistic source." – BBC editorial online service guidelines

For most of us, even though email is a private form of communication, we need to remain concious of the fact that it quite often is or can be a permanent record of our online communications and interactions with others. In that respect, we should always be mindful of the way we manage our email.

The graph below is a good visual reference re ephemeral vs persisent forms of communication:

Karahalios, Karrie. "Ephemeral and persistent conversation." September, 2004.http://web.media.mit.edu/~kkarahal/generals/communication/ephem_pers.html (accessed March 23, 2007).

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I have decided that I will use the topic of Online Communication & Behaviour, as the topic for my annotations for Module 2 and will link them to Concept 1 - Asynchronicity and Concept 9 - Permanent Ephemerality.

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Web Resources:

Schneider, Steven M. , Foot, Kirsten A. "The Web as an Object of Study." 2006.http://faculty.washington.edu/kfoot/Publications/Web-as-Object-of-Study.pdf (accessed March 23, 2007).

"Internet Communications Concepts Document." http://webct.curtin.edu.au/SCRIPT/305033_a/scripts/serve_home (accessed March 09, 2007).

Karahalios, Karrie. "Social Catalysts: enhancing communication in mediated spaces ." September, 2004.http://web.media.mit.edu/~kkarahal/ (accessed March 23, 2007).

Concept 17

Throughout Module 2, 'Communicating in the Infosphere', I have continually found myself returning to a particular online resource: John Suler's 'The Psychology of Cyberspace'. I have found it to be a fascinating insight into the psychological aspects of peoples online behaviour especially pertinent when keeping it within the context of using the internet, with its broad spectrum of tools, to communicate with others. For this reason I will be using this as a resource for one of my annotations, due to it's relevance to Module 2 as a whole.

As opposed to asynchronous communication, synchronous communication relates to two or more people sitting at their computer simultaneously, in other words, both are online at the same time participating in a real-time form of communication. This is most often achieved through using mediums such as a chatroom, internet relay chat, an instant messenger eg MSN or ICQ etc. I think Concept 17 - The impact of text-based real-time chat, can impact us beneficially when we understand the context in which it should be used.

Technically speaking, you could argue that chat is an asynchronous form of communication and I guess, on closer inspection, I would tend to agree to some extent. Even thought it is in real-time, you still have time for reflection before writing a response to a message, even though it may only be minutes. This in comparison to the more asynchronous methods such as email, discussion boards etc in which it can be hours, days, sometimes weeks before you might post or send a reply.

In most cases, real-time chat gives us the ability to keep a record of our online conversations, which can then be used to reflect back on or refer to, at a later date. This is something that, normally, face to face communication does'nt allow. As discussed in Concept 17, due to the ability of the human brain being able to assimilate text much better than speech, we are able to conduct more than one conversation at a time, a kind of 'social mutliplicity' whereby

".....one can juggle many relationships in a short period of time or even at the same time....without the other people necessarily being aware of one's juggling act".

Real-time chat gives us this flexibilty without it being misconstrued or perceived as being rude, which quite possibly could be the case if we were to carry on mutiple conversations in a face to face situation.


Web Resources:

Suler, John. "The Basic Psychological Features of Cyberspace." May, 1996.http://www.rider.edu/~suler/psycyber/basicfeat.html (accessed March 22, 2007).

"Internet Communications Concepts Document." http://webct.curtin.edu.au/SCRIPT/305033_a/scripts/serve_home (accessed March 09, 2007).

Concept 7

I suppose when I think of Netiquette, (Concept 7 - Netiquette), I most commonly associate the term with my use of email, it being the most common form of internet communication that I utilise more than any other. It also encompasses all forms of communcation on the internet, including chat, discussion boards, web forums etc.

When I read the NET11 concept document regarding this subject, what particularly stood out was the point made:

'.....what is important about Netiquette is the concept that there are these 'agreed' rules of what is good and bad.'

This makes me wonder, how many of us are fully aware of these rules? Are they something that you just pick up as you go along? Or are they something that we are taught?

From a personal perspective, when using email for instance, first and foremost I guess most of us have the basic qualities instilled in us from an early age of how to be polite, courteous etc. So naturally much of this will flow through in the way we communicate generally. However, when communicatng on the internet, there is always that factor of anonymity and disinhibiton that some may feel allows them to be less concious of the way they conduct themselves online, as opposed to face to face etc, when dealing with others.

