| This is a study of Usenet, a collection of social cyberspaces in which people gather, interact and exchange digital objects. The anarchic social structure of Usenet makes it a perspicuous setting for the study of the endogenous emergence of social structure, order, cooperation, conflict and collective action. I report the results of data mining a large collected set of messages exchanged during the year 2000 through the Usenet. Variations in the size, structure, and dynamics of these newsgroups are reported as well as visualized in an effort to present a holistic overview of this emerging social space. These data and images illustrate a range of naturally occurring social processes that highlight the fact that Usenet is a global system with complex structures and multiplex interrelationships at multiple scales. |
