[MUD-Dev] NEWS: Why Virtual Worlds are Designed By Newbies -No, Really! (By R. Bartle)

[Ola Fosheim Grøstad]

"Lee Sheldon" <lsheldo2 at tampabay.rr.com> writes:

>> I needed an umbrella title for my book, and used "Virtual World"
>> because that was the best on offer. Now you're saying that we
>> can't use "Virtual World".

Not if it isn't a world... If you can treat it as if it was a world,
yes, then it is a virtual world. The only key difference between a
virtual world and a physical world is the discrepancy between the
presented and the represented.

> Maybe in time a better term will come along, but it only clouds
> the issue if you decide to inflict your own parameters that limit
> the coined phrase, then decide it therefore won't work as an
> umbrella. It's like deciding "puppy dog" shouldn't refer to the
> juvenile edition of man's best friend any longer because you use
> puppy dog to refer to reptiles, and they have no fur. Accept the
> definition of the term, or come up with another one. If it sings,
> it'll be adapted.

What definition? The term "virtual world" has been in use for a long
time, and in some contexts it doesn't even imply multiple users!

--
Ola - http://folk.uio.no/olag/
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