Introduction

ABSTRACT

The terrorist attacks on the World Trade Center and the Pentagon last September shocked us all. Many reached for the telephone to contact loved ones and watched TV or listened to the radio for news in the days directly following the attacks. Others, however, sought support and exchanged information via online communities. In fact, some 30 million Americans---about one-third of all U.S. Internet users---turned to email, mailing lists, instant messaging, chat rooms, and threaded discussion systems [1]. They wrote detailed eyewitness descriptions and tender words of comfort. They engaged in soul-searching debate about why these events occurred, what response was appropriate, and what should be done to avert future atrocities.

REFERENCES

• 1: Pew Internet and American Life Project.Oct.31,2001.Online communities:Networks that nurture long-distance relationships and local ties.(www.pewinternet.org)
• 2: Jenny Preece, Online Communities: Designing Usability and Supporting Socialbilty, John Wiley & Sons, Inc., New York, NY, 2000
• 3: Jenny Preece , Yvonne Rogers , Helen Sharp, Interaction Design, John Wiley & Sons, Inc., New York, NY, 2002
• 4: Putnam,R.D.Bowling Alone:The Collapse and Revival of American Community.Simon &Schuster,New York,2000.
• 5: Ronald E. Rice , James E. Katz, The Internet and Health Communication, Sage Publications, Inc., Thousand Oaks, CA, 2000
• 6: Ben Shneiderman, Universal usability, Communications of the ACM, v.43 n.5, p.84-91, May 2000 [doi>10.1145/332833.332843]
• 7: U.S.Department of Commerce.Falling through the Net:Toward digital inclusion;www.ntia.doc.gov/ntiahome/fttn00/contents00.html

INDEX TERMS

Primary Classification:
  K. Computing Milieux
  K.4 COMPUTERS AND SOCIETY
      K.4.2 Social Issues

Additional Classification:
  H. Information Systems
  H.1 MODELS AND PRINCIPLES
      H.1.2 User/Machine Systems
  H.4 INFORMATION SYSTEMS APPLICATIONS
      H.4.3 Communications Applications

General Terms:
Human Factors