Doing A Digital Ethnography Project On The Term "SJW"

[awatteau]

Hello members of the Escapist forums!

I am an undergraduate anthropology student at the University of Arizona, and this semester I am doing a digital ethnography project on the term "Social Justice Warrior." I?ve seen the term on multiple websites and want to explore its use through an anthropological lens. This site uses the term, so I was hoping I could register an account and ask users about it.

So I guess this thread serves two purposes: An introduction to myself and a discussion on the term ?Social Justice Warrior.? I chose to post this in the Off-Topic Discussion because I want the discussion to get off-topic, ethnography has a focus on informal conversation (I don?t want you guys to simply answer my questions one by one, as if I were giving a sort of survey).

The first purpose is hardest for me because, honestly, I don?t know quite how to introduce myself or the project I am trying to work on, because I don?t know exactly what form the project is going to take. I might contribute to discussion on other parts of the forum, or this might be my only post. I might completely abandon the interest in the term ?SJW? and focus on something else. I?m an undergrad who hasn?t done ethnography before, let alone ethnography in a digital ?place?, so this is a learning experience (this also means I'm open to advice!).

The second purpose I think is pretty intuitive: Have you heard/scene the term ?Social Justice Warrior?? If yes:

Where and when have you heard/scene it?

How would you define its meaning and its origins?

What is your personal opinion on the term?

Also, returning to the topic of a ?digital ethnography? in general, I?d also like to know some more personal things about members of the forums. Things like:

How long have you been a member of this forum?

What brought you to make an account?

What other ?online communities? have you been/ are you currently a part of?

Where are you from physically? How old are you? What?s your gender? Ect (obviously only if you feel comfortable answering that stuff)

Do you know people in real life who are members of the same online communities as you?

What are you political and religious affiliations?

I hope this post doesn?t come off as intrusive or anything, if it does please tell me bluntly and honestly. Thanks for reading this if you did!

Tl;dr: What does ?Social Justice Warrior? mean? and Who are you in real life?



EDIT:

I posted a similar (well, word for word) thread on the Penny Arcade forums, and it got locked within the hour with the comment "Hi! We are not a data collection resource! Thank you!". I'm a bit fearful I'll get the same reaction here.

So I'm struggling with my approach. I could have made a temporary account and asked simply "I've been seeing the term "Social Justice Warrior" appear, what exactly does this mean?" But I feel like that would've been dishonest (and, honestly, a little suspicious- I could easily google for previous conversations).

Can I use you guys as a "data collection resource"? I will not record your real usernames, nor do I think the end result of the project will be published widely. I am an undergraduate experimenting with methodology of digital community research.

 

[zen5887]

I think academic surveys are a-okay here. uhh, I think.

Anyway

Spoiler: here we go!

Have you heard/scene the term "Social Justice Warrior"? If yes:

Yes

Where and when have you heard/scene it?

Various places on the internet, mostly geek-orientated sites (Reddit, videogame forums, that kind of stuff). I only started hearing it within the last few years.

How would you define its meaning and its origins?

It's a negative term for somebody who is into, however intensely, social justice. I think it's supposed to like, devalue or dismiss someones opinion regarding social justice. It really only ever pops up when people are talking about feminism though. I've never seen anybody called a "SJW" for standing up against racism or ableism or wealth disparity or any other topic under the social justice banner

What is your personal opinion on the term?

I think it's childish and a lazy way to for somebody to say they don't like feminism.

Also, returning to the topic of a "digital ethnography" in general, I'd also like to know some more personal things about members of the forums. Things like:

How long have you been a member of this forum?

Since early 2008, I think.

What brought you to make an account?

A friend of mine from high school made an account and the other forum I was apart of at the time fell apart so I moved here. I stopped coming for ages between like.. 2011 and a few months ago, but I guess I'm back?

What other "online communities" have you been/ are you currently a part of?

Facebook, Reddit, Tumblr, Twitter.

Where are you from physically? How old are you? What's your gender? Ect (obviously only if you feel comfortable answering that stuff)

I'm in Brisbane, Australia. I'm 24 and male.

Do you know people in real life who are members of the same online communities as you?

I know a handful of people from Tumblr and Reddit (and obviously facebook), but for the most part I haven't met them.

What are you political and religious affiliations?

Lefty socialist I guess, and no religion.

Hope that's what you're after.

