Getting to Know You: Using Hostility to Reduce Anonymity in Online Communication

The complex relationship between language and identity has been exhaustively examined. However the relationship between language and anonymity—which may or may not be identity’s doppelganger—remains under theorized. Scholars addressing computer-based communication often treat anonymity as almost binary (communication either lacks social cues or “identities” are disclosed). These scholars argue that because many Internet messages “lack” social cues, computer-based communication will likely be hostile (Kiesler, Siegel, & McGuire, 1984; Sproull & Kiesler, 1986; Tannen, 1998; Thompson & Nadler, 2002). This assumption leaves anonymity ill-defined and underestimates the amount of personal information that appears in naturally-occurring, online conversation (Walther & Burgoon, 1992; Cherny, 1999; Baym, 2000; Lange, 2003; Tannen, 1998; Herring, 1996a, 1996b). The claim that hostility stems from anonymity in online encounters is problematic because it fails to account for the myriad non-hostile interactions that routinely occur between anonymous speakers on the Internet. Further, this claim cannot explain why “hostility” often erupts between people who know each other well onand/or offline.