(Im)politeness in Digital Communication

Abstract

This chapter examines (Im)politeness in digital contexts, exploring the dynamics of mediated communication, and the ways that (Im)politeness is understood and (re)negotiated within digital environments. Beginning with an overview of (Im)politeness research, it examines aspects of mediated communication (e.g. degree of a/synchronicity, degree of anonymity, etc.) and how these affect interactional strategies. It discusses (Im)politeness in specific digital platforms (e.g. email, discussion boards, etc.), the ethics of studying computer-mediated communication (CMC), and practical matters concerning data collection and analysis. The case study uses online gaming interactions to assess how we understand digital impoliteness and attempt to control it through robot moderators versus human moderators. The chapter concludes with questions about differences between face-to-face and digital interaction, and the effects of increasing multimodality on the ways we perceive and negotiate (Im)politeness.