Where the tale meets the bit: Computer technology and folklore research

Computer technology has been applied to folklore research for over half a century. The methodology behind this use has been highly influenced by folkloristic theory---most notably structuralism. This study presents an analysis of computer use in folklore research---from a historic and a practical viewpoint. As our relationship to computers has evolved over time, so has folklore's relationship to the new technology.;The history of folklore's use of computer technology is analyzed side-by-side with the rise and subsequent fall of structuralism as a popular theoretical application. It is the belief of the author that the two fields developed symbiotically.;Literary hypertext theory is viewed from the point-of-view of the folklorist, with the author maintaining that hypertext theory might better be studied under the auspices of folkloristics.;An experiment is made in the creation of "Russian Folkloristics" and "Zavetnye Skazki" computer ontologies. This section demonstrates the practical application of computer technology and Knowledge Management techniques toward the analysis and presentation of a folkloric knowledge base.;A computer-based community is approached from a folkloric angle in a study of a Russian online text-based gaming community. The Russian MUD Bylina has a rich tradition of jokes, folk communication, stories and songs that are transmitted in an online forum. A new form of computer folk genre, the log, is also discussed.