This post is inspired by a very intriguing comment on one of my recent DeSmogBlog posts from "colinski":
I usually attend to the tone of comments more than their substantive aspect, because this is how affect is communicated. I credit Erving Goffman for this approach. Another way of looking at it is through transactional analysis type of analysis, in which semantic content is glossed over in favor of it's broad emotional message. People are 'explaining themselves' in terms of how they'd like to see themselves.
I know, right? On radio shows now, and at public events, I listen for emotion in the voices of those posing adversarial questions. You can hear the tremble often, and how the speed of talking increases. But commentary on the Internet, far more than traditional journalism, has to be regarded as a particular kind of beast. Traditional journalism emphasized values and norms like balance, dispassion. ...
