The reading about the prison code by Wieder, made me think about a social group that I am a part of that adheres to a certain 'code' whilst taking part in it. I went surfing this morning and thought that it is quite a good example when discussing a place in which you need to abide by the unwritten rules or there will be consequences. Just like the prison code, the code of surfing is known by most members who partake in the sport regularly, these participants would be the 'regular guys', who know the rules. It seems that when someone is to break the rules things can get quite heated, I have seen people get sent in, punched and yelled at for breaking the code in the surf. The code is quite simple and has the same concept of standing in a line, whoever has been there the longest is next, someone cant just push their way in. The same sort of notion applies in the surf, along with a few others that can be seen on this website.
http://www.surfinghandbook.com/knowledge/surfing-etiquette/
It was interesting to read a few websites and articles that shed some light on the surfing 'code' and came across a few instances in which 'the regular guys' were taking advantage of the unwritten rules. Some of the worlds more popular surf breaks, such as Hawaii, guys actually block everyone else who isnt a local from getting any waves at all, they think that they are entitled to the waves because they live there. Newcomers are not the 'regular guys' and therefore do not have a say in the matter.
It was interesting to see the code become violated in this sense, as it is being disrupted by 'the regular guys', usually it is disrupted by individuals who do not understand the code.
This concept was quite easy to grasp and I found the reading quite interesting. It is funny to think how unwritten rules can be so important to certain social interactions.
Wieder, DL 1974, 'Telling the code', in Ethnomethodology: Selected Readings, Penguin Education, Hardmondsworth, pp. 144-172
I love the concept of surfing to highlight the concepts of code and conduct. It is something I can easily relate to, and puts the concepts into very clear pictures about how there is no dialogue necessarily, but we all know who has right of way on a wave, and the consequences of misconduct. Good job!
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