LISTSERVER COMMUNICATION DURING THE GULF-WAR - WHAT KIND OF MEDIUM IS THE ELECTRONIC BULLETIN BOARD

This study of communication on an electronic bulletin board during the Gulf War builds on an existing theoretical framework for computer mediated communication and telelogic communication. The study finds that the bulletin board may well be a kind of hybrid communication medium with some characteristics not found in either mass media or face-to-face communication, and that it is appropriate to classify the bulletin board hy function rather than form. Although the bulletin board studied here resembles a special interest publication, the medium is still evolving and adding second-level effects that change as users find new ways to expand on existing media formats.