 

[Nieroshai]

Be warned, this thread may become inundated with those who believe the term is just a derogatory label for people "willing to stand up." This forum itself fights over whether the term itself is legitimate, and what it actually represents. I simply mean to say The Escapist is only just above 4chan for being a reliable source on this for a paper.

 

[Hazy992]

Yeah sure, I'm happy to answer

Spoiler

Have you heard/scene the term "Social Justice Warrior"?

Yes

Where and when have you heard/scene it?

Forums, Know Your Meme etc.

How would you define its meaning and its origins?

Well originally I believe it was a derogatory term for anybody who vehemently and aggressively campaigns/blogs on the internet for social issues such as sexism, often to their own detriment.

What is your personal opinion on the term?

I think the original definition (as I understand it anyway) has merit. People don't respond well to being shouted at and insults being thrown at them, so the people who engage in that sort of behaviour are kind of shooting themselves in the foot by acting that way. Nobody wants to listen to them.

The problem is that it's become so corrupted and so diluted that anybody who dares to even hold any feminist or progressive ideology are labeled as an SJW.

How long have you been a member of this forum?

Joined in 2010, became more active around the end of 2011.

What brought you to make an account?

Simply wanting to join in on an online community/forum.

What other "online communities" have you been/ are you currently a part of?

Reddit, NeoGAF, lurk on 4Chan occasionally.

Where are you from physically? How old are you? What's your gender? Ect (obviously only if you feel comfortable answering that stuff)

21, cis male from the North of England

Do you know people in real life who are members of the same online communities as you?

Yes but I knew them before that.

What are you political and religious affiliations?

I'm a bit of a lefty both socially and economically. I guess I'd describe myself as a liberal.

No religion (atheist).

 

[dragonswarrior]

Ha!! I'll give it a shot.

Spoiler

Have you heard/seen the term "Social Justice Warrior"

Yep.

Where have you heard/seen it?

Internet mostly over the past year or so. Actually I don't think I've once encountered the term outside of the internet.

How would you define it's meaning and origins?

Ha! This is an interesting one for me. It's origin? Certainly an insult for those who support Social Justice causes. What it means now? ... Someone who supports Social Justice causes. Either as an insult or as a badge of honor.

What is your personal opinion on the term?

I think that most people who use it as an insult are off their rocker. Don't get me wrong, I know there are some folks out there who think they are doing Social Justice work but are actually totes crazy. I feel however that calling them Social Justice Warriors is almost too much of a compliment. How the hell is being involved in Social Justice a bad thing? Yeesh. If you want to call out crazies, call them crazy.

So I have taken the term and wear it as a badge of honor. Because to be involved in Social Justice is never a bad thing. ... Unless you're doing it wrong of course.

How long have you been a member of this forum?

Joined at the beginning of 2012, though I had been lurking for a little over a year before that.

What brought you to make an account?

I really really liked the Escapist community. And the website. Both seemed the friendliest to my personal views that I had ever encountered online.

What other "online communities" have you been/are you currently a part of?

None, actually. I only am here on The Escapist.

Where are you from physically? How old are you? What's your gender?

23, cis male from Washington DC in the USA.

Do you know people in real life who are members of the same online communities as you?

Unfortunately no. *sad face* They all went and joined different communities for some reason.

What are your political and religious affiliations?

I am a raging SJW who is also an athiest.

 

[Eclipse Dragon]

EDIT:

I posted a similar (well, word for word) thread on the Penny Arcade forums, and it got locked within the hour with the comment "Hi! We are not a data collection resource! Thank you!". I'm a bit fearful I'll get the same reaction here.

So I'm struggling with my approach. I could have made a temporary account and asked simply "I've been seeing the term "Social Justice Warrior" appear, what exactly does this mean?" But I feel like that would've been dishonest (and, honestly, a little suspicious- I could easily google for previous conversations).

Can I use you guys as a "data collection resource"? I will not record your real usernames, nor do I think the end result of the project will be published widely. I am an undergraduate experimenting with methodology of digital community research.

From how I understand it, as long as you include discussion value in your topic, you should be able to avoid having it locked here. (that's assuming the thread doesn't get locked for other reasons). If you're looking for other places to ask, you could also try Tumblr. The term "SJW" provokes some very strong opinions there.

 

[murrow]

Well, this should be fun.

Spoiler

Have you heard/seen the term "Social Justice Warrior"?
Yes, I did.