We should never drop our inherited standards of common courtesy. In fact, I think one has to be especially concientious when communicating with others in 'cyberspace', for the simple fact, that you have no way of knowing how another interent user may interpret anything you might say or do - there are no visual cues, no tone of voice to access a persons reaction etc, hence the importance of recognising good 'Netiquette'. The impersonal nature of the web, ( as discussed previously in relation to Concept 23 Human-Computer Interfaces), should also not let it influence us in dropping our standards.

As the internet is more of a self-regulated entity, Netiquette has probably resulted more from social pressure within the online community more than anything else.


Web Resources:

Johnson, David R.. "Lawmaking And Law Enforcement in Cyberspace." June, 2005.http://www.cli.org/DRJ/make.html (accessed March 21, 2007).

Kayany, Joseph. "Internet Etiquette, Netiquette." http://homepages.wmich.edu/~kayany/interactive/netiquette.pdf (accessed March 21, 2007).

"Internet Communications Concepts Document." http://webct.curtin.edu.au/SCRIPT/305033_a/scripts/serve_home (accessed March 09, 2007).

Shea, Virginia. "Netiquette." December 7, 1997.http://www.albion.com/netiquette/ (accessed March 21, 2007).

Concept 1

Email is clearly one of the best examples of asynchronous communication, as discussed in Module 2, Concept 1 - Asynchronocity. This is primarily due to the fact that you can send an email to someone, even though their computer may be switched off and their internet disconnected, yet when they do eventually access their inbox, they will still receive your email.

Here is an excellent example of how email is an asynchronous form of communication, it can be seen by visiting: http://www.futureme.org/index.php. Here, you are able to email yourself in the future. What better way to demonstrate emails' independancy, in that interactions with another person don't require us to be online at the same time or location.

To communicate effectively on the internet, it is important to recognise that tools, such as email, can offer us greater flexibility, allowing us benefits such as time to think and reflect before we respond, as opposed to a face to face interaction. It allows us to manage our time better, to prioritize what we read and write, to some extent, it can even foster more honest communication, as Piotr Wozniak states:

"Remove emotional pressure: People find it easier to tell the truth via e-mail. Difficult pieces can be mulled over and shaped in the least painful manner without affecting the core message. It is easier to refuse. It is easier to withstand a mental pressure imposed by others. It is easier to minimize the hurt to the other person's feelings while being unmoved in one's stand. "
Wozniak, Piotr. "E-mail, incremental reading, creativity, and time-management." 2004.http://www.supermemo.com/articles/e-mail.htm (accessed March 18, 2007).

and also stated here by John Suler:

"In e-mail and message boards, communication is asynchronous. People don't interact with each other in real time. Others may take minutes, hours, days, or even months to reply to something you say. Not having to deal with someone's immediate reaction can be disinhibiting. In real life, it would be like saying something to someone, magically suspending time before that person can reply, and then returning to the conversation when you're willing and able to hear the response. Immediate, real-time feedback from others tends to have a very powerful effect on the ongoing flow of how much people reveal about themselves. In e-mail and message boards, where there are delays in that feedback, people's train of thought may progress more steadily and quickly towards deeper expressions of what they are thinking and feeling." Suler, J. "The Psychology of Cyberspace,The Online Disinhibition Effect." June 01, 2002.http://www.rider.edu/~suler/psycyber/disinhibit.html#anonymity (accessed March 18, 2007).

If we want to become more effective when using tools such as email, it also important to recognise the appropriateness of it's use. To do this we need to consider not just it's benefits, but also some of it's disadvantages, which can in themselves assist us in communicating more effectively. From a asynchronous perspective, we need to be aware that for anything urgent or that requires immediate attention, some other form of communication should be used:

"No immediate feedback: You know little of if your message has been received. Your curiosity as to the answer is not instantly satisfied."
Wozniak, Piotr. "E-mail, incremental reading, creativity, and time-management." 2004.http://www.supermemo.com/articles/e-mail.htm (accessed March 18, 2007).

For example, if I was catching a flight today and wanted to confirm it's departure, I would'nt email the airline with my query. Alternatively, if I did this two weeks prior to departure then I would have allowed myself a reasonable timeframe to expect a response. Being aware of emails' asynchronous nature, as a communication tool, helps us to determine in what circumstances it should and should not be used.


Web Resources:

Suler, J. "The Psychology of Cyberspace,The Online Disinhibition Effect." June 01, 2002.http://www.rider.edu/~suler/psycyber/disinhibit.html#anonymity (accessed March 18, 2007).

