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Triangulating Anonymity, 2Channel and Densha Otoko by SANDRA

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Geeks and Creeps in No Name Land: Triangulating Anonymity, 2channel and Densha Otoko by SANDRA YOUSSEF B.A., Mount Holyoke College, 2004 A THESIS SUBMITTED IN PARTIAL FULFILLMENT OF THE REQUIREMENTS FOR THE DEGREE OF MASTER OF ARTS in THE FACULTY OF GRADUATE STUDIES (Anthropology) THE UNIVERSITY OF BRITISH COLUMBIA (Vancouver) October 2009 © Sandra Youssef, 2009 ABSTRACT This thesis examines anonymity online by analyzing the Japanese story “Densha Otoko” in the context of its locus of origin, the online forum 2channel. I argue that the collaborative value of the Densha Otoko narrative hinges on the technological infrastructure provided by its host forum. This infrastructure not only arises from specific technology developments, but also in turn emphasizes freedom of expression over identification. Focusing on the values linked to, and socialities engendered by anonymity in computer-mediated communication, I argue that: First, anonymity is popularly viewed as creating negative results for society at large, as expressed in public opinion of 2ch in general. However, anonymity can also be portrayed as having positive results for individuals, for example in the Densha Otoko narrative specifically. Secondly, anonymity on 2channel – in conjunction with other infrastructural aspects – facilitates ‘individual’ expression and creates a locus for freedom of speech via the elimination of personal identification. Finally, anonymity, in this case study, engenders sociality by drawing on notions of security and privacy. ii TABLE OF CONTENTS ABSTRACT......................................................................................................................ii TABLE OF CONTENTS..................................................................................................iii ACKNOWLEDGMENTS ................................................................................................iv I. INTRODUCTION......................................................................................................1 II. SELF, ANONYMITY, SECURITY AND PRIVACY ................................................6 III. 2CHANNEL, TRAIN MAN AND ANONYMITY ..................................................24 IV. TECHNOLOGY AND ANONYMITY.....................................................................33 V. CONCLUSION ........................................................................................................43 BIBLIOGRAPHY ...........................................................................................................46 iii ACKNOWLEDGMENTS There are many people to whom I find myself deeply indebted at the end of this journey. I would like to express my most sincere respect and gratitude to my supervisor, Dr. Millie Creighton, who has guided me with unfailing honesty, and shared some wonderful cups of coffee with me. Dr. Patrick Moore has been of invaluable help, as committee member, sounding board and provider of food for thought as well as literal sustenance. Thanks go equally to Dr. David Edgington, who graciously joined my committee on such short notice, gave me a different perspective, and with whom I have shared a few very enjoyable bus rides over the years. Dr. Michael Blake has facilitated the navigation of this thesis process, and Dr. Brian Chisholm has contributed highly thoughtful comments. For spending time together, exchanging thoughts, discussing passionately, sharing smiles as well as articles I would like to thank Dr. Jon Beasley-Murray (who tore through this thesis like a pirate on a raid), Dr. Renisa Mawani, Dr. Bill McKellin, Dr. Bruce Miller, Dr. Anand Pandian, Dr. David Ryniker, Dr. Tom Kemple, and Dr. Felice Wyndham. You have made a very deep impact on me. For helping in so many different ways to navigate university, visa application, health insurance procedures, above and beyond the call of duty, my heartfelt thanks go to Radicy Braletic, Kyla Hicks, Michele Jayasinha, and Dan Naidu (who has accompanied me as a good friend these last few years). For supporting me through their friendship, great debates, greater outings, food for thought, thesis advice and so many more things without which Vancouver would have been merely the city of rain, I am grateful to Natalie Baloy, Eleni Berger, Bonar Buffam (wingman and stupefying editor), Marie-Eve Carrier-Moisan, William Flynn, Dylan Gordon, Susan Hicks (who edits amazingly), Cornel Pop, Ofelia Ros, Larry van der Est, Ana Vivaldi (the other wingwoman in this unlikely combination), and Rafael Wainer. I would like to offer this piece to my family, who waited so patiently for me to finish, and have helped support me financially in dire straits; to the Internet and all its residents: anonymous, pseudonymous, and – even more importantly, because I am one of them, and no one writes of us – lurkers. iv I. INTRODUCTION One of the most intriguing properties of anonymity is precisely its disembodied nature. Anonymity is often viewed as negative or threatening when it is coupled with action; for instance, the lack of faces or names is disconcerting when we are confronted with a (potentially hostile) crowd. Conversely, anonymous spaces in online as well as offline venues (such as online support groups or Alcoholics Anonymous gatherings) are also perceived as empowering people and having a positive impact on an individual level. In literature studies, texts written by ‘Anonymous’ authors have been drawn on to analyze key questions such as authorship (for example Buurma 2008) or ownership and fame in different cultural contexts (Lefevere 1992:27). The Japanese narrative Densha Otoko (or ‘Train Man’ in English) is an online collaborative work of exchanges between anonymous forum users, eventually edited into novel form by one such online user and then published (Nakano 2004). Not merely an anonymously created literary work, it is rather the corporeal and thus tangible product of anonymity as a mode of sociality, cohesively linked to the technological and sociocultural environment in which it was conceived. This thesis examines anonymity online as a mode of sociality in the case of Densha Otoko and the online forum it was conceived in, 2channel, by analyzing its technological features and social impact, as well as the more theoretical links between anonymity, security and privacy. I argue that anonymity, as a mode of communication, is itself value-free, but the ways in which it is used online can be perceived as either good or bad. I use the case study of Densha Otoko and 2channel to show the ways in which technology facilitates anonymous expressions, and in turn the positive and negative associations linked to these. In this thesis, I try to provide an anthropological perspective to discourse on anonymity online while utilizing social psychology, in highlighting the importance of a deeper understanding of the cultural dynamic, and therefore incorporating an anthropological linkage that includes Japan in analyses of Internet anonymity. This thesis also introduces insights from other fields, specifically social psychology and 1 computer-related studies, to anthropology, where anonymity online is just beginning to emerge as a theme of interest. Due to its scope, not all sources can be fully incorporated into this text. My research has encompassed, to name a few areas: the Densha Otoko novel, movie, TV show, one comic version, various Densha Otoko discussions which were not included in the novel, websites and blog posts discussing the reality of the Train Man as well as reader and viewer reactions to the narrative. I have also examined interviews with 2channel’s founder, discussions of 2channel in Japanese as well as English-language media sources including newspapers and a radio show, and replications of the 2channel forum style in English-language contexts, videos and messages produced by a group titled “Anonymous” springing from these replication forums. Generated on the Japanese online forum 2channel, Densha Otoko (電車男) may be considered a heartwarming and powerful – as well as allegedly ‘real’ – narrative. Posting anonymously on a discussion thread1 for single men in 2004, a self-proclaimed typical Japanese otaku (an extreme fan of comics, games etc. with connotations of social ineptitude similar to the concept of ‘geeks’ in English, but even more derogatory) solicited the help of other 2channel online users over the span of several months in the pursuit of romance. He excitedly narrates in his first post how, for once in his life, he had shown courage: He had stood up to and stopped a drunk man on the train who was sexually harassing a group of middle-aged women, and one young woman. Soon, Densha Otoko, who was given this nickname by other users, signed back on and recounted that he had received a thank-you gift from the young woman, a set of expensive Hermès teacups. Feeling an inkling of hope at having connected to a woman for the first time in his 22 years, Densha Otoko turns to the thread readers for help. They coax him into calling the woman, whom they refer to as Hermes, and inviting her for dinner. Giving advice on a make- over, hair-cut, clothing, and reminding him to shower, pluck his eye brows, and trim his nose 1 The terms ‘discussion thread’ or ‘threaded discussion’ refer to the way in which software displays electronic discussions for its users by visually grouping together messages, usually by topic. Each such group of messages under a single topic is called a topic thread or, more commonly, ‘thread’. 2 hair, the anonymous users of the thread, send Densha Otoko
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