2021
Gray, Colin M; Chivukula, Shruthi Sai
"That's dastardly ingenious": Ethical Argumentation Strategies on Reddit Journal Article
In: Proceedings of the ACM on Human-Computer Interaction, vol. 5, no. CSCW1, 2021.
Abstract | Links | BibTeX | Tags: Ethics and Values, Reddit, Social Media
@article{Gray2021-xj,
title = {"That's dastardly ingenious": Ethical Argumentation Strategies on Reddit},
author = {Colin M Gray and Shruthi Sai Chivukula},
url = {https://colingray.me/wp-content/uploads/2021/02/2021_GrayChivukula_CSCW_EthicalArgumentation.pdf},
doi = {10.1145/3449144},
year = {2021},
date = {2021-04-01},
journal = {Proceedings of the ACM on Human-Computer Interaction},
volume = {5},
number = {CSCW1},
abstract = {Scholars have previously described how online communities engage
in particular discourses and forms of argumentation. In parallel,
HCI and STS researchers have described discourses surrounding
ethics and values and their role in shaping design processes and
outcomes. However, little work has addressed the intersection of
ethical concern and the discourses of non-expert users. In this
paper, we describe the argumentation strategies used by Redditors
on the subreddit `r/assholedesign' as they discuss ethically
problematic design artifacts. We used content and sequence
analysis methods to identify the building blocks of ethical
argumentation in this online community, including ethical
positioning when raising issues of concern, identification of
potential remedies to the original design artifact or issues of
concern, and means of extending or negating these elements.
Through this analysis, we reveal the breadth of ethical
argumentation strategies used ``in-the-wild'' by non-experts,
resulting in an increased awareness of the capacity of community
members to engage in ``everyday ethics'' regardless of specific
ethics training. We describe future opportunities to connect
these ethical argumentation strategies with design practices,
education, and methods.},
keywords = {Ethics and Values, Reddit, Social Media},
pubstate = {published},
tppubtype = {article}
}
Scholars have previously described how online communities engage
in particular discourses and forms of argumentation. In parallel,
HCI and STS researchers have described discourses surrounding
ethics and values and their role in shaping design processes and
outcomes. However, little work has addressed the intersection of
ethical concern and the discourses of non-expert users. In this
paper, we describe the argumentation strategies used by Redditors
on the subreddit `r/assholedesign' as they discuss ethically
problematic design artifacts. We used content and sequence
analysis methods to identify the building blocks of ethical
argumentation in this online community, including ethical
positioning when raising issues of concern, identification of
potential remedies to the original design artifact or issues of
concern, and means of extending or negating these elements.
Through this analysis, we reveal the breadth of ethical
argumentation strategies used ``in-the-wild'' by non-experts,
resulting in an increased awareness of the capacity of community
members to engage in ``everyday ethics'' regardless of specific
ethics training. We describe future opportunities to connect
these ethical argumentation strategies with design practices,
education, and methods.
in particular discourses and forms of argumentation. In parallel,
HCI and STS researchers have described discourses surrounding
ethics and values and their role in shaping design processes and
outcomes. However, little work has addressed the intersection of
ethical concern and the discourses of non-expert users. In this
paper, we describe the argumentation strategies used by Redditors
on the subreddit `r/assholedesign' as they discuss ethically
problematic design artifacts. We used content and sequence
analysis methods to identify the building blocks of ethical
argumentation in this online community, including ethical
positioning when raising issues of concern, identification of
potential remedies to the original design artifact or issues of
concern, and means of extending or negating these elements.
Through this analysis, we reveal the breadth of ethical
argumentation strategies used ``in-the-wild'' by non-experts,
resulting in an increased awareness of the capacity of community
members to engage in ``everyday ethics'' regardless of specific
ethics training. We describe future opportunities to connect
these ethical argumentation strategies with design practices,
education, and methods.
2020
Gray, Colin M; Chivukula, Shruthi Sai; Lee, Ahreum
What Kind of Work Do "Asshole Designers" Create? Describing Properties of Ethical Concern on Reddit Honorable Mention Proceedings Article
In: DIS'20: Proceedings of the Designing Interactive Systems Conference 2020, ACM Press New York, NY, 2020, (Awarded Honorable Mention, top 5%).
