We Only Steal Socially: File-Sharing as Collective Action in an Online Community

• In Event: 477 - Section on Crime, Law, and Deviance Roundtable Session
  In Refereed Roundtable: Table 04. Communities, Institutions, and Violence

Abstract

Much of the recent work on music file-sharing highlights a gap between explanations which emphasize the lack of social control and deterrent effects on downloaders, and those which highlight the influence of social learning from music subcultures. However, this work also obscures the nature of file-sharing behavior, because it rarely studies the online communities in which it occurs on their own terms. Using mixed method content analysis on a year of archived posts from a popular anonymous music discussion forum, this project demonstrates the continued relevance of both theories for understanding file-sharing as collective action undertaken by subcultural communities. It also emphasizes social learning theories, as interactions between users relied much more on teaching informal community norms than techniques of rationalization or neutralization to elicit contributions of music for members to download. These findings have implications for both theoretical interpretations of social behavior on the internet and policy attempts to reduce illegal downloading.

Author

• Evan Stewart, University of Minnesota