Abstract Technical communication practices have been changed dramatically by the increasingly ubiquitous nature of digital technologies. Yet, while those who work in the profession have been living through this dramatic change, our academic discipline has been moving at a slower pace, at times appearing quite unsure about how to proceed. This article focuses on the following three areas of opportunity for change in our discipline in relation to digital technologies: access and expectations, scholarship and community building, and accountability and partnering.

Researchers in technical communication have recently begun to take advantage of the interactions taking place via computer-mediated communication as a rich source for research. Yet, although research in cyberspace is growing, there are few guidelines for researchers to follow. This article reviews three forms of technical communication research methods (ethnography, rhetorical analysis, and surveys) and raises preliminary issues to consider when using such research methods in cyberspace. These issues include privacy and author permissions.

Traditional notions of the rhetorical community as the locus of shared beliefs and values have been challenged increasingly and from several directions-from radical and postliberal democratic political theory (Miller; Mouffe), from cultural studies and cultural criticism (Brantlinger 1-3, 54-59; Harris), and, most recently, from the perspective of the ill-defined and elusive place called cyberspace (Selfe and Selfe, Politics; Selfe and Selfe, Writing; Stone 110-11).1 At the heart of these challenges is the problem of the relationship of the community to those outside it or on its margins, an uneasy relationship that is variously characterized as a tension between communitarianism and liberalism (Mouffe 71-73), between ourselves and Others (Brantlinger 2-3), between a culture and its marginalized individuals (Selfe and Selfe, Politics 482-84), and as a complex relationship between the One and the Many (Miller 79-80). Contemporary notions of the rhetorical

Computer-mediated communication on the Internet offers new challenges and opportunities for technical communication. The cases of Lotus MarketPlace and the Clipper chip illustrate the specialized nature of technical communities on the Internet and suggest that when technical messages are not overly complex, the process of reposting may widen community appeal but also promote inaccurate information. Yet, when technical messages are highly complex, audiences may not repost such messages; this preserves accuracy of information but at the same time limits how many people will read the information. Finally, these cases strengthen recent arguments that rhetorical delivery is an increasingly important component of technical communication.

Technical communicators are becoming increasingly involved in product development, often playing important roles on design teams. This shift brings with it the possibility for technical communicators to play more critical roles in balancing gender biases in technology. Feminist critiques of technology offer a range of perspectives for both educators and practitioners. Because discussion of feminism and technology in relation to technical communication is relatively new, the possibilities for applications of these theories are broad.