Wozniak, Piotr. "E-mail, incremental reading, creativity, and time-management." 2004.http://www.supermemo.com/articles/e-mail.htm (accessed March 18, 2007).

Rettie, Ruth. "Optimizing Connection: Marketing on Instant Messenger ." http://www.kingston.ac.uk/~ku03468/docs/Optimizing%20Connection,%20Marketing%20on%20Instant%20Messenger.doc (accessed March 18, 2007).

Lipschultz, Wesley. "What Can and Should We Do with E-mail? An Outline for a Systematic Approach ." January 01, 1999.http://www.psu.edu/dus/mentor/990101wl.htm (accessed March 18, 2007).

Week 4 Objectives

After completeing the Module 2 reading and tasks in week 3, this week I will concentrate on some of the concepts that we covered in Module 2 and explore them a little further in relation to some of the practical aspects used to demonstrate them.

I hope to complete another two annotations for my Resource Project having already decided to use Email as one of my topics.

Module 2 IRC Task

For this task, I downloaded the mIRC client and connected to one of the recommened channels for beginners via an American server. Comparing Internet Relay Chat with other more 'modern' chat programs, such as MSN, there is quite a big difference, mainly in presentation and usability. Visually, mIRC seemed quite bland, a bit of coloured text on a white background - no distinguishing contrasts to separate the chat section etc. It was reasonably easy to get connected, and relatively simple to use. Overall though, it felt pretty prehistoric and had no other features to speak of. I suppose you could say IRC is a combination of chat programs such as MSN, ICQ etc and a Newsgroup/Discussion Board - instant chat on a group scale.

In IRC's favour, as a method of communication, I would say that, as opposed to a Newsgroup/Discussion Board, you at least get an instant response to any topic of information that you are discussing with other users, within the chat room.

However, I prefer MSN as I like it's user interface, has good organisational features and it can be personalised.

Module 2 ICQ Task

Find the ICQ number for the nickname advanced netstudies. Add ‘advanced netstudies’ to your contact list and note whether it is authorized automatically. Look at the user info for advanced netstudies and note the comment in the ‘about’ section.

I downloaded and registered to ICQ for this task. I'm aware, via the NET11 discussion board, that there is a technical problem. For this reason, I was unable to successfully locate the advanced netstudies nickname.


Arrange with other students in the unit to meet up for a chat, using either ICQ, yahoo chat or webct chat. Talk about which chat service you prefer, and what forms of communication chat is most useful for.

March 31, 2007. 9:30pm - I logged into the NET11 Webct chat and had an online group discussion with some of the other students. We discussed whether Webchat was asynchronous or synchronous in nature. Personally, I think it is more synchronous in nature, as it's real-time chat, yet it also has asynchronous qualities eg speaking with people in different timezones, the ability to be able to wander away from your pc for short intervals and return to the chat without being missed. Scrolling the chat history allows you to pick up where you left off. However, one does need to be concious that, as it's real-time chat, responses need to be posted, normally, within a minute or so. I have posted a copy of the webct chat below:



We also dicussed the various chat mediums used, including Skype, ICQ, MSN Messenger, Trillian, Webchat, IRC and some others. I got the impression that MSN was the most favoured form of online chat. Students mentioned the following:

MSN Messenger - User friendly, adds contact automatically, less obtrusive - not so many adds, can use for group chat as well as one-on-one.

ICQ - Noisy, 'bit clunky', many 'people used to use it'

Skype - Free, knowing enough people who also use skype

Trillian - Useful in that you can use Trillian for all your contacts, whether they are with ICQ, MSN, Yahoo etc

Webchat - Used by the majority for this task, used on occassion for group chat in other instances.

IRC - Most students had used this in the past, but very few use it now.


I found the student webct chat an interesting exercise. In fact, now I know it is there, i would probably utilize it on a more frequent basis to converse with other students re our studies. It provides a good forum for topic discussion. For one to one chat my preferance would be MSN Messenger - it's fast, reliable and I like the interface.

Module 2 Newsgroup Task

I posted a message in a Newsgroup, topic related to Flash software. Post was relatively recent and the group is not a large one so could be waiting awhile....

