Abstract
This study explores how and why people are impolite in danmu. Danmu refers to anonymous
comments overlaid on videos uploaded to video-sharing sites. Although there is wide recognition that impoliteness prevails in
danmu, the questions of how and why people are impolite in this context have rarely been investigated. This study
addresses this lacuna of research. Using both an analysis of comments identified as impolite by participants and an analysis of focus group
interview data, this research identified seven impoliteness strategies, covering both conventionalised formulae and implicational
impoliteness. By applying uses and gratifications theory, this study identified five uses and gratifications for performing impoliteness in
danmu: social interaction, entertainment, relaxation, expression of (usually differing) opinions and finding connections.
The dialectic of resonance and opposition that emerged from the data helped explain why impolite comments tended not to be perceived as
inappropriate in danmu. Thus, this study contributes to the emerging research on impoliteness in social media.
Identifying cues of distorted memories in intensive care by focus group interview of nurses