Where and when have you heard/seen it?
Mostly in interned forum threads, political blogs and Facebook pages. I think the first time I came across it was a few years ago. Can't pinpoint when exactly.

How would you define its meaning and its origins?
SJW seems to be a derogatory term given to people who engage in discussions under various banners related to minorities' rights. I've seen it applied to critics of sexist, racism and national discrimination. 'SJWs' are often related to 'political correctness', the application of positive discrimination to language and everyday acts. Critics of political correctness tend to be the main critics of SJWs.

In Brazilian media, the term Patrulha (patrol, often purposely spelled with a capital P), short for patrulha ideológica (ideological patrol) or patrulha do politicamente correto (PC patrol) is employed with the same meaning.

What is your personal opinion on the term?
It does refer to a very real behavior and it seems to me very pertinent. But people have taken offense to it and it has recently been cast in bad light. For the sake of reducing polarization, I'd suggest people to drop it, unless they are being purposely offensive.

How long have you been a member of this forum?
Since earlier this month. I've been reading the site for the past four years or so, though.

What brought you to make an account?
The #Gamergate scandal. I was reading an article about Magic: The Gathering (the Hexproof column), saw a big thread about someone named Zoe Quinn in one of the site's pop ups and decided to read about it. After a few weeks informing myself about the whole episode, I decided to create an account and give my input

What other "online communities" have you been/ are you currently a part of?
I'm not part of any community at the moment. I was pretty active at Bioware Social Network until 2012, and at Magic League around 10-12 years ago.

Where are you from physically? How old are you? What's your gender? Ect (obviously only if you feel comfortable answering that stuff)
I'm from São Paulo, Brazil. I'm 23 years old and I'm a man.

Do you know people in real life who are members of the same online communities as you?
As I said, I'm not a member of any community at the moment. But, back at middle-school, my Magic-playing friends were also members of Magic League.

What are you political and religious affiliations?
Politically, I'm a Libertarian. Religiously, I'm agnostic

Hope that helps you. Good luck with your research.

EDIT: Spoiler warning added

 

[MysticSlayer]

Where and when have you heard/scene it?

I've only seen it used online, predominantly on forums that have plenty of people from both sides or those that hate Tumblr. I've never heard it used in a serious discussion that's not taking place online.

How would you define its meaning and its origins?

I don't know where it came from.

What is your personal opinion on the term?

It seems to be a derogatory term used to describe those that campaign for social justice movements online, but it doesn't always seem to be used to reference exclusively to those online.

On the flip side, many people that have been insulted as being "SJWs" seem to be adopting the term as a mark of pride. In other words, while some people make fun of them for campaigning for social justice, they see it as a mark of being a moral person.

As a result, the terms exact meaning seems to depend on who is using it. If the person is an opponent of social-justice movements, then it is probably being used as an insult. If the person is part of the movements, then it is a mark of pride. Regardless, it predominantly references those that take social justice campaigning online.

Personally speaking, I don't mind describing myself as an SJW. While it does sort of paint a picture of a more aggressive person than I am, I don't think I have to be ashamed of doing things like supporting feminism online.

How long have you been a member of this forum?

I think a year and a half.

What brought you to make an account?

I came here because of Yahtzee and Jim Sterling. When I found the forums, I lurked for a long time (at least a year) and eventually got tired of reading all the interesting discussions without participating.

What other ?online communities? have you been/ are you currently a part of?

I was part of a Halo clan for a few years. I've also been heavily involved in the Medal of Honor and Battlefield communities in the past. I've also been involved on a few odd forums for different game companies.

Where are you from physically? How old are you? What?s your gender? Ect (obviously only if you feel comfortable answering that stuff)

I'm a 22 year old white, heterosexual, cis male from Florida.

Do you know people in real life who are members of the same online communities as you?

I think I've seen someone on here mention that they are from the same university I go to, but I don't actually know if I know them. I also have a friend who was familiar with Zero Punctuation, but I don't know if he actually posts on here. Outside of that, no, I'm not aware of knowing if any of my real-life friends are part online communities I'm part of.

What are you political and religious affiliations?

I'm a Reformed Christian. I tend to attend churches belonging to the Presbyterian Church in America (PCA). I also have been part of the Evangelical Free Church in America (EFCA) in the past, but it's hard to find churches in that denomination, which is part of the reason why I attend PCA churches. The PCA just happens to be the denomination that I both most closely agree with and is easy to find regardless of where I live.