Module 2 Email Lists Task

Reading on the web re Email Lists vs Discussion boards, there seems to be much conjecture on the internet from the various proponents for both, as valid mediums for accessing and sharing information via discussion. Either way, whatever the method used, the same goal is achieved. The main difference seems to be the in structure and in how the information is communicated and/or presented. I have listed some distinguishing features between the two:

Email Lists:

Email based
Classed as ‘Narrowcasting’
More of a private forum
Is a ‘Push’ model
Better for low volumes of traffic

Newsgroups:

Internet based
Classed as ‘Broadcasting’
More of a public forum
Is a ‘Pull’ model
Better suited for high volumes of traffic


What are the pros and cons of email lists versus discussion boards?

Email Lists - Pros:

• As it takes more effort to subscribe to a mailing list, the subscribers or more likely to really want to be there, hence they tend to stay on topic more.
• Tend to be more monitored
• Threads tend to move along faster
• Have the convenience of having the information emailed to you
• Normally free of pop-ups and adds

Email Lists - Cons:

• Can receive large amounts of unwanted email
• Unsubscribing from an Email List can be a complicated process
• Can miss all the history from your mailing list prior to your subscription
• Searching for topics can be time consuming
  
  

Newsgroups - Pros:

• Threaded discussion
• Good archiving structure
• Easily accessible and easy to participate
• More personable eg post counts, avatars etc
• More anonymous
  
  

Newsgroups – Cons:

• Threads can tend to move slower
• May need to download Newsreader software
• Tendency for some posts to go off topic and to sometimes contain irrelevant information.
• New users can be prone to ‘flaming’

Are there certain kinds of communication or purposes more suited to one than the other?

Email lists are probably suited better for smaller discussion groups that pertain to specific topics whereas Newsgroups tend to be better suited to larger more generalized topic discussions.

More Conjecture......

There also seems to be a common view proposed by your average/casual internet user. This seems to emerge when exploring the subject of Email Lists and Newsgroups. In a practical sense, this type of internet user has a preference for Web Forums as opposed to the latter two. The main reason being simplicity and that Usenet and Email Lists were created at a time when the users were more technically minded. Here is a quote that expresses this point of view:

"Back in the day", most Internet users knew about Usenet because they were technically-minded people and in one manner or another knew about all the major technologies that dominated the network. These days, most people on the Internet aren't technical people……

….To most people, the Internet is two things: the Web and e-mail (and for those who use web-based e-mail, they might even consider the Internet to be just the Web)…….

……This, then, begs the question: does Usenet serve a purpose any longer? Before the advent of the Web, or at least forums on the Web, Usenet was the place to go if you wanted to discussions - everything from sociology to gaming to software to politics. Well, Usenet and mailing lists. But now you have more people aware of and using web forums, what point does Usenet serve? It's an extra hassle to set up on your computer when you've already got a browser installed which most everyone already knows how to use. You also don't have to worry about interruptions in the newsfeed……." Akira, Mythosa. "Random Encounters, Usenet vs. Web Forums ." December 03, 2004.http://www.mythosa.net/2004/12/usenet-vs-web-forums.html (accessed March 15, 2007).

As an advanced internet user, it is obviously important to be aware of these information methods and how they are communicated, both from a conceptual and practical perspective and to know that we have resources such as these at our disposal if we need them. However, I tend to agree with writer of the above quote, from a practical standpoint, and feel that they make some very valid points. Prior to Module 2, I have never really paid much attention to Newsgroups nor Email Lists, more due to a lack of knowledge about their use or existence as an information gathering tool, than anything else. But now, even having the required knowledge to be able to use them, it would be unlikely that I would do so, due to the fact that I don’t like drawn out procedures when it comes to communicating information.

Module 2 Email Task

1. What information about a user's email, the origin of a message, and the path it took, can you glean from an email message?

The user’s email will show their user name and the domain that their email account belongs to.

The origin of a message can sometimes be determined by looking at the end of a user’s email address which can reflect the country of origin eg ‘au’. If the origin of the message is not apparent you can view the ‘message source’ information, normally by selecting message properties.

The ‘message source’ information can also reveal path details including the originating server, the encoding used, the format of any applicable attachments, the time it was sent and the time it was received.


2. In what cases would you find it useful to use the 'cc', 'bcc' and 'reply all functions of email?

The ‘cc’ function is used when you want to include other recipients on an email that you are sending to someone. The reason normally being that the email may also be of some interest or benefit to those included. For example, if I receive an email from a friend regarding cheap holidays to Tahiti, I may send a reply thanking them for the information and in that reply I may ‘cc’ in some other friends who I think might also have an interest in the subject.

Normally, ‘bcc’ is used when you want to include someone in an email that is being sent, so that they may view the information, without the knowledge of the main recipient. I think this function would most often be used in a workplace.

