Wednesday, October 27, 2004
MMO anthropologists rumbled by MMO players
BuhBuhCuh sez,
Students at the University of Pittsburgh are taking a class on "writing and reading practices in digital environments." This week, they are looking at a MMO called Second Life, and started a discussion on the ethics of researching players - do you tell them you are researching, or does that compromise the research. (A good terra-nova thread).
The 'net works in funny ways, and sure enough, a student told a SL user about the blog. Now the users of Second Life are in an uproar about the ethics of the students researching them without asking first. (Not to mention that the fairly intellectual Second Life community wasn't happy about the insinuations that they are all crazed stalkers.)
There is a long thread in the Second Life forums but registration is required.
Link (Thanks, BuhBuhCuh!)
MMO anthropologists rumbled by MMO players
BuhBuhCuh sez,
Students at the University of Pittsburgh are taking a class on "writing and reading practices in digital environments." This week, they are looking at a MMO called Second Life, and started a discussion on the ethics of researching players - do you tell them you are researching, or does that compromise the research. (A good terra-nova thread).
The 'net works in funny ways, and sure enough, a student told a SL user about the blog. Now the users of Second Life are in an uproar about the ethics of the students researching them without asking first. (Not to mention that the fairly intellectual Second Life community wasn't happy about the insinuations that they are all crazed stalkers.)
There is a long thread in the Second Life forums but registration is required.
Link (Thanks, BuhBuhCuh!)