Disabled Online
http://disabledonline.com/
What is the brief or focus of this community
This website offers a place where the disabled and their families and friends can find information, provide information and also take part in in forums about many topics relating to the disabled
What services are provided? How interactive is this site? How can people contribute?
Disabled Online provides
- information such as education, employment, organizations and news.
- community links such as forums and chatrooms
- shopping for accessories, aids and equipment
This site is very interactive in the sense that once your are registered to the site you can join any forum, make posts and also start new topics and links
Consider material presented during the lecture and make comment on why people choose to contribute to this community. What is it they are seeking?
This website/ community provides a social network regarding disability that they otherwise may not have due to distance, isolation and many other reasons. they are seeking support, ideas, friendship and education relating to everything around disability. this is not only for the disabled but also for friends and families and anyone else with a concern.
Cut and paste an example of the type of topics being discussed (you may have to provide a context to your excerpt).
"I’m contemplating setting up a small travel business for people with disabilities, specialising in adapted self-catering accommodation in holiday destinations. But I’m struggling to find enough properties to feature! If you know of someone who’s lucky enough to own such a property, in the UK and anywhere in the world, and would like to let it commercially for a number of weeks a year, could you pass on my email address to them? I’m at the research stage at the moment and need to ascertain whether there are sufficient properties available to feature. My email address:"
This is an exerpt of a topic being discussed on the chat room
Considering material presented during the course and make comment on the potential ethical issues that may arise in this community e.g. lack of identity and accountability.
To contribute to this site and to the chatrooms etc you must register first. although the registration to this site is very easy and could be very easy to make up a name or to register just for the fun of it, this could lead to inappropriate messages or postings. Although this sight is moderated and overseen by someone, it still seems quite easy contribute in any way shape or form to this site.
It also concerns me how easy it was to cut and paste an exerpt, although the exerpt that i extracted above was not offensive or private, it could be easy to extract a comment that seems very private to that person. when you sign up you do have that choice for your email address to be publicly viewed.
Consider material presented during the lecture and make comment on the benefits this community holds over traditional notions of community e.g. communities reliant on geographic proximity
This site holds no barriers as to where you come from or who you are. This is advantageous for people in many different countries, particularly to people that come from smaller countries i.e. not USA or UK as this site provides information on many things that may not be provided in their country or the information has not yet reached their country.
Consider material presented during the lecture and make comment what this community lacks or can not provide which traditional communities can.
This site will never or can never provide the level of social networking that metting people face to face can. there is still a degree of networking but not to the degree that actual face to face interaction offers.
As a member of this site and only allowing others of this site get to know you prevent members of the public and your community to be exposed to your issues and concerns and prevent issues being faced within the community.
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