second life human subjects

It won't. Some people are just looking for drama all the time. Shrug.

1) advice: don't respond to things you aren't paying attention, too.
2) a little ettiquete note for students about not asking seemingly "do my homework for me" type questions in the forums might be profitable for all.

i can't speak for those who want no research/students in sl.
but most of us that are concerned about research in sl aren't concerned about the fact research is happening. the concern is over ethics and methodology. one of the earlier classes had an ethical breach. so there is concern over that. but even most of us with concerns support the idea of research and students in sl, as long as problems avoided before they happen, and are dealt with should they occur.
i personally think research and students is a great idea - as long as they abide by good ethical research standards (where necessary).

the difference between a second grader and college student is quite significant. wouldn't you say? quite a bit more is expect from 18+ year olds than from 8 year olds. unless you are suggesting college students should be treated like 8 year olds.

the line between sl and first life is not bright. i want to see sl treated with the respect it deserves when it comes to proper research methodology; sl is a real place with real people involved.

Check out Homework 4 -
http://pandora.elon.edu/~mconklin/gst364Win2005/hw4.pdf

Who's post is that in the quoted bibliography? ohhhhh, that'd be mine.

I suppose that means I'm part of some study. Woo? hehhe

if you follow the information trail of some people you will come to first life information about them.

and while it may be my choice to reveal first life information, from an ethical research standpoint having someone record information about me is my choice.

* * *

and you're right. i can't stop unethical people from doing unethical things (such as yelling racist slurs at me or mugging me).

but that doesn't mean i should just let such a person walk all over me. nor does that mean that i can't work to make it not worth their while to do something unethical near me.

The analogy was a hyperbole. The source matters not. A question that seems retarded to you may very well be a valid question for someone else, and if you answer it you will increase the individual's knowledge. I dare you to find a soul who thinks education is not important. Don't take your knowledge for granted.

Prejudice and bias in research is unfortunate, but it is also unavoidable. If a researcher has a bias going into an interview, there is very little you can say to change their opinion, and getting angry will only antagonize them. Hopefully readers will recognize the bias and not take the researcher seriously.

But regardless of whether a researcher is biased, coverage is good. Bad attention is still attention. A negative review of Second Life still brings the words to people's ears. Readers who are truly interested will do their own research, and they will find positive reviews, and neutral ones. Readers who only listen to the negative reviews are not going to play Second Life, so what is there to worry about?

Hey Spat, I have a question for you -
How much do you think the following factors will affect your class's accuracy of research:
- Short length of time that you have to spend in SL
- Setting yourselves apart with the surname and the question asking (rather than blending in)
- Not having to buy your own land or pay fees
- Having to examine the environment rather than joining because you want? (Or is that moot, since you chose the class?)

science and knowledge isn't about coverage and attention. it's about accuracy and ethics.

you seem to have confused marketing with science.

it is the job of an ethical and proper researcher to minimize both prejudice and bias.

*ahem* I don't think these Radiks were ethical and proper researchers. Or is it usual for researchers to negrate people because they didnt like the responses to their questions?

I guess they're just sensitive types, and don't like people disagreeing with the assertions they made up before they ever got here, and certainly don't want little things like talking to residents or doing research to get in the way of their uninformed opinions. In all the times I've been posting to the forums, and all the things I've said to so many different people (and you KNOW what I'm like!), I've never actually had someone neg me for a post til our precious little tourists came along.

And on that note, I agree with Hiro here; their experience of SL just barely skims the surface. It's not like actually being a resident. It's like being a coach party of tourists.

I agree that an ethical researcher would not be biased in a perfect world. The point of my previous post was that this is not a perfect world, but this does not matter.

The research we were doing was not science. It was journalism. Science can only become biased by fudging numbers, such as "The average SL player spends 8 hours a day in SL". Even then, it takes a journalist's interpretation for this information to become truly biased, but as I explained in my previous post, coverage is always good.

Hiro:

The short length of time we have in SL (approx. one month) is unfortunate-- I would personally like more. The time was long enough to get a feel for how the game works-- the social aspect, the building and creative aspect, the "games within game" aspect-- but the time was not long enough to really get *involved*. If we were allotted more time, the most major benefit I expect that we would start to form more solid relationships with people we see in-world.

The surname wasn't really an issue-- I was able to do pretty much anything I wanted without a hassle from others. I expect those who frequent this message board are but a small portion of those who play SL on a regular basis, and as such most were probably not even aware that the Radiks surname indicated I was in a class. In fact, I believe the only people I talked to who were aware I was in a class were the people I *told* about the class. The interviewing wasn't that bad-- most of the questions were pretty interesting to me, but it was a PITA having to seek people out to interview. I'm sure most of the interviewees thought it was pretty weird and awkward... just like a RL interview.

The experience would probably be much different if we had to pay fees. I'm sure it would have been less like a game; more realistic. I'm also sure many would have spent more time in-world if we had to pay-- to get their money's worth.

Most of our time was spent doing what most SL players do-- play. Most people bought stuff, or danced at clubs, or found weapons and caged other students in our sim... I played Tringo and Primonary . Examination of the environment was pretty much one and the same as anyone else's SL experience.

