🚀 go-pugleaf

Hey Ho IRC Users!
	
	My name is Sean Rintel, and I'm a postgraduate student in the English
department at the University of Queensland in Australia.  I am writing a
thesis on IRC conventions, and as part of it, I am gathering some
perceptual data in the form of a questionnaire.  I have enough male
subjects (20), but need six more female respondees to make up my quota.  
This project HAS received ethical clearance from the University of
Queensland's Ethics committee, so this is NOT a troll for females for any
underhanded dealings.
 	
	If you use IRC, and are interested in helping out, here is some
information about me, and what I'm doing.

	I've been using and researching IRC for about three years now.  Initially
I was an addict, but after reading Elizabeth Reid's _Electropolis_.   
_Electropolis_ was a good early account of some social aspects IRC, and
pointed to a need for further research - which is where I come in.  I wrote
my Honours thesis about IRC in 1995, looking at the way users manage their
conversations on IRC. Following on from that, I have just had an article
called  "Strangers in a Strange Land: Interaction Management on IRC"
published in _Human Communication Research_.  I wanted to tell you what I
have done *not* because I am an egotist, but because I want you, as a
potential subject, to know that I am *not* a complete novice either to
using, or researching, IRC.

	Essentially, I want to find out what conventions there are for
communicating on IRC.  I have, in past, made some assumptions about these
conventions, but now I want to see if data will bear them out - or prove me
wrong and make me work twice as hard!  As such, I was hoping that you'd be
prepared to fill out my questionnaire.  

(1) 	Q.  Will it be a lot of work?
	A. No.  The questionnaire should take about 3/4 of an hour to complete,
and that's all that is required.  You won't be asked for information again
unless you check the box saying that you want to.
 
 (2) 	Q.  How will the researcher ensure privacy?
	A. Only myself and my supervisor will see the raw data.  In the finished
product, and any subsequent academic publication, *all* identifying
features (nicks, addresses, place and people's names, events etc.) will be
rendered *completely anonymous*.

  (3)	Q.  Will subjects receive any recognition?
	A. All subjects will be thanked as an anonymous group in the
acknowledgments section of the thesis.  However, if a subject wishes to be
acknowledged, then they will be named as they wish.  Those who participate
can choose to be updated on what I find, in about a year's time.
 
	If this sounds do-able, then please drop me a line at sean@irc.org.au or
S.Rintel@mailbox.uq.edu.au and I'll email the questionnaire straight to
you, as well as answer any questions you might have.  

	Thanks in advance,

	Sean.