The ‘reply all’ function would most likely be utilized if the information I am sending is of relevance to a large group and I want them to all be aware of it.


3. In what ways can you ensure that an attachment you send will be easily opened by the receiver?

Include the name of the attachment you are sending along with the format type and the operating system that it was created on. If possible, check with the recipient if they have the required software to open the attachment and are using the same operating system. If you are unsure as to whether the person will be able to open the attachment, you can also include the text from the attachment in the main body of your email as ASCII. From memory, I think attachments can also be virus scanned before they are sent so that the recipient can receive information stating that the attachment has passed a security check and is virus free.


4. What sorts of filters or rules do you have set up, and for what purpose?

The only filter I have set up is for anti-spam to prevent unwanted junk mail.


5. How have you organised the folder structure of your email and why?

I have pretty much categorized my folders by creating them based on relevance. I have a personal folder which includes sub-folders for family, friends, items of general interest. Have a studies folder for OUA and Curtin with sub-folders for the different units. Then there are folders for more business related emails and so on. I find this to be the most expedient way of managing my emails, having the ability to easily locate any required information that I may need is a great time saver.


I am familiar with most of what has been covered in the above email tasks. However, I rarely use the source information, probably on occasion have used it more out of curiosity than for any other reason. There could possibly be an instance where I may utilize an emails path information to ascertain its point of origin if it carried a virus infected attachment and was from an unknown sender. Possibly if emails are delayed for any particular reason, it could also be a useful tool to analyze where along it's path it is getting delayed.

Module 2 Overview

Started on Module 2 today, which is mainly concerned with the various methods of communication via the internet including email and instant messenging plus ones that I am not so familiar with, newsgroups and email lists.

The purpose of this Module is to basically familiarise myself with online communication as a whole, exploring the capablities of various internet communication tools and learning how to utilise them effectively in addition to understanding the concepts behind them.

Below is a brief overview of some of the key communication tools covered in Module 2:


Email:

Using email as an effective management and communication tool.


Email Lists:

A central email address that forwards messages to the other addresses specified in a list. Email lists are run by a program on a server called a list server. Lists can be set up by registering the list, and its members, with the list server program. The program then organises the transfer of messages from the list's email address to all the members of the list. But it can also organise other services at the same time, such as archiving the messages sent through the list so that they can be accessed as pages via the Web.


Newsgroups:

Newsgroups are a public forum on the internet where one can share information on a topic of interest of which the Newsgroup has been set up for. People can post and reply to other peoples topics and views.

Chat & Messenging:

An electronic form of communication that involves immediate correspondence bewtween two or more parties that are online at the same time.

I use email on a regular basis, probably more than any other form of internet communication. Mainly Outlook Express, (though I am thinking of changing to Mozilla's Thunderbird), and also Lotus Notes at work. Reading this module, I could relate to much of the content revolving around email and it's use. My role in my last job included liasing with clients via email and the company I worked for enforced certain protocols that had to be followed with regards to its use. Using email in an efficient and organised fashion was essential when dealing with large, continuous flows of correspondence.

Having never used Newsgroups or Email Lists, I currently have no idea how they are utilised, though I am sure this will change by the end of Module 2.

I used ICQ many years ago and can't recall too much about it, other than it seemed similar to MSN, which I have, but use only on occasion. I think mobile technology has tended to replace my need for MSN, mainly due to it's convenience.



Web Resources:

Mobbs, Paul. "GreenNet CSIR Toolkit Briefing." 2002.http://www.fraw.org.uk/library/005/gn-irt/glossary.html#email_list (accessed March 14, 2007).

"Communicating in the Infosphere."http://webct.curtin.edu.au/SCRIPT/305033_a/scripts/serve_home (accessed March 14, 2007).

Week 3 Objectives

This week I plan on covering the more practical aspects of Module 2 - Communication in the Infosphere. This will involve the required reading, checking the web for additional resources that may be of relevance/interest to the topics covered and completing the Module tasks.

I will also be assessing topics that I think might be suited to my Resource Project.

Module 1 Summary

After being introduced to some of the internet tools in Module 1 and their underlying concepts, I feel that I have managed to gain a better understanding of how having the appropriate knowledge of the internet and its protocols, in both a practical and conceptual sense, can help me to utilise the resources available to me online much more effectively. I was a little anxious about the conceptual requirements of this course and how to interelate them with the practical module topics, however I am feeling much more comfortable with this facet of my studies after exploring the concepts a little more.

