As much as the internet is supposed to break barriers and connect us with strangers from all over the known world, more and more I get the feeling that the internet is actually pretty insular. There are still all kinds of people who don’t use the internet, or who use it as little as possible. We also form groups (sometimes called “fandoms”) and cliques online, and each group may have its own jargon, apart from more “mainstream” netspeak.
I’ve been thinking about internet jargon, especially the jargon used by the tech-savvy, and fandom-specific jargon, and how it further serves to create an insular web. The jargon we use keeps out imposters, allows us to pigeonhole new arrivals, and sometimes even lets us pass judgement on those who use it incorrectly, or not at all.
I’m reminded of a G.K. Chesterton essay about the eating of asparagus with one’s fingers:
“We will not exaggerate. Eating soup with the fingers, the young student should not attempt; and sauces, custards and even curries are no field for the manual labourer. I would not eat stewed rhubarb with my fingers, or, indeed, with any instrument that science could devise. Even with things involving treacle, I have not a good touch. But, while strictly avoiding anything like exaggeration or frivolity, I still note that the point of asparagus is that it is not the food, among other foods, specially fitted to the fingers. In other words, the principle could not have been deduced from abstract reason, or have grown out of the general instincts of men. It could not have been custom: that is why it was etiquette.”
Intentionally or not, the jargon we use daily serves to keep out the unwashed masses, and the more often it changes, the better it works.
“Do you tell me they don’t eat asparagus with their fingers now? Do I not know that in some of the best houses they have little tongs for each person, which are charming? Have I not heard that asparagus is now lowered into the open mouth on a string, or shot into the mouth with a small gun, or eaten with the toes, or not eaten at all? No; I do not know, that is what I wish to point out. They have changed the password.”
To be fair, I don’t think most people use jargon this way on purpose. More than anything, I think overuse of jargon creates an atmosphere of exclusivity that is probably unnoticed by its users.
Why is Chesterton not even acknowledged in school? His witticisms are absolutely hilarious!
Back on topic, I think you are right that there is a built-in exclusivity to jargon. With netspeak, people want to sound “hip” and “with it” and in on the latest fad. It all starts sounding silly with the latest round of terms: tweets/tweeps, plurks, yelps, microblogging, hashtags, @ing, and so on.