Argues that humor serves a critical ethos function in online communities created by mailing lists. Connects what humor theorists already recognize as a social dimension in joking to the contemporary interpretation of ethos as a constitutive force. Applies the model to the rhetoric of a university writing center mailing list. (SG)

Argues that humor can be accomplished in computer-mediated communication and can be critical to creating social meaning online. Analyzes the humor of the USENET news group rec.arts.tv.soaps (r.a.t.s.), which discusses soap operas. Combines user surveys with message analysis to show the prevalence and importance of humor in r.a.t.s. (RS)

Finds that joking in computer-mediated communication constitutes a hybrid form of discourse, mingling the conventions of print and speech. Notes that students use typography and space to better capture the rhythms and inflections of oral joking, but such joking instantly organizes participants into hierarchically differentiated groups, creating…