Menu-Driven Identity Workshop Response

1. Which categories are available for users to choose from when signing up for Hotmail, Yahoo! Mail or in order to use the Second Life gameworld? What presumptions do these categories make about users, and what does the absence of certain categories of identity say?
4. Are any of the websites you've visited inherently racist? Why or why not?

When people want to sign up an email account, same kind of information they need to put in for registrant, so do in Hotmail and Yahoo! Mail. Both of the email services require similar data to sign up, such as first name, last name, gender, date of birth, and state/post code. However, are those information true? And are those information able to describe a person?

When people send me email, the data of the sender will be the name, the email and the ID (like the Yahoo ID, i.e. the name appear before the @xxx.com). A question raise up, why I need to fill in my gender and country code? Is that ‘male’ and ‘female’ already enough for all people? What about the transgender and intersex? Moreover, in those internet service, e.g. Yahoo, no matter you sign in to email, knowledge or some newsgroup, people are not represented by their name, but the Yahoo ID, then why I still need to input some useless data?

Furthermore, I think the email address had already indicate the race of the user, such as hk, jp, nz, au, and uk. I can say it’s a kind of racism but just separating different nation people, although what they do is trying to help different nation’s people to use the service more easily. One of the website Takarazuka http://kageki.hankyu.co.jp/ all in Japanese, they do have the English version, but it didn’t consist as many information as Japanese, I know those play might target on Japanese, then why translate it in English and lack of information?

How many email accounts you got? I got five, one from HKU SPACE, one from UWA, and three from Yahoo! Mail, beside the college emails which representing OiYing Man, those three email account are representing different ‘me’: Candy Man, Ying Man and also Pian. So, which one is representing me? All of them, but just different identity.

Reflective Post

Ruminations on Cyber-Race by Jerry Kang

In the tutorial presentation, I began with a question:
‘Have you being racial discriminated before?’
But seems like none of my classmate being raced by someone. In my presentation I did point out the major argument from the reading and try to explain to my classmate.
How we map each other into racial categories?
- Our law and culture provide a list of racial categories
- We collect data through our senses to map the individual to a category
- Mapping triggers meanings – cognitive beliefs about and affective reactions to people in these racial categories.
Moreover, I did explain those three racial mechanics. Abolition, Integration and Transmutation. However, after study this article, I think no matter which method we try to present the ‘RACE’ or re-define ‘RACE’, there is always have the racial unequal treatment, and keep reinforce the stereotype of the mediated race distinctions. The discrimination and unequal are also exist.

Workshop --- Menu Driven Identities

Qusetion 1

When signing up for Hotmail and Yahoo! Mail, we have to type our birth, name and mail's address. Besides, we also have to choose which country we are living in and our gender. There are limitations when choosing the country and gender. Most of the choices are name of countries but we can see Hong Kong is also a choice for choosing beside China. If Hong Kong, a tiny place, can be counted should Beijing and Shanghai or other regions of China also be a choice for choosing? This show that the webs assume Hong Kong like Taiwan that is separated with China Although Hong Kong is part of China’s. And the gender section is also in narrow limitation. The choices is only male and female which is seen as normal as we get used to it in filling form for identity cards, passports or other identity form. The form does not expect other type of people to appear on the net for example transgender. It also appears in Second Life gameworld. There are limitations when choosing different characters in only male or female gender.

Question 2

In Lavalife, although we are allow to choose different countries and regions to show where we live, when we start searching for friends, all of them show their countries as living in Australia. It seems that this site runs base on Australian and other countries seeker is invisible or seen as others. There are similar problem of narrow limitations of the gender selection that only has male and female to choose from.

Reflective Post for the Use of Weblogs and Self.Net

The literal meaning of the word "Weblogs" in Hong Kong is online dairy. The translation of this word is really bad. In general, the use of weblogs functions as online dairy in Hong Kong. I am not sure whether it is relate to the bad translation or not. In fact, the use of weblogs is not only function as online dairy. The functions of Weblog are highly specified: for example, online daily, politic, journalism, academia and so forth. As we required posting the six mandatory posts on the Weblog, it offers us an opportunity to practice the use of Weblog. We can see others classmates' posting in the Weblog. It is great. Their posting can be given more than one interpretation, so that I can get some news idea from their posting. In addition, I can made response to them.

