It's just a game.... Nooooot

computers

In a previous posts I mentioned the lure of Online Worlds and the unique culture that surrounds the phenomenon.
I had barely scratched the surface...

I now know that there are people that just like to be assholes. Rolling your eyes, you say "of course!" Sometime I tend to be naive/positive and believe that people would not stoop lower than a certain level. I was wrong and in some instances (no pun intended) it was the social environment of these online worlds that made me realize this. I now know that these people are called Trolls. Someone that is deliberately provocative in order to provoke a sharp negative response from as many people as possible. They might make a racial, or personal comment, say something contrary to the obvious... you get the idea. They have no purpose, they are simply assholes. If you encounter one, simply ignore them, otherwise you are "feeding the troll"

I have added World of Warcraft (WoW) to my addiction. This, in turn, has opened my eyes to many unusual (compared to RL) peripheral activities and events:

Like the press conference to be held in the WoW world. Similar to the press conferences held by Sun and Dell in the virtual world Second Life. One of the rules for the conference is as follows:
If the spokesperson is not forthcoming, you may duel for information. Now can you imagine a intrepid Journalist with no WoW experience trying to interview... Is this similar to the disparity between being computer-literate and a technophobe?

What about that virtual virus that spread further than the programmers thought they'd told it to...

I loved the series of books by Tad Williams titled "Otherland". It took the virtual world idea and allowed the author a fantastic number of options for setting, exactly because of the theme. After experiencing Online Role Playing games for a year now, I can see how it would fuel a writer's imagination. I wonder how he managed to NOT play and finish the book ;)

on the lighter side:
This is a french video (part 1 - part 2) (with Eng subtitles) of a group of serious Dungeons and Dragons players who invite a new player to join them and suffer the hilarious consequences


This is a funeral held in World of Warcraft (WoW) on a PvP server(where anyone can attack anyone at any time) for a player that died in real life.
While the funeral-goers were waiting to pay their last respects 1-by-1 at the late player's favourite WoW fishing spot, another group of players thought this to be the opportune time to gain experience points (the beginning is a bit drawn-out, but it sets the mood.

And on a more serious note:
The social interaction online is very different from what PIRLs (parents in real life) know. Many different motivators, social orders and influences abound in the virtual world and parents would be well-advised to be more than cognizant of these factors. WoW is rated "Teen" but there are many children younger than that playing in the WoW world. I'd love to read some studies about this subject, any comments?

If I don't see you IRL, catch you online :)