In-Class Discussion: 4/17

In the discussion today what I thought was most interesting and an important point that was made is that there are no guidelines on the net. There are no laws or rules, even though there is certain etiquette that is followed on specific games or community, they are not followed across the board. I feel like another problem that arises while participating in these games or online communities is the realm of seriousness that is encountered. There are people who literally use these communities as an extension in real life and then there are those that use it for pure entertainment and to do things they would never do in real life. Talking and listening to so many different people with different levels of participation during todays discussion, I realized that a key thing to remember while taking part in these communities is that it is "virtual" life. It is not real and you cannot react to things that happen in these "pretend" worlds as you would in the real life. The theory of this is all well and good but in practice this is extremely difficult for many who treat these characters they have formed online really are a part or extension of themselves. I think everyone made some really interesting points and being someone that has only participated in Facebook or Myspace, I am interested to what I will experience in Second Life.