Benjamin Granvold

Ethnographic & Critical Analysis of Discourse Community

English 2030-002-F15
December 15, 2015

OVERVIEW OF OBJECTIVES
In this paper I will perform an analysis of a specific discourse community from the
perspective of an outsider. An evaluation will be made as to what distinguishes the
members as a community. Through silent observation, I have collected data that
describes how members use discourse that is specific to the community, how power
relationships are managed within the community, what ideological principles are shaped
by the discourse, how its design influences who talks and when, what discussion is
permitted, and how the language is made accessible to outsiders.

SUBJECT SELECTION
For my analytical subject, I chose the online community of Marijuana Anonymous
(MA) for a variety of reasons. I admire its organizational objectives. It hosts both online
and live support meetings that offer both open-share and by-subject discussions.

Meetings are hosted at least twice daily in the afternoon and evening. The support
group environment has a defined language and embedded traditions that enable a fairly
straightforward data collection process, as does the variety and frequency of the
meetings. Although not all scheduled meetings have a pre-designated host (most do
not), impromptu delegates present themselves as necessary enabling the support
meeting to be held as scheduled.

DESIGN OF INERACTIVE NORMS

By design, meetings hosted by MA (which are intended for recovering marijuana
addicts and their loved ones) equip visitors with empowerment and support due largely
to the acceptable use standards defined within the discourse rules. Such standards
govern the use of the sites discussion portals, describe who talks and when, and
preserve the abiding practices that characterize interactions within this specific
community and its members.
Online users at www.marijuana-anonymous.org have access to the sites chat
resources through entry into a virtual Lobby or a virtual Meeting Room, each of which
has a specific supportive purpose. Within the virtual lobby, a user can host his/her own
recovery meeting, engage in informal chat with other users, verify delegation
assignments for scheduled meetings, and congregate prior to them. Official meetings

within the virtual meeting room exhibit greater formality- a script and live moderator
ensure protocol is followed and all bases are covered on behalf of the participants. They
are driven in part by open-sharing and in part by discussion of a chosen subject matter,
and an official script. The website explains clearly how both portals are used, ensuring
that first-time users can successfully navigate into the support environment.
Members are inducted into the discourse community in several steps. Prior to
entry, all must agree to abide by the following prohibited interactions between
community members:

Personal attacks
Attacks based on race, sex, ethnicity, religion
Threats of harm
Vulgarity or sexually abusive language
Soliciting a minor
Proselytizing a religion
Promoting, campaigning, or flaming about politics
Offering to sell or procure marijuana or other drugs

Having agreed to these initial terms, visitors can create a chat room user name
without having to officially register on the site. As chat names can be created on the fly,
anonymity is granted to hesitant users allowing them instantaneous access to the
support environment.

Leaders within the community are denoted by their ability to follow the scripted
format of the support meetings to ensure the full discourse is executed. The institutional
norm of MA resembles that of other addiction support meetings in that it adheres to an
established meeting agenda (1) and set standards for interaction between community
members (2). As per the standard script, an opening prayer is held, followed by an
affirmation of funding sources, community objectives, and belief in a 12-step recovery
process. Addiction is publicly acknowledged and community members begin interacting
by answering the following question:

Who here is a marijuana addict?

On a voluntary basis, meeting participants then identify themselves as addicts.

Leaders of the meeting (moderators) then portray universal powerlessness against the
drug using definitive phrasing:

We who are marijuana addicts know the answer to this question.

Marijuana controls our lives! We lose interest in all else; our dreams go
up in smoke. Ours is a progressive illness often leading us to addictions
to other drugs, including alcohol. Our lives, our thinking, and our desires
center around marijuanascoring it, dealing it, and finding ways to stay
high.

Newcomers are then specifically welcomed and affirmation of the belief in a

higher power is made. Each step in the 12-step recovery process is itemized and a
second definitive portrayal of the universal process of recovery is made. An
acknowledgement is made of recovery milestones followed by public congratulations. A
moderated discussion ensues in which all community members can participate, which
encompasses most of the 1.5-hour meeting runtime. In conclusion, participants are
formally offered help with Burning Desire (the strong desire for immediate marijuana
use) followed by a closing prayer and official meeting closure. All steps are completed in
all scheduled meetings, providing a normative infrastructure in which the discourse can
have its intended supportive and empowering effects.

