It is my belief that through the interactive forms of the day that society evolves. This thesis is a study of the use of text-based communication as it is used in chatrooms in the period between 1998 and 2001, the life of this thesis.
Conversation is very much about negotiation.
Negotiation in conversation is based on turn taking. This thesis on electronic communication is being undertaken at the same time as chatrooms are becoming used more and during a time of change in how they are used and rapidly evolving software which will change the nature of chatrooms from the way they are discussed in this thesis and with what they will become. My interest in electronic communication is first and for most an interest in communication. Having done the 60s in the States with all its bits and pieces I came in contact with others who were interested in a global mindset. I lived in Greenwich Village in New York City in the mid-1960s.