“Approved attributes and their relation to face make every man his own jailer; this is a fundamental social constraint even though each man may like his cell,” wrote American social theorist, Irwing Goffman. YouTube poses new challenges for the presentation of our selves to a public, real or presumed. What can the study of discussions around such net-based communications tell us about humans and the societies we continually build? We take a socio-linguitic approach this week.

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