Eshin Direct

Here is an interesting article. It’s about how to consider the virtual worlds that seem to be springing up everywhere. So, if someone defames another character in online world, then are they guilty of defamation that can be prosecuted in real world court of law. Those of you familiar with Everquest will know that their grey economy on ebay where people trade and sell items and information exceeds many third world economies.

My personal view is that the virtual world should, if it is a game environment, remain that. A game. Sure, you get pissed off if someone beats you in a game but the consequences of that shouldn’t be taken out in the real world. Sure, if my friend beat me in Tekken Tag Tournament, I’ll be frustrated but doesn’t mean that he beat me up in real life. If he did, I’d fight back. But I won’t beat him up because a character in a pixelated world beat my character there.

The thing with the virtual world is that is that is an excellent place to explore different parts of your persona with other people that are also (hopefully) exploring the same thing. The reason why you can do this is because it has no real world consequences. If I want to be evil then I can be evil online and test the possible reactions of my behaviour. But I can always start again and reincarnate myself. In the real world, if I alienate my social circle it will be harder to start again…and might have life threatening consequences.

I think we need to remember that about these imaginary worlds we create online. Some people lose sight of that and see it as a money making tool or as a substitute of real life. One HK teenager killed himself because his online account was stolen where he’d spent a lot of time building it’s online wealth. This is extreme, but he probably would have had the same reaction if something similar happened in the real world. I guess the argument could be made that this was “his real world” and that serves as an argument that someone should regulate it as if it was the real world.

But I still firmly believe that entertainment and virtual communities should remain an area of free speech and exploration. Let’s not lose sight of this opportunity to escape and explore.

Tags: Surfer Rants