I have achieved most of my objectives this week, including completing the first part of my resource project. Initially I was having a little trouble finding appropriate resources for my particular topic, based on the required annotation, however I modified the way I was searching for the information resources that I needed and this gave me much better results.

Looking forward to making a start on Module 2!

Concept 25

Just as we have identities and places of location in the real world, we also have them in cyberspace. However, on the internet, our identities and locations are changing constantly. Whenever we connect to the network we gain a new identity, in most cases, unless we have a static ip address. Being in an age of ever increasing mobility means we can pretty much connect to the internet from many different locations. The Trace Route exercise that we learned in Module 1, demonstrated that even in an ever changing environment such as the internet, we can still have a sense of location and identity while online and that in practical terms, this information can be utilised to our advantage as referred to in Concept 25 - Identity and Location.


Web Resources:

Huston, Geoff. "Who Are You? Identity and Location in IP." November 30, 2006.http://www.potaroo.net/presentations/2006-11-30-whoareyou.pdf (accessed March 11, 2007).

"Internet Communications Concepts Document." http://webct.curtin.edu.au/SCRIPT/305033_a/scripts/serve_home (accessed March 11, 2007).

Concept 24

As mentioned in Module 1, FTP and it's relation to Concept 24 - Client-server two-way interactions, can be used as a good example of how an internet user can have a certain self determination about when and what they do when it comes to information and communication on the internet and when they access/share it. The fact that you have the abilty to upload and download at will, with little constraint, contributes to what is in effect, a widely accessible universe of information and communication available at ones fingertips.

Web Resources:

"Internet Communications Concepts Document." http://webct.curtin.edu.au/SCRIPT/305033_a/scripts/serve_home (accessed March 10, 2007).

Talking about FTP and it's use, I am not fully confident in using it to publish a web page yet. In the coming week, I plan to learn what's involved and practice utilising an FTP program for this purpose.

Concept 23

Concept 23 Human-Computer Interfaces, which we learned in Module 1, is one that I guess many people ponder with respect to human interaction on the internet and how impersonal it can be. It is important to take this concept into consideration if one is going to use the internet for a communication tool amongst other things. I thought the quote, included below, was quite relevant to this topic:

"One must never forget that communication only occurs between people (and corporations in their capacity as people). This may sound like a strange thing for a computer scientist to say, but it is vital to not get distracted by the technology. Computers are null entities in ethical terms. Only how people use them matter." Bowers, Jeremy. "A Communication Model." December 20, 2006.http://www.jerf.org/writings/communicationEthics/node4.html (accessed March 09, 2007).

If we are using the internet on a frequent basis, it is crucial to remember, that not only are we interacting with computers but also humans. By remaining conscious of this fact, we should be able to distinguish between the two and hopefully avoid or minimise becoming too impersonal when using this medium as a method for communication.

Web Resources:

"Internet Communications Concepts Document." http://webct.curtin.edu.au/SCRIPT/305033_a/scripts/serve_home (accessed March 09, 2007).

On a separate note, I started on my Resource Project for Assignment 1 today. Did alot of web surfing to try and find the appropriate information that could be utilised as a useful resource but which also can be linked to a concept. I have posted my project as a new and separate blog. A work in progress......

Concept 27

Reflecting on the historical aspects of the internet and some of its earlier technologies that I learned in Module 1 eg Telnet etc, and relating them to Concept 27 The Persistence of History, one can use these as reference points in relation to maybe getting an indication of where the internet is heading technology wise. Although some Internet Tools of old have been totally superceded, eg Gopher, others have stood the test of time or instead have been transformed and revitalised into todays technology.

If we can have this knowledge of the older protocols as well as where/how they appear in todays internet, whether in their original form or incorporated into something else, then we are better prepared to be able to recognise and identify the appropriate tool for the task at hand, thus allowing us a much more efficient internet experience.

Web Resources:

Wikipedia, "Gopher (protocol)." http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gopher_%28protocol%29 (accessed March 06, 2007).

Pixieware, "About Pixieware® Software ." http://www.pixieware.com/about_submenu.htm (accessed March 06, 2007).

"Internet Communications Concepts Document." http://webct.curtin.edu.au/SCRIPT/305033_a/scripts/serve_home (accessed March 06, 2007).

Week 2 Objectives

This week I thought I would reflect briefly on some of the concepts covered in Module 1 in relation to the topics that were learnt and how they will benefit my future internet use. I will use these as reference points for writing my essay.

