Massives As Your Third Home

sleepwellmyfriend writes "What is a third place? The first place is your home, the second place is work. Howard Schultz, founder of Starbucks introduced third places as somewhere besides home or work where people can socialize and feel comfortable. Think Cheers. Massive multiplayer online games are third places as defined by their characteristics: neutral ground, leveler (no not that kind), conversation, accessibility, regulars, low profile, playful mood, and "home away from home". Online games also contain social capital, which like financial capital, can be acquired and spent, but for social gains instead of financial gains. In a social relationship sense, bridging provides breadth (diverse information and resources) while bonding provides depth (comfort and advice). In online games, players come from a diverse background so they are usually bridging social capital but bonding can occur for long time players."

Comments

True for Me

[eldavojohn]

Masive multiplayer online games are third places as defined by their characteristics: neutral ground, leveler (no not that kind), conversation, accessibility, regulars, low profile, playful mood, and "home away from home".

I know this is going to sound pretty cheesy and merely anecdotal but I submit to you my experience that MMOs can function third home. I moved half way across the US two years ago. It was the only time I've ever moved in my life and the only time I've been completely out of place knowing no one. Now, at the time, I only played Star Wars Galaxies and had a large house near Coronet that many people visited frequently to buy stuff from me. I was in a tightly knit guild of 10 people with a guild hall that we spent a lot of time decorating.

When I first moved, I spent a lot of time in game talking to my old friends and generally just hanging out in game. I spent a lot of time in the house on Corellia. You might argue that it was detrimental to me meeting new people in my new surroundings and naturally adjusting but, honestly, I would have spent the time reading books if I hadn't had an SWG account. I guess that's why it was like pulling teeth when the CU hit and all my friends stopped playing. Oh well, at least I had enough time to meet new people while still having fun with old friends.

Re:True for Me

[crazyjeremy]

and had a large house near Coronet that many people visited frequently to buy stuff from me

Drug dealer?

Math

[Rob T Firefly]

So if Second Life is your Third Home, does that work out to 2/3s of a homelife?

Re:Pub?

[kfg]

"Good friends, gather 'round and I'll tell you a tale;
It's a story well-known to all lovers of ale;
For the old English pub, once a man's second home,
Has been decked out, by brewers, in plastic and chrome.

Oh, what has become of the old Rose and Crown,
The Ship, the King's Arms, and the World Upside-Down?
For oak, brass and leather and a pint of the best
Fade away like the sun as it sinks in the west.

The old oaken bar where the pumps filled your glass
Gives way to formica and tanks full of gas;
And the landlord behind, once a man of good cheer. . .

Has been replaced by some child who will just mumble the price as he hands you your . . .latte."

With apologies to Ian Robb.

Howard Shultz brought us nothing but another corporate chain. The "third" place predates the "first."

KFG

Its somewhat out of hand

[tont0r]

So you have your 'home' time. Then you have your work time (for real world people, this is 40+ hours a week). And then you want to toss in a '3rd place' time? How much time do you have left?

I mean, sure its great when you are 16 and your 'home time' will consist of playing sports with some kids down the street or watching tv (or video games in this case), your 'work time' is at max 15-20 hours a week, then you have all the time in the world to play an mmo. No need to worry about cleaning or making dinner. Mom has that covered.

But if you arent 16, you work 40+ hours a week, have to come home and make dinner (or go run to the store first to buy it),clean, relax for a bit, toss in a significant other or a child or two, and your mmo time is nearing zero.

We have enough busy things in this world to toss in a 'Third world'.

Re:Its somewhat out of hand

[bigbigbison]

I think you are right, up to a point. A lot of the thinking about "thrid spaces" that goes on with new media is in some ways reflective of the "Bowling Alone" theory as espouced in the book of the same name. In that book, the author says that we (particualrly Americans) used to be much more active in the public sphere with civic groups and, as the title suggests, bowling leagues.
So a lot of this is attempting to counter that saying that while people may not physically leave the house, they still do have social lives that do not involve work.
So while it is true that one may not leave the house while playing a mmorpg, but one does interact with other people and get some sence of escape from work and home.
I'm not sure why this article appeared on slashdot, particularly. The idea of muds and moos as third spaces is nearly as old as muds and moos themselves. Go to scholar.google and search for "new media" and "third space" and tons of articles turn up.

Starbucks "introduced" third places?

[ThatGuyGreg]

Are you high? Ask your parents about soda shops, bowling alleys, drive-ins, etc. Then, go read Bowling Alone by Robert Putnam - it's a great look at what he calls the collapse of the American community, because of a lack of these "third places". Good read.

Great, Good Places

[pkalkul]

The source of the theory of "third places" is Roy Oldenberg's book The Great Good Place: Cafes, Coffee Shops, Bookstores, Bars, Hair Salons, and Other Hangouts at the Heart of a Community, which has been around for quite some time. Sherry Turkle, in her Life on the Screen, also references Oldenberg. Credit where credit is due. Here is a nice summary of Oldenberg's work.

Re:My Bicycle and Kayak

[kin_korn_karn]

How do you fit your pretentiousness in the kayak?

Home Depot

[dpbrown]

My third place is Home Depot because my first place needs work and my second place doesn't pay me enough to convince someone else to make my first place their second place.

Re:I Don't Think That's Very Fair

[steveo777]

That's why I almost never read/respond to AC comments. I Keep them at a -3 so that most of them are invisible unless modded very high. With the new comment system, they don't stay as filtered, but it's easier to see when an AC has something good to say from time to time.

Just want to let you know that I'm there with you. I'm from the same "blue" state, though my views tend to be conservative, and I am a Christian. But I have friends that are both Christian conservatives and embrace-everything bleeding liberals. All I can say is that if someone shouts in your face about not being open minded, but won't listen to you, forget 'em. I run into it all the time... people who think they'd do me a service by telling me my faith is a sham but won't even take the time to listen to why I believe it. Most of the time they haven't actually read a Bible passage, in essence these particular people don't even know what they're talking about or refusing to believe. Shake the dust off your feet and let them wallow in whatever their problems are. I'll listen to you if you're willing to listen to me. I'll even let you go first. My bleeding liberal friends have had this to say about me. "For a Republican and a Christian, he's pretty open-minded."

I don't want to start a religion flame war, but it's the best example I can give. AC's aren't typically worth responding to. And neither are people who don't care to listen.