As for my political views, I'm officially part of the Democratic Party, but my views are slightly closer to that of the Green Party.

 

[Quadocky]

The second purpose I think is pretty intuitive: Have you heard/scene the term ?Social Justice Warrior?? If yes:

Where and when have you heard/scene it?

I have seen it used as a pejorative against people who are typically liberal or savvy towards feminism/social justice ideas or schools of thought. Its typically used as a way to divide certain people from others, the SJWs in this case being a sort of corrupting force with undue influence in society at large or something goofy like that.

How would you define its meaning and its origins?

In the political history of the internet, tons of tech nerds (mostly male) acquired libertarian views. Anyone who does not subscribe to their views is labeled as authoritarian or some other derisive labeling that implies such. Since Tech nerds use the internet in droves and define the dialog of the internet in many cases, the 'SJWs' were the defacto enemy as they have a completely different worldview and hold themselves to different standards. As such, the unthinking hoard of vulgar liberals and libertarians see the 'SJWs' much as any society sees the 'Enemy' both incredibly powerful and all reaching, but at the same time utterly un-intelligent and lesser. Nowadays, most of the muckracking is done by youtube personalities like the Rush Limbaughs of old AM radio and misguided people follow suit.

What is your personal opinion on the term?

Its a hollow smug pejorative. Given that the people they label SJW are a minority on the internet its easily adopted as a badge of honor because its an ad-hominim. If people feel threatened by the idea that video games should be more inclusive, or heck, society in general should be more inclusive, well I guess I AM a social justice warrior. Lastly the adoption of SJW is mostly ironic because 'SJWs' typically advocate literal care-bear love and peace stuff.

Also, returning to the topic of a ?digital ethnography? in general, I?d also like to know some more personal things about members of the forums. Things like:

How long have you been a member of this forum?

Whatever my reg date is. But I have lurked a bit before.

What brought you to make an account?

The first big Anita thread brought my attention because I felt my view wasn't being shown at all. So I dove in rather high-horsedly. Most of the misunderstanding of course (in all cases usually) came from the fact nobody really understood Feminism, and of course when I tried to correct people I was rebuffed with the typical "NO, Feminism is actually really a movement set on destroying something yadda yadda female supremacy yadda yadda YOU'RE NOT MY MOM!!!"

What other ?online communities? have you been/ are you currently a part of?

I am an internet hobo really. I feed off the scraps of certain fandoms or largely established websites.

Where are you from physically? How old are you? What?s your gender? Ect (obviously only if you feel comfortable answering that stuff)

California, 23, dudebro.

Do you know people in real life who are members of the same online communities as you?

Nah I don't have friends in real life. I am social anxiety.

What are you political and religious affiliations?

Liberal (I guess? I just like sticking with good ideas.) I am a Christian Scientist.

I typically don't agree with people who expouse 'conservative/libertarian' ideals because either 1. They are incredibly disingenuous (I.E Glenn Beck's of the world) 2. Seems morally reprehensible at a certain level.

 

[BloatedGuppy]

Urban Dictionary tracks the term as early as 2011. The predominant use of it appears to be as a pejorative. The only place I've ever seen it actively employed is on these forums, although I imagine it can be found elsewhere as well. I've only ever seen it used as a pejorative here, save for one or two cases of individuals saying "Hey, I believe in social justice!" and asking why it was a pejorative (much in the same way "White Knight" was applied as a hostile term). In my admittedly limited experience, SJW appears to stand in as a genderless replacement for "White Knight" whenever someone needs a quick and lazy insult for an individual or group that they feel are too liberal, too sensitive, or too vocal about both. At best I've seen people offer up some rendition of "Well if I can't use Social Justice Warrior, what other term can I use to insult and generalize about my target?"

How long have you been a member of this forum?

Can't recall. A few years.

What brought you to make an account?

Can't recall.

What other ?online communities? have you been/ are you currently a part of?

Reddit. Imgur. A variety of individual forums for specific games.

Where are you from physically?

Vancouver, British Columbia.

How old are you? What?s your gender?

39M

Do you know people in real life who are members of the same online communities as you?

A few, yeah.

What are you political and religious affiliations?

Predominantly liberal. Not religious. Agnostic at best, which is a fancy way of saying "basically an atheist".

I hope this post doesn?t come off as intrusive or anything, if it does please tell me bluntly and honestly.

It did! You BASTARD! What gives you the right?! WHAT GIVES YOU THE RIGHT!?!?!?!?

