Hovedfag Thesis—————————-This thesis investigates three major Web forums, namely the
Spiegel Online Forum (SOF), Debattcentralen (DC) and The
Guardian Unlimited Talk (GUT). Within the conceptual
frameworks of Actor-Network Theory and Habermasian
terminology, the investigation is informed by three separate
research questions. The first and second take up Habermas’
strict criteria of the Ideal Speech Situation (ISS), and ask
to what extent the given forums live up to its ideals. The
third one concerns public opinion formation, and asks to what
extent the strength of the better argument may transmit from
Web forums to decision-making institutions of our societies
(like parliaments and governments). Thus, the overall question
unveils itself: To what extent, do Web forums in general, and
the three selected forums in particular, support public debate
that is free from coercion? Evidence suggests that Web forums
do promote and facilitate democratic deliberation, although
not entirely without being exposed to coercion.
