eddy-gw says, "I think that the sexual orientation of the parents does influence the children's future orientation"
linda-su says, "then yes, I think the parents' influece children."
carol-gw says, "i don't feel that the sexual preferences of parents influences that of their children, because if it did, how could we explain all of the gay children that come from heterosexual parents"
eddy-gw says, "Maybe not exclusively, but it does play a key role"
linda-su says, "Good point Carol. I didn't think of it like that."
jerry-su says, "I think that sexual preference is totally up to the person. There may be some influence from parents, but it doesn't mean that they will be gay."
carol-gw says, "perhaps it influences their preference, but there are many things that determine sexual preference, for ex. genetics"
eddy-gw says, "I think it also depends on what age the children are, the younger the child the more influence there will be"
ali-gw says, "I think that homosexuality can be a mixture of influences- environment and genetics""
carol-gw says, "exactly, there is not just one aspect of life that affects sexual preference"
betsy-su says, "i agree with ali..I think maybe a little bit of evrything will affect your sexuality""
This is once again an unedited MOO transcript from 24 April 1995, with only the names of the students being changed. As with the previous MOO transcript (Group 4's discussion), we see the active exchange of ideas by all of the group members (this time, a group of six students). Linda-su applauds Carol-gw's comment ("Good point Carol") that if the sexual preference of the parents determined that of their children, heterosexual parents wouldn't have homosexual children. Later in the transcript, Carol agrees with Ali-gw that homosexuality derives from both genetic and environmental factors. This transcript helps reveal the beneficial effects of the MOO environment on the writing process, especially because of the presence of a synchronous audience. Writing becomes a way of communicating with that audience and of situating one's own voice within an ongoing discourse. Students learn immediately how effective their arguments are, since they receive direct feedback from their peers. They also learn the range of ideas available on a topic, since the diverse group of students articulate various points of view.