[MUD-Dev] The Root of the Tree (was NEWS: Why Virtual Worlds ...)

[David Kennerly]

Hello fellow MUD delvers,

In the past week, I saw a lot of discussion of terms going back in
forth.  Or rather, a lot of terms going back in forth over a single
term, THE term.  What do we call the domain into which all of our
products services fit within?  Every year I entertain the topic
(here and privately).

  http://www.kanga.nu/archives/MUD-Dev-L/2003Q3/msg00240.php
  http://www.kanga.nu/archives/MUD-Dev-L/2004Q3/msg00140.php
  http://www.kanga.nu/archives/MUD-Dev-L/2004Q3/msg00162.php

I wonder, though, if I've overlooked the discussion of a different
(yet relevant) term.  Has the list rejected the term
"computer-mediated community"?

Many computer-mediated communities are not online games, however
their essential properties are shared by massively multiplayer games
with persistent-states.  The same kinds of issues of retention,
socialization, appear.  And the cultural traits have some
similarity.  Korea's online and offline culture both stress
community.

So, by using a term like computer-mediated community (CMC), in my
humble opinion, pesky confusions, such as:

    what is virtual and what is not virtual,*
    implementation, and
    interface

may be avoided. The whole spectrum of our craft may be covered.
It's not without precedent.  Lynn Cherney's book "Conversation and
Community: Chat in a Virtual World" is classified as
computer-mediated communication.  Albeit belied by the title, it is
a small step to proceed from study of computer-mediated
communication to the study a living network of computer-mediated
communications (computer-mediated community).

Yet, I admit, it would be nice to be a bit more precise (and
concise) than "computer-mediated community."  As well, the term
(CMC) has several other faults.

CMC is not sexy.  Building a computer-mediated community is not
nearly as gratifying as building a virtual world.  For who can build
a virtual world but a virtual god?  Where admins are lavishly titled
"wizards" or game "masters."  Or simply, "gods."

CMC is not nostalgic.  MUD is.

CMC has no ring to it.  MUD does.

CMC is not marketable.  MASSIVEly multiplayer is.

But, having considered this, and the craft, for some time, I think
the humble term captures some of the salient features of what we all
do, without distorting the proportion of any subset of what any one
of us does.

One more stone for the soup,

David

- Such things as "virtual friends" or "virtual currencies" sound
odd.  If there is a virtual friend, what is a real friend?  Do
friendships, currencies, or contracts have a material essence?

    Try to point to the physical position of a frienship.  The
    friend is not the vessel of the -ship.

    A physical coin is not currency.  It is the value given that is
    meant.

    And a physical piece of paper has no binding.

In each of these concepts, and more, the concept has no material
essence from which to synthesize a virtual version from.
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