No seriously though it's fine WTF. We get threads like this all the time.

 

[Redd the Sock]

Guess I'll play

Where and when have you heard/scene it? On this forum, everyone has heard it.

I see it on other forums, youtube vids, stuff like that

How would you define its meaning and its origins? What is your personal opinion on the term?

I still use the term for extremists. I hear the term and my mind runs to the interpretation of Wonder Woman in DC's Kingdom Come story where she was devoid of her usual innocence, pacifism, and diplomacy, instead being full of anger, willing to kill, and possessed of a "my side or else" mindset. Online, I think there are people that want to be angry at something for the imperfections in their lives, mistake the fact the world doesn't revolve around you for oppression and irrational hatred, and take to the internet to go "woe is me" hiding some very selfish attitudes behind more noble causes. Others support the mindset to improve their careers, webclicks, or self esteem by helping the "downtrodden" by similarly being angry (rather than do something more tangible or actively trying to solve the problem).

How long have you been a member of this forum?

April 2010 if my bio is correct.

What brought you to make an account?

I must of felt I had something to say on something.

What other "online communities" have you been/ are you currently a part of?

actively, none. I lurk the gamefaqs forum for news and stuff.

Where are you from physically? How old are you? What's your gender? Ect (obviously only if you feel comfortable answering that stuff)

Canada, late 30's white male with disability.

Do you know people in real life who are members of the same online communities as you?

Some of my friends watch the same videos I do, but few really like forum chatter.

What are you political and religious affiliations?

left of center, agnostic.

 

[awatteau]

Thank you all so much for your responses! Last night I was incredibly worried my approach was too direct, so I had a huge sigh of relief when I saw your responses.

So a couple trends I've noticed so far is that the term isn't seen much offline, and that it came into use the past couple of years. Agree/disagree? Two things I'm wondering right now are: 1. Which came first, the use of the term as pejorative or the use of the term as personal identifier? 2. What websites use this term the most?

Be warned, this thread may become inundated with those who believe the term is just a derogatory label for people "willing to stand up." This forum itself fights over whether the term itself is legitimate, and what it actually represents. I simply mean to say The Escapist is only just above 4chan for being a reliable source on this for a paper.

Honestly, I think it's that "fight" that I'm interested in, and The Escapist (from what I've seen after some brief lurking) seems good at having reasoned conversation even when the discussion gets political. Although your post does make me wonder: What do you think a good "reliable source" would be? Also, could you point to a time on this forum when the term was used/debated?

In the political history of the internet, tons of tech nerds (mostly male) acquired libertarian views. Anyone who does not subscribe to their views is labeled as authoritarian or some other derisive labeling that implies such. Since Tech nerds use the internet in droves and define the dialog of the internet in many cases, the 'SJWs' were the defacto enemy as they have a completely different worldview and hold themselves to different standards. As such, the unthinking hoard of vulgar liberals and libertarians see the 'SJWs' much as any society sees the 'Enemy' both incredibly powerful and all reaching, but at the same time utterly un-intelligent and lesser. Nowadays, most of the muckracking is done by youtube personalities like the Rush Limbaughs of old AM radio and misguided people follow suit.

I really like the way you write. Could you (or anyone else, really) expand more on "the political history of the internet"? Also, could you (or anyone else) give examples of these youtube personalities?

 

[Silence]

There you go:

Spoiler

Have you heard/scene the term "Social Justice Warrior"?

Yes

Where and when have you heard/scene it?

First tumblr, then other websites.

How would you define its meaning and its origins?

As I said, I heard it first on tumblr - actually already with a very negative connotation. People who were really open and liberal used it to describe extremists (that means people who would decry every not carefully crafted word as sexist, racist or ableist) on the site.

What is your personal opinion on the term?

Well, as the term was used negatively all the time I read it, it is basically now synonymous with "radical extremist, more on the left political side".

How long have you been a member of this forum?

New.

What brought you to make an account?

I wanted to join an english-speaking nerd community site.

What other "online communities" have you been/ are you currently a part of?

Many. German gaming forums. Tumblr. Blogging communities. Self-help forums.

Where are you from physically? How old are you? What's your gender? Ect (obviously only if you feel comfortable answering that stuff)

german, 23, male

Do you know people in real life who are members of the same online communities as you?

Only from the german communities.

