Mainstream Rebels: Informalization and Regulation in a Virtual World

Abstract

This paper discusses the relation between informalization and regulation with respect to work related social interaction on the Internet. At focus are the dynamics and tensions between informal and standardized codes of conduct. We question the idea that virtual, mediated, communication differs substantially from ‘real’, face-to-face communication. One way to approach this tension between informality and standardization is to further investigate the relation between the virtualities achieved through electronic means, and the “real life” situation of those people creating these virtual worlds. These investigations have been made through fieldwork at Apple computer in Sweden, California, US, and France, where online and offline communication among professional software engineers and other Apple employees was studied. To grasp how computer professionals communicate while forming the basic structures of the Internet, participant observation has been made at meetings arranged by organizations involved in the process of defining and organizing the Internet, such as the Internet Engineering Task Force (IETF), the Internet Society (ISOC) and the Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers (ICANN).