[MUD-Dev] UO rants

[Matthew Mihaly]

On Fri, 25 Aug 2000, Dave Rickey wrote:

>     I *really* hate that "virtual" in front of "community".  It's *not* a
> second class community.  It's not "not real".  A community is simply a
> common illusion in the first place, you can have towns of 20,000 that are
> tight-knit communities and densely packed 200-unit apartment complexes that
> *aren't*.  They have only an incidental connection with geography under any
> circumstances.
> 
>     If people act like they are members of a community, a community exists.
> Period.  Focusing on how "virtual communities" differ from "real
> communities" keeps us from really seeing what they have in common, and that
> they are in fact, both equally real.  Virtual vs. Real is a false dichotomy,
> in 20 years few will understand why anybody ever felt the need to
> differentiate "real life" and "online" relationships.

I agree with you completely, but I think the reason that people
distinguish 'real' vs. 'virtual' is that the consequences of actions in a
'virtual' world are generally much much much less severe than the possible
consequences in a 'real' community, which leads to people behaving in
rather extreme ways in the virtual communities.

--matt

"He that is wounded in the testicles, or have his penis cut off, shall not
enter into the congregation of the Lord." Deuteronomy 23:1




_______________________________________________
MUD-Dev mailing list
MUD-Dev at kanga.nu
http://www.kanga.nu/lists/listinfo/mud-dev