How and why people are impolite in danmu?

Abstract

This study explores how and why people are impolite in danmu. Danmu refers to anonymous comments overlaid on videos uploaded to videosharing sites. Although there is wide recognition that impoliteness prevails in danmu, the questions of how and why people are impolite in this context have rarely been investigated. This study addresses this lacuna of research. Using both an analysis of comments identified as impolite by participants and an analysis of focus group interview data, this research identified seven impoliteness strategies, covering both conventionalised formulae and implicational impoliteness. By applying uses and gratifications theory, this study identified five uses and gratifications for performing impoliteness in danmu: social interaction, entertainment, relaxation, expression of (usually differing) opinions and finding connections. The dialectic of resonance and opposition that emerged from the data helped explain why impolite comments tended not to be perceived as inappropriate in danmu. Thus, this study contributes to the emerging research on impoliteness in social media.