Abstract | Links | BibTeX | Tags: Asshole Design, Dark Patterns, Ethics and Values, Reddit, Social Media
@inproceedings{Gray2020-zq,
title = {What Kind of Work Do "Asshole Designers" Create? Describing Properties of Ethical Concern on Reddit},
author = {Colin M Gray and Shruthi Sai Chivukula and Ahreum Lee},
url = {https://colingray.me/wp-content/uploads/2020/04/2020_GrayChivukulaLee_DIS_AssholeDesign.pdf
http://dx.doi.org/10.1145/3357236.3395486},
doi = {10.1145/3357236.3395486},
year = {2020},
date = {2020-01-01},
urldate = {2020-01-01},
booktitle = {DIS'20: Proceedings of the Designing Interactive Systems
Conference 2020},
address = {New York, NY},
organization = {ACM Press},
series = {DIS'20},
abstract = {Design practitioners are increasingly engaged in describing
ethical complexity in their everyday work, exemplified by
concepts such as "dark patterns" and "dark UX." In parallel,
researchers have shown how interactions and discourses in online
communities allow access to the various dimensions of design
complexity in practice. In this paper, we conducted a content
analysis of the subreddit "/r/assholedesign," identifying how
users on Reddit engage in conversation about ethical concerns.
We identify what types of artifacts are shared, and the salient
ethical concerns that community members link with "asshole"
behaviors. Based on our analysis, we propose properties that
describe "asshole designers," both distinct and in relation to
dark patterns, and point towards an anthropomorphization of
ethics that foregrounds the inscription of designer's values
into designed outcomes. We conclude with opportunities for
further engagement with ethical complexity in online and offline
contexts, stimulating ethics-focused conversations among social
media users and design practitioners.},
note = {Awarded Honorable Mention, top 5%},
keywords = {Asshole Design, Dark Patterns, Ethics and Values, Reddit, Social Media},
pubstate = {published},
tppubtype = {inproceedings}
}
Design practitioners are increasingly engaged in describing
ethical complexity in their everyday work, exemplified by
concepts such as "dark patterns" and "dark UX." In parallel,
researchers have shown how interactions and discourses in online
communities allow access to the various dimensions of design
complexity in practice. In this paper, we conducted a content
analysis of the subreddit "/r/assholedesign," identifying how
users on Reddit engage in conversation about ethical concerns.
We identify what types of artifacts are shared, and the salient
ethical concerns that community members link with "asshole"
behaviors. Based on our analysis, we propose properties that
describe "asshole designers," both distinct and in relation to
dark patterns, and point towards an anthropomorphization of
ethics that foregrounds the inscription of designer's values
into designed outcomes. We conclude with opportunities for
further engagement with ethical complexity in online and offline
contexts, stimulating ethics-focused conversations among social
media users and design practitioners.
ethical complexity in their everyday work, exemplified by
concepts such as "dark patterns" and "dark UX." In parallel,
researchers have shown how interactions and discourses in online
communities allow access to the various dimensions of design
complexity in practice. In this paper, we conducted a content
analysis of the subreddit "/r/assholedesign," identifying how
users on Reddit engage in conversation about ethical concerns.
We identify what types of artifacts are shared, and the salient
ethical concerns that community members link with "asshole"
behaviors. Based on our analysis, we propose properties that
describe "asshole designers," both distinct and in relation to
dark patterns, and point towards an anthropomorphization of
ethics that foregrounds the inscription of designer's values
into designed outcomes. We conclude with opportunities for
further engagement with ethical complexity in online and offline
contexts, stimulating ethics-focused conversations among social
media users and design practitioners.
2019
Watkins, Chris; Chivukula, Shruthi S; McKay, Lucca; Gray, Colin M
"Nothing Comes Before Profit": Asshole Design in the Wild Proceedings Article
In: CHI EA '19: CHI'19 Extended Abstracts on Human Factors in Computing Systems, pp. LBW1314, 2019.
Links | BibTeX | Tags: Asshole Design, Design Knowledge, Ethics and Values, Practice-Led Research, Reddit, Social Media, UX Knowledge
@inproceedings{Watkins2019-yb,
title = {"Nothing Comes Before Profit": Asshole Design in the Wild},
author = {Chris Watkins and Shruthi S Chivukula and Lucca McKay and Colin M Gray},
url = {https://colingray.me/wp-content/uploads/2019/08/2019_ChivukulaWatkinsMcKayGray_CHI_LBW_AssholeDesignintheWild.pdf
http://dx.doi.org/10.1145/3290607.3312863},
doi = {10.1145/3290607.3312863},
year = {2019},
date = {2019-01-01},
booktitle = {CHI EA '19: CHI'19 Extended Abstracts on Human Factors in Computing Systems},
pages = {LBW1314},
keywords = {Asshole Design, Design Knowledge, Ethics and Values, Practice-Led Research, Reddit, Social Media, UX Knowledge},
pubstate = {published},
tppubtype = {inproceedings}
}