[MUD-Dev] Expected value and standard deviation.

[Tom]

Ola Fosheim Grøstad [mailto:olag at ifi.uio.no] wrote:

>> There is no reason to believe that humans in online worlds are
>> significantly different than humans in the physical world. Is
>> there?

Not having read Mike Tresca's thesis (yet) here's my take based not
on MMO, but on IRC (I help run the world's largest IRC network
QuakeNet)

In terms of online behaviour, yes there is a marked difference in
attitude between people online and the same people offline, however
there's a third level - the level of anonymity.

Online, if someone thinks they are anonymous then their personality,
attitudes and actions change dramatically, most often becoming
arrogant, rude and inordinately selfish.

Once the veil of anonimity is raised, the very same people revert to
more accepted social norms, displaying attitudes and personality
traits closer to the ones they display offline.

Regards,
Tom "cro" Gordon
CEO, AlienPants Ltd
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