IDEOLOGICAL LANGUAGE USE

The ideological principles espoused by the MA discourse community are
characterized by supportive interactions between members and adherence to an array
of discourse standards.
Community leaders exemplify this supportive culture in a number of ways. A cohost assists the moderator in most meetings. The co-host is instrumental in
demonstrating to newcomers how a successful meeting is executed. He or she is

immediately responsive to script questions presented by the main moderator in order to

carry the meeting forward, since not all who attend online meetings actively participate.
The dual-host setting also relieves a single moderator from having to host an entire
meeting by him or her self. Although active participation is not required, meetings may
be shortened if participation is lacking; this places a certain amount of ownership on
participants to ensure a fruitful discourse.
Interactions between community members convey support in several other ways.
During meetings, newcomers are special acknowledged and are identified as the
lifeblood of the institution which gives them immediate access to the supportive
structure if they choose to identify themselves. The existence of the chat room lobby
provides a further inlet for supportive mutual interaction if there is no official meeting
scheduled. Camaraderie is established through use of first names only. Contributors to
the conversation are commended. References to age and social status are entirely
excluded from the discourse, which illustrates that shared powerlessness coupled with
the desire give or receive help is really what characterizes interactions within the
community:

irnbru: now would anyone else like to acknowledge any clean time?
Gayla: Day 4 here
Voytas: 8 days here

irnbru: congratulations for everyone who stayed clean today, pat yourself
on the back! {{{{{{{{{{{{ Big Hug from me too }}}}}}}}}}}}}}}

The MA community discourse is maintained by following the posted process and

adhering to its guidelines. Official meetings scripts are available for immediate download
ensuring consistency in all online meetings with regard to what is discussed. Other rules
govern how topics are discussed. A process exists in which violators of chat room
etiquette are cautioned and then penalized for multiple violations, as follows:

If someone is gagged, they can see the discussion but do not have the
ability to type. If they are booted, they are temporarily kicked off the site
with the ability to log on again. If someone is banned by a room
administrator the first ban is for 1 week, the second ban would be for 2
weeks, and the third ban would be for 1 month. After 1 month the ban
would be reviewed by the appropriate committee and, if warranted, the
next ban would be for 1 more month, or a 3 month period, or a 6 month
period. Permanent banning would remain an option, but would not be an
automatic progression. Permanent ban requires a vote of the District
Service Committee.

With regard to power relationships, leaders of MA meetings (also referred to as

moderators herein) primarily ensure all agenda items are completed. Acceptance of chat
room terms is a pre-requisite for admission into the community; as such, moderators

must only take authoritative action in the event the rules are broken. Otherwise they
serve only in a facilitative capacity characterized by supportive discourse.
Under standard procedure anyone who wishes to speak may do so. He or she
must first obtain permission by typing an exclamation point (!) and then be
acknowledged by the moderator. Having received acknowledgment, the speaker is
allowed to share until he or she types ga or go ahead. This grants the speaker
access to the communitys knowledge base and allows for real time supportive
interaction, as shown here:

Blair725: Could we talk about strategies to overcome the desire to use?

irnbru: yep
irnbru: our topics tonignt are strategies to overcome the desire to use ,
or anything else about your recovery today.
irnbru: Does anyone want to share ?
Voytas: !
irnbru: ga voytas
Voytas: Hi guys im Wojter a pothead
Voytas: Wojtek* lol
Gayla: Hi wojer
irnbru: hi wojtek
Gayla: Wojtek
Blair725: Hi Wojtek
Voytas: my strategies to fight cravings ....
Susie: hi wojtek
Susie left.
Voytas: well not easy ,what i did is i deleted numbers all people that
culd get me pot , even good friends

Voytas: i do not see most of my friends becouse they smoke, i want to

avoid that
Voytas: it leves me in bad situation becouse i am left with no social life
Voytas: my depresion is geting worse, i dont realy have friends that dont
smoke
Voytas: i know people that dont smoke but they not people im tolking
with just like that
Voytas: i get some 5htp mood stimulator we will see if this works...
Voytas: i dont want to take antydepresants , im afraid ofhow they can
work on me
SunnyBunny joined.
Voytas: simple walks around town work werry good for me
Voytas: and ofcourse this place helps a lot
Voytas: another strategy for me is exercicing, iforce myself sometimes
but it works
Voytas: i was thinking yo start helthy diet ,i read a lot about that i think
its worth trying
Voytas: thanx
Voytas: ga
irnbru: thanks wojtek
Gayla: Thanks wojtek
irnbru: does anyone else want to share ?
Gayla: !

CONCLUSION
The Marijuana Anonymous online community is successful in maintaining a
discourse that achieves its stated objectives. Rules govern what can be discussed but in
doing so they ensure the community remains a supportive inlet. Without maintenance of
the communitys acceptable use standards, it could not maintain its identity as a support
group. Discourse between members is ideologically characterized by inclusion and

equality, since entrance into the community is voluntary and all speakers must profess
an interest in recovery. As such, both newcomers and experienced facilitators can
expect positive outcomes in using MA chat rooms. Through its institutional design and
enforcement of discourse standards, Marijuana Anonymous successfully mixes
accessibility with accountability and in doing so achieves the communitys objectives.