Hello and a Call for Abstracts

[Diane Penrod]

I just wanted to say "hey" and that this list is an excellent idea.
Thanks to those who began the project.

Also, I'm soliciting a call for abstracts for an essay collection I'm
putting together. Some of you may be interested in contributing. If so,
please contact me if you have questions. The call is listed below.

Please forward to interested individuals
                        CALL FOR ABSTRACTS: NEW ESSAY COLLECTION

        I am working on a project entitled _WebTalk: Writing as
Conversation_
that a few publishers have expressed interest in. I am looking for
theoretically-informed essays (15-20 pages finished length) that address

various conversational aspects of writing in cyberspace (email
correspondence, MOO, discussion lists, hypertext, etc).

        Possible topics include (but are not limited to):

        -- conversational turn-taking/interrupting techniques in live
chat or MOO space
        -- storytelling techniques in hypertext or discussion lists
        -- the use of humor in networked communication
        -- the place of silence or "lurking" in networked communication
        -- the construction of alternatively gendered or alter-ego
identities
                in specialized electronic  discussion settings
        -- the use of slang/argot/jargon in the formation of community
in
                electronic space

Other topics are welcomed as long as the focus of the paper centers on
writing as conversational tool in electronic environments.

        All theoretical approaches are welcome. Writers who are involved
in
discourse analysis techniques, quantitative studies, and technical
writing contexts are especially of interest. Please do not submit work
that is primarily anecdotal.

        Abstracts of 500-750 words are requested by July 15, 1999.
E-mail
submission of abstracts are fine. Those writers whose abstracts are
selected for inclusion will be notified by September 1, 1999. Completed
papers will be expected by December 15, 1999. Any accepted paper must be

in Chicago-style format.

        Please send all inquiries/abstracts to

                Dr Diane Penrod
                College Writing Department
                College of Communication
                Rowan University
                Glassboro, NJ 08028

                penrod at rowan.edu