On the Meaning of the Web as an Object of Study

TL;DR

The paper discusses how the Web's evolution into a universal digital environment has fragmented its study and identity, calling for a community discussion to redefine its research scope.

Contribution

It analyzes the Web's transformation and its impact on the research community, highlighting the need for a new collective understanding of Web studies.

Findings

Web's identity crisis due to evolution into a universal environment

Fragmentation of the Web research community

Need for a community discussion to redefine Web study

Abstract

This text advances the hypothesis that the meaning of the Web as an object of study has diluted as a clear research domain. One example of this phenomenon is the identity crisis of the Web Conference and the International Semantic Web Conference. At its root is the Web's evolution from a focused technological object into a universal digital environment, a transition whose very success has fragmented its academic community and obscured its core identity. We chart this trajectory from a well-defined object of study to a fragmented backdrop, identifying key pressures such as the "academic tragedy of the commons" and the disruptive force of AI. We conclude that a fundamental community discussion is needed to define what it means to study the Web now that it has become the universal infrastructure for global digital activity.