The functionality attribute of cybergenres

Under the influence of a new medium, a genre may evolve into variants of the original genre or even into new genre. Genres, even through such evolution, are normally characterized by the tuple , and little attention is paid to the functionality afforded by the new medium. The combination of the computer and the Internet, however, has resulted in the emergence of the cybergenre, a new class of genre characterized by the triple . Users approach instances of cybergenre with certain expectations with respect to functionality, as well as to form and content. This paper examines the "functionality" attribute of various cybergenres in an attempt to identify the essential functionality that this new medium affords. This should help us not only to understand the influence of this medium on genre, but also to use genre effectively in the design of computer and network-based applications.