What are you political and religious affiliations?

left and liberal (not that I agree with everything on either position), agnostic

I would like to add an anecdote: I left tumblr after being insulted by someone I didn't know, because I called autistics "not retarded". Yes. not retarded. Because I used the word retarded. And I was trying to meet people over tumblr who are like me - probably autistic.
So, that are the people I have seen the term used for. People who insult you because you used a word, not even once reading the context of your own post.

 

[Mikeybb]

Hello members of the Escapist forums!

I am an undergraduate anthropology student at the University of Arizona, and this semester I am doing a digital ethnography project on the term "Social Justice Warrior." I?ve seen the term on multiple websites and want to explore its use through an anthropological lens. This site uses the term, so I was hoping I could register an account and ask users about it.

I'll try to answer what I can.

Where and when have you heard/scene it?

In many places.
It's becoming used more often and almost always in a derogatory sense.

How would you define its meaning and its origins?

My definition was informed by how I witnessed it's first usage.
This was by someone commenting on a website that gathers various links of both serious and funny nature to share with other users.
If my memory serves it was used in a comment on the link, which was reporting on someone being very offended by people 'culturally appropriating' dreadlocks.
They used the term in a way to describe a combination of 'social justice activist', self explanatory, combined with 'keyboard warrior', someone who fights specifically on the internet.
The implication was that the fights picked by these people are more often than not trivial and blown out of proportion.

This was the definition I carried forward from that exposure.

What is your personal opinion on the term?

I've grown to dislike it and am actively trying not to use it.
Adopting shorthand terms for any group of people is at its worst dehumanizing of people you should be trying to understand, but more often than not applies a sweeping, generalized label that doesn't quite fit any individual component of a group and is poor way of defining people in general.

How long have you been a member of this forum?

I joined in response to Gamergate as this place offered a forum to discuss matters without heavy handed moderation enforcing omission of opinions in the thread.
I had lurked for a very long time and been a regular reader of the forum, as well as a regular viewer/reader of Escapist content.
The silence on issues that was being enforced elsewhere made me curious enough to make an account and comment, but it was the 'gamers are dead' articles that made me a more active participant in the thread here and Gamergate at large.
This had the added result of me being more active in other parts of the forum that I'd always just read instead, additionally joining the publisher program to support The Escapist.

What brought you to make an account?

As above.

What other ?online communities? have you been/ are you currently a part of?

I used to be a daily reader of RockPaperShotgun, and commented very infrequently.
I lurked everywhere there was game news to read, but that site I used to visit daily and read everything they had.
Now I am here and visit other sites less frequently, occasionally commenting too.

Oh, and steam too, but who isn't these days?

Where are you from physically? How old are you? What?s your gender? Ect (obviously only if you feel comfortable answering that stuff)

I'm not willing to answer this question.
It would ruin the mystique of being an international cockroach of mystery.

Do you know people in real life who are members of the same online communities as you?

Only through steam.

What are you political and religious affiliations?

Left with a anti authoritarian leaning.
I have, in honesty, become somewhat apathetic towards politics as my life has gone on, but I never miss the opportunity to vote for what little it does.
I've never voted for a conservative government.
I severely doubt I ever will.

As to religious, some days Atheist with Agnostic tendencies, other days the Agnostic elements are stronger.



I hope you can draw something from this to help in your study.
It may be an idea, if you find that you receive poor responses to answering in this format via forums, to attempt to reformat to a anonymous poll site, or create an email specifically for people to send their own anonymous answers to.

Right now there is a lot of concern regarding doxxing.
Even if this wasn't the case, there's all the reason in the world these days to be cautious regarding personal details.

Of course, that precludes you the option of shifting from a quantitative state of information collection to a qualitative stage with selected respondents, but at least you'll be able to gather a wider range of information if the method of approaching forums proves to have a low response.

Good luck in your studies.

 

[James Joseph Emerald]

Interesting. I have an anthropology degree, and as part of it I did an undergraduate thesis where I did a netnography (or digital enthography as you call it) on hacker culture. Got an A. Let me know if you want some advice. I could point you toward some references. Also, lecturers love over-complicated terms like "computer-mediated communication". Makes them feel validated.

One thing I learned is that netnography is so new, lecturers are a lot more interested in it as a concept, rather than any one thing you choose to focus on. The majority of my thesis discussed a framework for applying anthropological theory to the online world. The actual part about my "participant-observation" of hackers was comparatively small.


Anyway, to address your question, I think the meaning of "social justice warrior" is pretty self-evident. Though as of late it seems to have evolved into some kind of epithet.

