Lu+Arlene

http://individual.utoronto.ca/arlenelu/index.html
 * ISSUE ANALYSIS WEBSITE**

As the world wide web continues to expand and become more and more accessible to the public, **online fan communities have come to shape one's identity** and can prove to be **an asset to artists and corporations in terms of free marketing**, however, **at the risk of infringements of copyrights**.

Critical Analysis Kalam Poon 996109349 Online fandom is part of an Internet subculture that is becoming more and more widespread. As the era of the digital divide is slowly overcome, access and understanding of the Internet and Internet tools is becoming standard among users(Danesi, 2002). Nearly everyone who has access to the Internet can join or create an online community that accommodates to their own interests and passions. Online communities provide a sense of easy belonging thanks to the aspect of anonymity. The option to be ourselves allows us to find the appropriate niche to which we belong. However, to add on the point regarding fan fiction an the difficulty in pinpointing copyright infringements, this is also why cybercrimes such as Internet piracy, cyberstalking, and trolling are difficult to put an end to. The people who commit these crimes are masked behind their computers in the privacy of their own homes and, in the example of trolling, commit these acts in order to inhibit a reaction among web users, whether it is for the sake of entertainment or to make a point on behalf of a larger message(Mattathias, 2008). This gives an example of anonymity working against those looking to prosecute against these people.

Danesi, Marcel Understanding Media Semiotics. New York: Oxford University Press, Inc, 2002. Print Schwartz, Mattathias. “The Trolls Among Us”. The New York Times. 3 Aug, 2008. Web. 26 March, 2010. .