Justification

Given that some electronic environments won't be seen as "professional", how do we justify studying them?

This is a really tough question to ponder. On one hand the inexpensive nature of the Internet leads to a number of sites cropping up all over the place that may look professional and offer information that is not necessarily correct. These sites are often indiscernible from legitimate ones. On the other hand though a number of self-help, forum tip/info sharing sites have managed to create a self-regulating unique community that can be very beneficial to those that find it and study it. In either camp I find the creativity, social nature and use of technology intriguing and well worth exploring to help drive us further as a society.