Will complete the first part of Assessment 1 (Resource Project) as a word document. Once I decide what electronic format to publish it on, I will copy/paste.

Also hoping to make a small dent in my essay introduction. It has been a long time since I wrote an essay, so want to make an early start and get some practice in while I can.

Module 1 Internet Tools Task

I have used some trace route software in the past once or twice. A few times when my firewall software has come up with an intruder warning, I utilised some software to see where the attack came from. Mainly I was interested to see what part of the world it originated from. This task has explored the data received from the trace in more detail and given me a better understanding of what it can be used for, especially when loacting problems associated with a poor conncetion and where along the line the problem may exist.

Jeremy Nixon states: " Traceroute is the program that shows you the route over the network between two systems, listing all the intermediate routers a connection must pass through to get to its destination. It can help you determine why your connections to a given server might be poor, and can often help you figure out where exactly the problem is. It also shows you how systems are connected to each other, letting you see how your ISP connects to the Internet as well as how the target system is connected." Nixon, Jeremy. "Using Traceroute." September 2, 2002.http://www.exit109.com/~jeremy/news/providers/traceroute.html (accessed March 1, 2007).

TASK 3: INTERNET TOOLS - The purpose of this task was to utilize and explore some of the methods that can be used to monitor internet activity. For this exercise I used an app called Visual Route available from: http://www.visualroute.com/

Using the traceroute tool I was able to trace the route to curtin.edu.au and received the following information:

• Curtin.edu.au was reachable in 12 hops
  
• The average time in milliseconds from the tools site to the curtin server was 58 milliseconds.
  
• The IP Number of the hostname curtin.edu.au was 134.7.179.10

I then downloaded the A-Tool bar and pinged the WebCT site. This showed 5 hops with an average time 1048596 milliseconds per hop.

Then I traced a route from my computer to curtin.edu au. which reflected 12 hops. I actually thought this would have been less, being closer to Curtin that the Visual Route source, but this doesnt seem to be the case.

I was a bit perplexed when it came to answer the last two questions for this task, probably because the VisualRoute software seemed to set out the results from the Trace with a bit more of a description and not just providing data to decipher:

Ping the webct site and compare the time with the time taken to ping from the net tools site. Is it less or more than you expected? The hops 5 using A-Tool bar compared to the 12 with Visual Route. Time in milliseconds, using the A-Tool bar directly from my computer, was on average 1048596, so seemed to take longer on average.
Why? I am unsure why the time difference, as pinging directly from my pc to the webct site should have taken less time than geographically than the time it took using Visual Route which is half way around the globe. Maybe I performed this task incorrectly?

Traceroute from your computer to curtin.edu.au: compare the number of hops with the earlier traceroute.
What sort of differences can you observe? The main difference was the time in milliseconds, seemed slightly less compared to the Visual Route Trace.

Having completed the tasks, I think will be a good idea to do much more reading on the various topics and especially look at them more from a conceptual perspective. Have started making a few notes for the first Resource Project topic, though I hav'nt fully decided what topic to cover yet.

Module 1 FTP Task

I am interested in learning more about the subject File Transfer Protocol (FTP). As I am wanting to explore the field of Web Design, having played around with various aspects of designing a web space in the past, I have always wondered how you publish a web site. So I feel if I can familiarise myself with the software and how it works it will give me a better understanding of the process involved.

Webopedia describes FTP as:

"Short for File Transfer Protocol, the protocol for exchanging files over the Internet. FTP works in the same way as HTTP for transferring Web pages from a server to a user's browser and SMTP for transferring electronic mail across the Internet in that, like these technologies, FTP uses the Internet's TCP/IP protocols to enable data transfer.
FTP is most commonly used to download a file from a server using the Internet or to upload a file to a server (e.g., uploading a Web page file to a server)." Webopedia, "FTP." July 21, 2004.http://www.webopedia.com/TERM/F/FTP.html (accessed March 1, 2007).

TASK 2: FILE TRANSFER PROTOCOL (FTP) - The purpose of this task was to ftp to recall.curtin.edu.au and locate then download a readme file. This would provide the answer to the missing word.

