My Online Community
I aimlessly wondered the Internet trying to find a community suitable for me. I wasn’t sure what I was looking for. I have many interests, but I really don’t have a strong passion for something. So I decided to join a community in which I could express myself as a teen and talk about general issues. I joined the mtv.com community. There I expressed my thoughts on everything, ranging from music to daily events that shape our world. There I had a chance to share my opinions and beliefs, as others posted their thoughts and perspectives on certain subjects. Online communities are rather congruent to offline ones. They are both appealing yet displeasing at the same time.
An online community means different things to different people. For some, it conjures fuzzy, warm images of people chatting and helping each other. For others, it produces dark images of conspiracy, dissident and criminal behavior, sick perverts and invasion of privacy. At first, I was a little sketchy about joining a community. I wasn’t too fond of talking to strangers and posting my thoughts on certain subjects so hundreds of people can read them. I could be talking to someone, and everything they say could be a lie. I wouldn’t feel like I was having a real conversation, because someone can say he or she is something, when in reality he/she is a twisted and demented human being, who takes pleasure in harassing people online. Each day on the community was different. Some I enjoyed, and others made me despise the idea of ever having to return to the same site the next day.
I was in no hurry to join a community. So on day one, I browsed the Internet, looking for a community I would feel comfortable in. After I f...
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...find fascinating and form a close bond, and then there are those who you find disagreeable and find pleasure in “raping” you.
Communicating via the Internet is no substitute for actual human interaction. But online communities do enable meaningful communication among people separated by distance and time. Many people in today’s society look to online communities for comfort. They visit it daily, and spend many hours talking to people they have never met in person. I have no interest in going back to my community. I didn’t feel the warm, fuzzy feeling of people chatting online. Some people can be rude and annoying, and that is something I just don’t want to deal with if I don’t have to. I enjoyed posting my thoughts on certain subjects on the message boards, but I didn’t enjoy reading some rude responses just because I didn’t agree with the person’s view.
Sparta had very different values than that of societies today. Located on Peloponnese, a peninsula in southern Greece, it slowly grew enough to be considered a city-state. The people there valued military more than morals. The Spartans owned helots and fought against an army much bigger than theirs and everyone died but stopped the Persians using the phalanx. The strengths in Sparta’s education system outweigh the weaknesses because boys were taught the proper attitude, to care for and use their bodies, and how to be prepared for whatever comes their way.
Finally, I discussed the effectiveness of these comparisons and contrasts in embellishing Mr. Barlow's discussion about communities. In all, I believe that even though nowadays people don't really care anymore, and communities are dwindling away we can still have heart and find people that still care for one another even if that has to be online.
In ancient Greece during the 7th and 8th centuries, different armies and cities were fighting for control of land and power. During this time period, it was very gruesome and many people died because different states wanted to expand their control over new territories so they could gain more power. With all the different armies and militaries fighting for control, there was one that stood out as the elite of all militaries, Sparta. Quickly Sparta became known throughout Greece as the most highly disciplined and coordinated militaries in the world.
The Federal Reserve System is the central bank which regulates and controls the monetary and banking system. Their primary focus is to regulate the health of the economy as a whole and implements monetary policy to help increase the money supply during a downturn, and restrict the money supply during periods of excessive growth. During periods when the economy faces high inflation, federal reserve will use contractionary monetary policy by decreasing money supply which in turn results in higher interest rates, lower investment spending, and lower consumer spending. In contrast, when the economy encounters a recession, federal reserve will utilize expansionary monetary policy by cutting interest rates or increasing the money supply to boost economic activity. During expansionary monetary policy, higher investment spending will raise income and higher consumer spending will help the economy. A tight (contractionary) monetary policy occurs when Federal reserve (central bank) raises the
As a result of Germany’s strong leaders, the country was able to take the world by storm and make it to the top. In 1938, TIME Magazine named Adolf Hitler their Man of the Year, declaring that “Herr Hitler reaped on that day at Munich the harvest of an audacious, defiant, ruthless foreign policy he had pursued for five and a half years.” It is to be understood by TIME’s perspective that Hitler was on top of the world; practically unstoppable. His unique foreign policy pushed the reversal of the Treaty of Versailles, the unity of everyone who spoke German, and the reinstatement of all lost German territories. As a result of Adolf Hitler acting upon his policy, “he had torn the Treaty of Versailles to shreds. He had rearmed Germany to the teeth— or as close to the teeth as he was able. He had stolen Austria before the eyes of a horrified and apparently impotent world” (TIME). Hitler had completely achieved the goals of his foreign policy. In addition, h...
