@ Cyberspace: Metaphors and Cybertrespass

• Author / Creator

  Russell, Silvia R

• References to the internet as physical space are pervasive: go forward, go back, domain name, email address, enter, password, website, portal, homepage, login, logout, logon, logoff, Myspace, information superhighway.… On the internet we surf from website to website, each with its own address. Sometimes we take shortcuts and links, and sometimes sites are blocked- off by firewalls so we can only enter through a web portal using a password.
  Why do we use spatial terms to refer to the internet? Why do we call the internet

  cyberspace? What are the consequences of this metaphor?

  These spatial concepts are metaphors, but they are also models: some of the features of physical space correspond to and match the features of cyberspace. We experience these features of physical space while we are online. Even though we remain physically stationary, sitting at a computer and pressing buttons feels more like driving a car than it feels like using an appliance like a microwave or typewriter. This thesis discusses the similarities and differences between physical space and cyberspace, the relationships between them, and the social and legal consequences.

• Subjects / Keywords

  • Cybertrespass
  • Trespass
  • Models
  • Metaphors
  • Cyberspace
  • Territoriality

• Graduation date

  Spring 2015

• Type of Item

  Thesis

• Degree

  Master of Arts

• DOI

  https://doi.org/10.7939/R3P55DR0H

• License

  This thesis is made available by the University of Alberta Libraries with permission of the copyright owner solely for non-commercial purposes. This thesis, or any portion thereof, may not otherwise be copied or reproduced without the written consent of the copyright owner, except to the extent permitted by Canadian copyright law.