The idea of cyborg made a great impression on me. Initially, I interpret cyborg as robot. After the class, I realize that cyborg can be defined as a hybrid of machine and organism, a creature of social reality as well as a creature of fiction. At that time, I also did not believe that I am cyborg. However, Verdy has explained that if someone who wears glasses, the person is regard as the cyborg too. I wear glasses and contact lenses. I use skincare product. Thus, I am a cryborg. I seldom put on make-up and I uphold nature. I think I am nature, but, in fact, I am not nature. Actually, the skincare brand, NATURE'S, is not nature.

All in all, I enjoy this course. I think it is worthwhile to study this course. I liked the topic of playing game most about the unit in general. I also liked the topic of digital gender. It offers me a chance to understand and rethink about the relationship between the identity, gender, race in the digital age.

Reflective Post for Self. Net/Identity in the Digital Age

In this class, I studied about practice relating to the way issues of identity and diversity interconnect with are constructed by communication online; and they are connected to sexuality, race, class, gender and other markers of difference.

On the other hand, I liked topic is about Weblog or Warblog. Before this class, I know blogs is personal and online dairy. But, when I know that Weblog or Warblog is comprises a lot of things. For instance, that often updated websites with the most new items at the top of the website have recently paying attention a great deal of media attention, ranging from proclamations that they transform journalism and the media more broadly. In addition, Weblog or Warblog is a new form of news, although it does not change place traditional news sources by creating an altogether part to them. As a result, there is little foundation for the view among some that Weblog or Warblog will supersede professional news.

Menu-Driven Identity Workshop Response

Response to Question 1

Hotmail has a similar system to the Yahoo! Mail. The user must fill in users' first name, last name, sex (male or female), date of birth, when signing up for these mailboxes. Regarding to the sex, this system presume that users are either male or female. Any user, such as transsexual, who did not fit this category was ignored by the system.

Besides, there some questions differ from each other. The user must fill in their country (region) when signing up for Hotmail, and there are lists of categories for them to choose. The setting limits other possibilities. The categories this system provides might not cover any country or region all over the world. Moreover, the setting disregarded the users who are mixed nation. I remember that once I try to signing up something else, the system offers me a list of country to choose, but it does not contain Hong Kong. So, what should I do? Eventually, I force to choose China. This experience is similar to the situation I mention above. On the other hand, users must fill in the ZIP/Postal code and preferred content (ask you to select the local yahoo site from this list that best meet users’ content needs) when users signing up for Yahoo! Mail. I think this setting is better than the Hotmail system. It did not contain the question I have mentioned above.

Second Life has different system to the sign-up for Hotmail and Yahoo! Mail. Users need to creating their first name, and choosing the last name from the list provided. The system emphasizes that users should provide an accurate birth date and uses a real email address. Interestingly, this system presumes that users will provide false information in order to use the Second Life gameworld. In this sense, the users can create an identity they want and broadcast in the Second Life.

Response to Question 2

People categorize and present themselves from sex, age group, ethnic background, and body type. These various categories make their online identities are presented in the Lavalife. The categories of age come first and then there are race and body type. The profiles displayed in Lavalife presume that all users will want to know about the age of potential partners first. Then, users will want to know the location and ethnic background of their potential partners. I have try to searching for different users profiles. I have chosen I am female and searching for female too, and the age group is within 18-24. There are 12 result located. Most of them are western and write women. There are one mixed, one black and one Asian. Noteworthy, the black woman did not locate her ethic background. It shows that the majorities of users for Lavalife is western and write people.

Sing's Reflective Post

Nowadays, we're all living in the online community world. The possession of a computer set is no more a source of pride for a family in all over the world. Most of the families, own a computer set. Everyday, we have an internet access in order to get the information, playing online games, share ideas and chat with others. Besides, after we have watched some popular TV programmes, we have plenty of talking points to discuss when we meet our friend on the internet. It's one of the reasons why many of the forums and online community being established.

In the presentation, I want to ask some questions which related to the theme. E.g. does it still exist the gender or race inequality on the online community? Online community is just like a Utopian aspiration or we can only treat online community as a chat room for us to share and exchange the ideas and knowledge. To conclude, we can say that online community has its own advantage or function and it's now still developing in an unstoppable rate in our daily life.

