The Formation of the Beginning of Dialogue in Anonymous Online Communication

Abstract

The main purpose of the article is to track and analyze the correlation of technical and semantic aspects of anonymous interaction on the web. The initial phase of communication between two interlocutors in the “Anonymous VKontakte chat” is empirically investigated. Combining the conceptual and methodological resources of conversational analysis and membership categorization analysis, as well as the theory of affordances adapted to technical objects (in this case, anonymous chat), the author defends the concept of the order of statements of anonymous interlocutors for successful interaction. Most visitors use the chat to search for short-term romantic and/or sexual communication, therefore, at the beginning of the correspondence, the interlocutors often seek to identify each other's gender identity using typical statements. The importance of having the first row is noted, since it is he who, with a high degree of probability, gives the priority right to ask a question about the gender identity of the interlocutor. However, this right does not negate the fact that sooner or later (rather sooner) the owner of the first turn will have to answer the questions of the interlocutor, so the anonymous interaction under consideration, through the communicative efforts of actors organized in the next order, tends to information symmetry.