Assignment #6 Conformist or Non-Conformist?

One online space that I interact with daily is the use of Cornell list-serves. Different organizations each have a different list serve where you can discuss upcoming events and situations with people who are also in the organization. When I started thinking about social norms and standards, this was the space that came to mind. The social norm of the list-serves is to always stay professional. Any inappropriate language, back lashing, or derogatory statements are not tolerated at all. Even if you are criticizing someone's work, you must do so in a professional and polite manner. People come to know these norms by being a part of the organization and reading emails they receive. They learn as time goes by that the emails sent to and from members are never inappropriate and always have a certain decorum.

The Leviathan is the power, or person, that enforces these norms or standards, and consequently punishes those who do not abide by them. In this instance the Leviathan is usually the person in charge of the list-serve. In most cases that is the president or secretary of the organization. The Leviathan enforces these norms by first "arching an eyebrow". If someone goes against these norms and perhaps says something like "your idea is stupid, are you an idiot?" The president or secretary might respond to the e-mail saying "we do not speak to people like that on the list serve, please show respect for all members". The Leviathan can further respond to inappropriate behavior by actually removing the person from the list-serve. The person would no longer be able to send or receive e-mails associated with the organization.

The idea of the Leviathan definitely relates to the theory involving conformity that Wallace describes in Chapter 4. We learn that people on the internet are less likely to conform, than people in face-to-face communication. This definitely explains why there is a need for a Leviathan. Because people are more likely to stray away from social norms, there needs to be a power that keeps the psychological spaces intact. Without a Leviathan, in theory everyone would rebel from norms, and there would be very few structured spaces online where people can communicate effectively. Leviathans are a large part of the internet space, because they allow our interactions to exist. Without Leviathans the amount of non-conformers would grow immensely and we would have no way of controlling it. People would curse each other out on list-serves without having any consequences. People would post pornographic pictures on Facebook, without ever getting reprimanded.

In CMC we are not forced to the see the people we are interacting with and we feel more free to express how we really feel without holding anything back. This freedom also entails more people straying away from norms, and breaking rules or standards that exist. Because people are less likely to conform, there needs to be a Leviathan that keeps some sort of order in place.