Workshop --- Menu Driven Identities

The sign up of Hotmail and Yahoo! Mail, the categories are available for users to input the essential information such as first name, last name, preferred content, country, gender and date of birth. In addition, Hotmail and Yahoo! Mail are explains the real identity. It needs to input the real information such as name, gender and country etc. On the other hand, the Second Life gameworld‘s just available for users to input the first name. The Second Life gameworld is dissimilar to the Hotmail and Yahoo! Mail, as the Second Life’s users can to input the false information such as name for the gameworld. So, the Second Life is the absence of real identity in gamewould.

In the website of the Lavalife's, if we want to be a member, the users need to input fulfill on the essential information such as country, city, gender and date of birth etc. This website can see the majority of the background photos are western men and western women. Also, the members are the most of western people and simply a few members who come from Asia. So, this website should be improves more members for the Asian users choose.

Tutorial Presentation: Online Community/ Interactive Audiences?

I have chosen Henry Jenkins's 'Interactive Audiences' to my tutorial presentation topic. Nowadays, the new media constitute and develop quickly through the telephone, satellites and computers that allow the messages and information spread globally at an unstoppable rate. Pierre Levy offers a compelling vision of the new knowledge space which called‘the cosmopedia' to explain the tendency of online community.

Online fan communities are the most fully realized versions of cosmopedia. As a genre of Science fiction online community, it's fostering popular awareness of contemporary scientific breakthroughs at a moment of accelerating technological development. Many significant science-fiction writers and film-makers emerged from fandom such as George Lucas and Steven Spielberg. They create forums for debating interpretations, sharing their ideas and expanding a community’s productive capacity. On the other hand, amateur film-makers have used this digital technology to achieve fan cultural production. Amateur film culture has already made an impact on the commercial mainstream. It may also initiate many innovations in popular culture in the future.

Lastly, I agree with the online community now is taking replacement of the older communication technology such as postal service. By going online, it can demonstrate timeliness and responsiveness and the other social problem like race.

Workshop - Menu Driven Identities From Sing

Lavalife is a dating site from Australia. As we can see in the cover page, we need to input some basic information such as sex, purpose, gender and country so on. If you want to be a member, you have to fulfill on it. Members should put their photos and write down some notes in order to attract more visitors. Dating/Relationship/Intimate look like a slogan of this site.Through this slogan, members can search their target more directly.We can see most of the background photos and display of lavalife are men or women. It seems that homosexual or others are not accept in this site.I have tried to be a homosexual and searching a man in the site. but there is only a few members for me to choose. It should be improved and increased in the future. Also, there is only a few members who come from Hong Kong on the site because this is a foreigner dating site. As a result, Asian is not the dominant group in Lavalife.

Workshop IV - Menu Driven Identities

Through MSN and Yahoo, the categories of countries and passwords, name and birthday are available to user to sign up but the Second Lifegame world only available to choose the user first name. There is no choice for Last name categories. The second name section was compulsory to fill but no suitable choice for me. There is no choice for different races. It seems has a racial discrimination as the site presumed the users are western. Otherwise, according to yahoo, there are some assumption for the user, for the section of preferred content it assume that the relation between countries and language, that means if you are certain countries you are suppose to know the certain kind of language.

Through the website of Lavalife , it categorize people to only female and male. The sorts of identity present on Lavalife are categories by the design of the site. Identities are constructing by the division of races, age group the location, language they speak, hobby. Further, there are 3 kind of relationship presumed for the people, for the choice of relation, then the more information is required such as income, children.

Presentation on Self.org II: Playing Games, Sim(ulating) World & Having Divine Powers

I have chosen Mia Consalvo's "Hot Dates and Fairly-Tale Romances: Studying Sexuality in Video Games" selected from week 11 for tutorial presentation. As the popular attention to games is make broader from only considering violence to thinking about sex. The main theme of this tutorial reading is talk about the sexuality in video games. Consalvo's has used different theoretical approaches to studying sexuality in video games. Consalvo pointed out that it is important to see both representations and game-play in studying sexuality in games. She quoted from game theorists such as Janet Murray and John Banks, "a game is not simply a text to be read, but an experience to be had." Thus, we have to consider the performative level of game play.