The Greek city-state, Sparta, was an isolated and military-based society. Commerce among other states was discouraged. Life of Spartan citizens consisted of military training and service. Education consisted mainly of rigorous military training which began early in life for male Spartans. The major sciences such as philosophy and math were ignored. The only thing important to the Spartans is developing its army.
The web has spurred communities exclusive to nerds. "News for nerds. Stuff that matters," reads the slogan of popular blog Slashdot. This blog, which receives 5.5 million visits a month, reports on “Linux, Technology, Games, Apple, and Science”. Voted on Yahoo in 2001 as the “Best Geek Hangout,” it has truly created a community for nerds to discuss their interests. As a result, the site sees active participation from its readers who discuss with others around the world with similar interests. These virtual conversations provide an outlet for visitors to express interests that they wouldn’t otherwise have been able to. Unlike other popular blogs, Slashdot publishes user submitted content alongside editor created. Because the minimum threshold of knowledge needed to contribute to the d...
Although the United States conflicts with other countries in many ways, one of the most controversial is the legal drinking age. Over the years, there have been many arguments on whether the age should be raised or lowered. Some citizens feel that twenty-one is not mature enough to handle the effects of alcohol, while others feel that twenty-one is too long to wait. Should the legal drinking age of the United States be raised to try and ensure more responsibility and maturity? One could think that the drinking age of twenty-one should be old enough for everyone to be responsible enough to handle the effects of drinking. However some people are also not against lowering the drinking age because if eighteen is old enough to vote on decisions in your community and country, why is it not old enough to decide if you want to consume alcohol or not?
As an American, when you turn eighteen years old, you’re legally allowed to enlist in the military, get married, buy tobacco, and have the right to vote. With having these responsibilities under your belt, many would assume the age to drink alcohol would be 18, but in America, you are not allowed to legally drink alcohol until you are 21. As many people turn 18 and enter adulthood, they should be able to make their own decisions about alcohol consumption. It should not be up to the government to dictate whether what age is appropriate to drink legally at, or let alone tell an adult what he or she can/cannot consume. From college parties, painful break-ups, the stress of
Cordner, G. W., & Scarborough, K. E. (2010). Police administration (7th ed.). Albany, N.Y.: LexisNexis/Anderson Pub.
The public sphere has been falsely represented as a virtual place where one can share and debate opinions; ...
Law enforcement agencies serve the community in the form of enforcing the laws written by the legislature. They protect the people, prevent crime, and protect civil rights and liberties. The laws written by the legislature are ever changing and adapting to the world we live in. The law enforcement agencies carry out these laws with enforcement and judicial side handles those individuals that have broken these laws. Law enforcement agencies have multiple functions and sizes depending on geographical size and the population of the city/ county. The roles in a county agency may differ from a city or municipal agency. Counties have to cover larger geographical areas as compared to the municipal or city agency that is only responsible for the incorporated areas. The agency with greater availability to financial support is the agency that has the means to devise a team to focus on certain crime areas. All departments regardless of size must have someone at the top of the rank structure. A police department operates much like the military in which structure and chain of command is implemented. Quasi-military is a term used to describe the rank structure of today’s police departments (Grant and Terry 2012). From the bottom to the top of the r...
Social media is used by many people, young and old around the world as a way to communicate. Our lives have become so busy that it is difficult to maintain family and social relationships. “They use social networking sites including Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, etc. On these sites users create profiles, communicate with friends and strangers, do research and share thoughts, photos, music, links and more” (Social Networking). With the use of social media you can be friends with all sorts of people without actually seeing or knowing them. “In many ways, social communities are the virtual equivalent of meeting at the general store or at church socials to exchange news and get updated on friends and families” (Cosmato).
Social networking has now introduced an innovative way of attaining these norms through virtual communities on the Web. Socialization prepares us for our life experiences. It can be considered a reverential foundation for society. We may not agree to some rules in society, but without socialization a civil society would cease to exist. In addition, any influence on the socialization process has a profound effect on how we function as a community, with some of the more notable discovery’s being email and instant messaging.
Everyone has their own perception of an ideal community. For each person the factors of an ideal community will vary depending on their upbringing. My understanding of a community is a place where a group of people live, and socialize. Everyone is caring, thoughtful, and respectful. In my community people take care of each other they think before they act, and are respectful to one another keeping in mind equality.