ABSTRACT
This introduction covers some key concepts discussed in the subsequent chapters of this book. The book is about playfulness in communication on the Internet in the mid to late 1990s. In the 1990s typographic characters became central expressive symbols of emergent cyber-culture, as in the title of a novel, back slash: a cyber thriller. The book is a series of studies of playfulness in communication and culture on the Internet. Its focus is on play with form of various kinds in online communication. The title of the book also reflects the spirit of adventure, fun and experimentation that accompanied explorations in a new medium, and the ways that it shook up old norms and expectations. The concept of “speech play” is particularly relevant for the conceptual framework of the book. In instances where speech play is present the poetic function of language is dominant.
