Slashdot Mirror
The Elevator Effect In Second Life
There is an good video on NPR about how real human reactions translate to the virtual world. It's interesting in view of the question posted here about rape in Second Life. The video covers a little experiment in SL where a reporter gets together with a psychologist to see if some unspoken human rules apply in the virtual world — such as staring or standing too close to someone. Perhaps surprisingly, in this world where you can be or do just about anything, you can't break these unspoken rules with impunity.
I get the same feeling here: I'll post something, and then someone else will post just below me, and it'll be stuck there right next to my post FOREVER.
Freaks me out.
ccalam - acoustic versions of new songs.
Ok, Second Life may or may not be pretty cool, but why is there one Slashdot article about it every two or three days? World of Warcraft is at least ten times as popular but does not get anywhere near the same coverage as Second Life does. It smells fishy.
:)
For example, there was this article about a woman offering sex for 5000 World of Warcraft gold. It did not reach Slashdot. That ten times as funny and definitely more "interesting" than some kind of psychological experiment.
Football Odds
"if some unspoken human rules apply in the virtual world"
Do you know how annoying it is for a ten foot tall neon pink ogre to jump up and down in front of your face and not stop until you log out?
My friends do!
The really interesting thing about such virtual, anonymous worlds like Second Life is, that although we *could* be someone else, we decide not to. Newbies in these world often try to be a completely different character, however, over time they get very, very close to their real character.
I'd say, it's quite simple: In normal life, we chose who we are. Most people have fixed patterns which affect their behavior and therefore their daily life. Over time, these patterns get more and more restricting and make people lose their authenticity.
So, there's certainly a wish to break out, and that's what these virtual worlds promise us - but changing or breaking patterns can never be done by changing worlds. We see that every day, when people change their jobs, their partners or their homes - after all, most end up the same.
Even if there's a "Third Life" and a "Fourth Life", maybe hundreds of them, they will in the end be all the same, simply as we are who we are.
However, if we are shaken up so much, that we have to drop some patterns, or really decide to make a change, this and all other worlds will be different - instantly...
Dude, are you camping in a maternity ward with a rifle?
Property is theft.