The co-operative principle and computer-mediated communication: the maxim of quantity in newsgroup discussions

This paper deals with the role and the importance of the Gricean maxim of quantity in Internet newsgroup discussions (or Internet forums). First, we analyze the importance of the maxim of quantity in the standards of newsgroups discussions (the Netiquette and the charters). Then, through the conversational analysis of various French-speaking internet newsgroups, we analyze the discursive behaviours which permit the on-line discussants to respect this maxim of quantity. Finally, we analyze the way on-line discussants evaluate the respect or the violation of the maxim of quantity, through the description of calls to order in reaction of messages which transgress the maxim of quantity. In a more general way, this paper deals with the characteristics of Computer-Mediated Communication (CMC) and with the question of the applicability of the Cooperative Principle in CMC.