New Kids on the Net. Deutschsprachige Philosophie elektronisch

Mailing lists tend to be shaped by core groups of dedicated participants, developing their interests and opinions in front of a predominantly receptive audience of subscribers. A new kind of communicative praxis is established on top of some guidelines on how computers should exchange data: participation in quasi-instantaneous, globally distributed, non-hierarchical discursive interchange. Computer networks, as is well known, are not confined by any historical or geographical borders. As a consequence, the cultural impact of the technical devices seems to affect arbitrary collections of users availing themselves of the necessary equipment and know-how. One of the most dazzling experiences of communication on the net, it has correctly been pointed
out, is its global egalitarianism. While it is true that large parts of the planet are still excluded and the predominance of the English language imposes important
constraints on the participants, it is difficult to avoid an initial euphoria, a cosmopolitan state of mind, as one becomes familiar with a machinery that can support spatially unlimited cooperation between equals with a minimum of
administrative overhead.