CONTENT FACTORS INFLUENCING ACCURACY OF AUTHORSHIPATTRIBUTIONS FOR ANONYMOUS, MEDIATED BRAINSTORMING COMMENTS.

This study analyzes the content-based influences on accuracy of attributions about the identity of technically anonymous comment authors. Immediately after participants in 32 small groups began using a Group Support System to enter technically anonymous comments about a salient topic during a brainstorming session, each member was asked to attribute authorship to a sample of the session's anonymous comments, whose authorship was known to the researchers. GSS participants made attributions that were very accurate, yet not related to vividness or length of the comments, but were related to evaluative tone.