Consalvo indicated "while heterosexuality is often the dominant sexuality portrayed in games, this 'representation' or 'performance' can be subverted both through the actions of the player and the structure of the game itself." Consalvo has examined two games in this reading, which are Final Fantasy IX (2000) and The Sims (2000).

In the Final Fantasy IX, the heterosexual nature of the theme was implicit. It is a very traditional "fairy-tale". When taking game-play into account, sexuality in this game might probably allow for homosexual readings. The exact happen is depending entirely upon the game player. It all about somebody else desire what the story should be.

In The Sims, on the other hand, players can test the sexuality of their Sims in the game world. However, if players do not wish to challenge the heterosexual nature, players will likely to take no notice of these potentials. Consalvo has argued that this game in some ways challenges the norms of heterosexuality, and however, in the other ways reinforces them.

Workshop - Menu Driven Identities

When we want to sign up for Hotmail, Yahoo! Mail or Second Life gameworld, there are some basic information we need to provide unless we cannot continue. For instance we need to input the surname, name, sex, date of birth and country. Secondlife have two parts for register, the different between Hotmail and Yahoo! Mail is user needs to input the real self’s information and the name for the game. It can be illustrates that the real identity and the “net” world identity are different supposedly in Secondlife. This reinforces the “tradition” in the virtual community that people would not use the real name to meet other.

Furthermore, there is the interesting thing about the category of “country” that user needs to input. For the category of “country”, Hong Kong, Taiwan and China are provided also, but how about Tibet, Inner Mongolia? As Hong Kong is not a country, but it appears in the list, then why those minority group are disappeared? Besides, when we need to input the first name and last name, the last name one is the list that we need to choose and all of them are the westerner name, if I am Chinese, what can I choose?

Also, in Lavalife's, as we need to fill the categories: sex, seeking target and their age range, and the purpose (casual dating, relationship and intimate encounter). The result is they are westerners and Australian, as I select different purposes, there is the same result. It seems that what even you choose, “they are” what you can choose.

Comment on Yahoo Mail and Hotmail Service

Yahoo Mail
Yahoo Mail provides the choices for the register to choose the specified region for their Yahoo sites. For example, if you are located in Hong Kong SAR, you are able to choose this option to immediately modify your Yahoo IP to the Hong Kong IP. Hotmail does not provide this option.

Hotmail
Hotmail, possibly embodied the service for providing business information for users, provides a checkbox for the register to choose whether they have the intention to receive the information by checking “I won or work with a small business”. Additionally, the time zone is required to choose according to the register’s situation. If you are in the biggest country such as U.S. or Japan, you have also to provide for Hotmail what county or state you are located, while Yahoo Mail does not.

Brief Conclusion
Both Hotmail and Yahoo Mail require registers to provide some privatized information including birth date, gender, first name and last name, etc. Similarly to Lavalife, although the register is not necessary to faithfully fill in the information to reflect their truth identity for convinience or making friends, this does constitute the grounds for the mail service provider to make use of the information in order to have their usage, possibly not in the willingness of the user. But the user does not have choice to choose because once they desire to have access to the service, they have to firstly click the button to agree all the terms or conditions presumed by the service provider. Once the user uses the mail service for serious intention such as business interaction with clients or partners, all the parties within this user’s circle will be influenced by, for instance, e-mail forwarding, virus, advertisements, etc., but at the same time, the information provided should not be untrue. Indeed, no protecting mechanism is now workable for this situation to avoid any kind of disturbance unexpected by the user.

Reflective Post for Self. Net

At the beginning of this class, it is full of confusion. Before I study, I assume it is similar to computer application course. However, it is talked about identity, cyborg, virtual space; and they are related to gender and race also. The most impressive topic is about cyborg. When I know that cyborg is includes many things, for example, as I wear eyeglass, I am a cyborg too. Besides, I am surprise that technology is around us everywhere. Through the technology development, we develop an Internet space, I think everyone should be equal as they will not know the others nationality. But, actually, it would through the name and language reveal his/her nationality. This is the thing that I had never thought. As we start to use the blog to post our assignment and reflective post for our presentation, I practice the use of blog. The function is different with the online dairy. I can through the blog to get some new ideas through other classmates' posts.