 

[PromethianSpark]

Have you heard/scene the term "Social Justice Warrior"?

Yes

Where and when have you heard/scene it?

First time was from a jimquistion episode surprisingly.

How would you define its meaning and its origins?

I understand it to be a ridiculous term devoid of any real meaning other than an attempt to slander. That is to say that it is a discursive tool/instrument aggressively used to construct an imaginary group of people who are besieging 'Us', 'the real Gamers', by labeling and othering those who are its target. It originates no doubt from a will to do these things, but perhaps more importantly because their is little discursive room to do anything else due to the moral bankruptcy of their position. After all, no one can say, 'No, I actually hate women and think they should be represented like that', or disagree with someone advocating the rights of the underprivileged in a public forum and expect to be taken seriously.

What is your personal opinion on the term?

Covered it mostly above. The short answer is that I loathe its intended meaning by those who use it in the manner I described above.

How long have you been a member of this forum?

2009 I think. I have never been a big forum person ever. I sometimes browse, I sometimes post. I seldom stay interested enough to maintain a long conversation. Most of my posts are a result of stumbling home drunk and getting into a controversial argument. I wake up the next morning and no longer care about what was firing my blood and getting me warnings the night before.

What brought you to make an account?

I really like the escapists content, and it was a site that seemed to represent what I felt at the time was my culture. It still represents Gamers/Geeks, I just don't know if I identify with them anymore. I have been playing with the idea of leaving this site for quite awhile now due to certain things.

What other "online communities" have you been/ are you currently a part of?

I used to be very into WOW. Funny enough, that actually started as an ethnography for a sociology dissertation, but I went native in a big way! I'm lucky I graduated tbh.

Where are you from physically? How old are you? What's your gender? Ect (obviously only if you feel comfortable answering that stuff)

Northern Ireland, 27, male

Do you know people in real life who are members of the same online communities as you?

I had several friends who played WOW, and one of my brothers was in the same raiding guild as me.

What are you political and religious affiliations?

Left as they come, and an atheist only in so far as I do not believe in a higher power.

 

[PromethianSpark]

One thing I learned is that netnography is so new, lecturers are a lot more interested in it as a concept, rather than any one thing you choose to focus on. The majority of my thesis discussed a framework for applying anthropological theory to the online world. The actual part about my "participant-observation" of hackers was comparatively small.

I got accepted to do a Sociology PhD about the digital construction of self and other online, using the Northern Irish identities as a case study. I tired of academia before it started, and decided against it. However, I was and still am pretty convinced that it was approved on methodological grounds more than anything else. Many social science departments are just falling behind in this area, and are looking for someone to bring them up to speed.

 

[Robert B. Marks]

For history, I would strongly suggest taking a look at Father Charles Coughlin and his magazine "Social Justice." As one of my friends better versed than I in the 1930s pointed out, for much of its early use in the 20th century, the term "Social Justice" was actually used by a movement that we would identify as antisemitic and fascist today.

 

[SnakeTrousers]

Spoiler: INCREDIBLY IMPORTANT DATA

- Where and when have you heard/scene it?

Mostly here, a few times on twitter, in Cracked articles on GG

- How would you define its meaning and its origins?

Couldn't tell you origins. As far as meaning it's a kind of pejorative for those perceived as pushing a hypocritical politically correct agenda, though obviously many are not so specific with its usage.

- What is your personal opinion on the term?

Its dumb, and I'd advice those trying to make a case for GG to avoid it if they want the people they're debating to take them seriously.

- How long have you been a member of this forum?

I've been lurking around here as far back as 2007, when I was first shown Zero Punctuation. I made my first account back in 2009 and have had a couple since then (I didn't get banned or anything, I'm just very indecisive with names.)

- What brought you to make an account?

Originally, it was simply to comment on videos. I eventually started exploring the forums and taking part in those, and now tend to just make a new account whenever something possesses me to dive back in.

- What other "online communities" have you been/ are you currently a part of?

None for the last little while, really. I used to be active on GameTrailers and a couple of really small forums, but haven't been back in a long time.

- Where are you from physically? How old are you? What's your gender? Ect (obviously only if you feel comfortable answering that stuff)

Twenty-two year old Canadian male here.

- Do you know people in real life who are members of the same online communities as you?

Certainly don't.

- What are you political and religious affiliations?

I wish the hell I knew.