For this task I used an FTP app called Smart FTP available from: http://www.smartftp.com/download/

1. Entered recall.curtin.edu.au in the SmartFTP address bar and selected 'Go'

2. This brought up the directory from where I looked for the README file

3. Located the readme.txt file and downloaded to my computer

4. Opened the readme.txt file and found the missing word which was: CAPITALISATION

I found this exercise surprsingly simple. I always thought accessing a server to either upload or download files would be an extremely comlicated task, but was pleasantly surprised.

Module 1 Telnet Task

After doing some more reading I checked out the Module 1 tasks. Found them quite interesting. I had'nt used any of them before (except for the Trace route) so was surprised that these apps were so straight forward to use and could provide such a variety of information.

In addition to the Module information, I found a very good resource, a site called Webopedia: http://www.webopedia.com/ It's an online dictionary for web/internet definitions and the associated technology. I did a search for Telnet and it came back with the following:

Webopedia states that "(tel´net) (n.) A terminal emulation program for TCP/IP networks such as the Internet. The Telnet program runs on your computer and connects your PC to a server on the network. You can then enter commands through the Telnet program and they will be executed as if you were entering them directly on the server console. This enables you to control the server and communicate with other servers on the network. To start a Telnet session, you must log in to a server by entering a valid username and password. Telnet is a common way to remotely control Web servers. " Webopedia, July 26, 2004.http://www.webopedia.com/TERM/T/Telnet.html (accessed February 28, 2007).

The Module reading also made an interesting point about old technologies such as Telnet and how that even though they may be perceived to be irrelevant in todays day and age they still have a very valid use both directly and also as a historic point of reference as to where this technology has been and how it has or will progress. I found a good comment here that supported this:

Bob Du Charme "It looked like a video game arcade, but their advertisement that you could come in and telnet warmed my heart. I've pushed telnet to places it shouldn't really go for fun and profit, and the ability of this lightweight, thirty-seven-year-old program to poke around into odd places is part of its appeal, even in a time when you rarely need to go far to find wi-fi access for all of your twenty-first century web applications. A lit-up sign on a main street of one of the world's great cities is definitely one of these odd places." Du Charme, Bob. "Quaint, old-world Europe." December 3, 2006 .http://www.snee.com/bobdc.blog/2006/12/quaint_oldworld_europe.html (accessed February 28, 2007).

TASK 1: TELNET - The first task was to find books with the author name Bennahum using a Telnet app to access the Deakin Library database computer.

Had a bit of trouble with the Telnet task at first as I was trying to use Windows telnet which I thought may have been on my pc already. However, it did'nt seem to work so I downloaded an application called Puttytel, (http://www.chiark.greenend.org.uk/~sgtatham/putty/), which was very easy to use.

1. Entered the library Deakin address and selected 'Open'

2. This brought me to the Deakin library database computer where I seleceted A > AUTHOR

3. On this screen I entered the authors name 'Bennahum' and selected Enter

4. On this screen I selected D > Display Title and Locations and selected Enter

5. And this brought me to this page which displayed the authors book title

The title matched the one given in the Self Test, hence the correct answer was "Managed Care: Financial, Legal and Ethical Issues.

TASK 2: FILE TRANSFER PROTOCOL (FTP) - The purpose of this task was to ftp to recall.curtin.edu.au and locate then download a readme file. This would provide the answer to the missing word.

For this task I used an FTP app called Smart FTP available from: http://www.smartftp.com/download/

1. Entered recall.curtin.edu.au in the SmartFTP address bar and selected 'Go'

2. This brought up the directory from where I looked for the README file

3. Located the readme.txt file and downloaded to my computer

4. Opened the readme.txt file and found the missing word which was: CAPITALISATION

TASK 3: INTERNET TOOLS - The purpose of this task was to utilize and explore some of the methods that can be used to monitor internet activity. For this exercise I used an app called Visual Route available from: http://www.visualroute.com/





Using the traceroute tool I was able to trace the route to curtin.edu.au and received the following information:

• Curtin.edu.au was reachable in 12 hops
  
• The average time in milliseconds from the tools site to the curtin server was 58 milliseconds.
  
• The IP Number of the hostname curtin.edu.au was 134.7.179.10

I then downloaded the A-Tool bar and pinged the WebCT site. This showed 5 hops with an average time 1048596 per hop.

Then I traced a route from my computer to curtin.edu au. which reflected 12 hops. I actually thought this would have been less, being closer to Curtin that the Visual Route source, but this doesnt seem to be the case.

Will be posting the first part, based on Module 1 topic, of my Resource Project assignment on a separate blog next week or maybe the WEbCT student space. I will wait for the WebCT sites to become available before I make a decision.