Arrrgggh.. This sort of uninformed opinion is what miffs me. Who had assertions that were made up before we got there???? Who had uninformed opinions??? I don't think a single one of us had even heard of Second Life before Prof. Radiks introduced it to us. Sounds like you are the one with uninformed opinions, my friend.

Now I sleep.

Some of your little buddies sure did

Read their posts, the responses and their subsequent reactions!

I tend to agree with your assertion that there are predertermined biases. Just because they hadn't heard of Second Life doesn't mean that they don't have build-in biases one way or the other.

There you are -in a nutshell. And he doesn't see anything wrong with it. This is the core of my objection, and wipes out for once and for all the "everybody knew", "we were told" argument. We didn't, and we weren't. Done and dusted.

Well, I fail to see what the problem is here. The people that he interviewed and quoted, he told who he was, and why he was there. He recieved their permission to use their words.

I do not understand why he might need to inform the person he was dancing next to in a club, or playing tringo with that he was a student in a class exploring second life. If I'm writing a paper about New York City and I take a trip to Manhattan to experience the city first-hand, do I have to stop every single passer-by and let them know that I am writing about their city, and because I just saw them that some impression of them might make it into my paper? Of course not. If I interviewed some locals about life in Manhattan, would I need to get their permission to use their words? Heck yeah!

As they said, this wasn't a super scientific study, it was a more casual journalistic one.

I seriously think you are misinterpreting what he meant by saying he was pretty much able to do whatever he wanted. But then, you appear to be one of the rabid paranoid superultrauber privacy freaks that have popped up in the forums lately.

Anyway, I was told, I knew. I got this info from the forums. If you didn't, well it's nott LL's fault if you don't come to the forums often enough to be informed. That IS what they are here for.

StoneSelf, your paranoia and legalese is seriously getting on my nerves.

How many times have you yourself been approached by a SL student? or in the vicinity of one and seen them interacting with individuals.

i pride myself on the reputation i have built within the SL community and much of it was made overcoming the staunch over-exaggerations of your posts on the forums that depicted all students as irresponsible, unintelligent, and rude individuals.

I conducted social research within Second Life with some of the more 'major' or 'known' residents, and it can be said that they all LAUGHED when i presented them with the statement of informend consent as required by IRB standards. Not one single person chose not to speak on record, or felt as they were being placed under a microscope.

SL is a fabulous learning tool, and i have become an embedded part of this community, regardless of the stigma that you and a few others will place on my 'researcher' last name. I found vast support from residents throughout the semester and am looking forward to spending more time with them.

Your judgements fall on the students, as opposed to LL or their professors. Those in charge enforce TOS or Community Standards, as well as project and social standards. It is an individual's failing if they choose not to abide by them, and thus they are to be held responsible as any other individual resident of SL. However, to take a single incident and hold it against all educational groups as a strong example of what they all WILL do and HAVE done, that simply is unacceptable.

IMHO, treat each individual resident with respect, and that is what you will get back in return. But greet them with scorn and resentment and see how your attitude will follow in their repsonses.

A clearly offended, and now 'private' resident of SL,
Leslie Walkabout

Sorry, LW, but that is just the way paranoid people are. At least when they don't take their meds. But, don't worry I am following him around, and keeping a close eye on him, so he doesn't hurt anyone or himself.

blah

This is a great question, and I'm sorry I missed it until now (I've been away from this thread for a while). I am the author of the Clickable Culture blog. It seems you are confusing my criticism with anger. I wouldn't continue a subscription to SL if it was making me write angry articles

While forum posts are viewable exclusively to Second Life residents, I believe (however wrongly) that I am invoking journalistic Fair Use in copying and pasting selected quotes. The quotes I used in my recent criticism contain only the questions asked by Radiks students, and do not contain answers by residents. The quotations I used supported statements made in my article, therefore the quotes are not "gratuitous." The names of the posters were not given for reasons of privacy (although I'd be happy to give credit if the posters desire). I didn't ask permission to use the quotations, but no Radiks group member has asked me to remove them. I'm not sure if I would remove them if asked by anyone other than LL. I intend on responsibly quoting from the forums again in the future unless explicitly instructed otherwise by Linden Lab.

And speaking of LL, I consider any statement made by a Linden in these forums to be official business, and therefore fully quotable in a journalistic context.

In the past, I have made inquiries in the forum when researching a topic for an article (such as requesting information or anecdotes from residents on a particular topic). These postings have fully disclosed my intent (to the best of my recollection), and if I subsequently use resident quotes in an article it is because I have had an indication from them that doing so is OK. I haven't yet had a complaint, but I'm open to hearing complaints.

There is a difference between cutting and pasting vast swaths of material from these forums into a public blog and selectively choosing supporting material for a thoughtful article. I believe (however wrongly) that in the few instances when I have quoted from the forums, that I have done so responsibly. I am happy to hear from anyone who'd like to set me straight on this. Any journalist who alienates the general public is not likely to be granted interviews in the future.

I'm still trying to sort out how (or if) journalists are any different from academics. My own biased viewpoint is that journalists are human observers while academics observe humans. Residents don't seem to complain if a SL journalist does a complimentary feature story on their build/business/lifestyle. Conversely, some residents get extremely irate if their build/business/lifestyle is overlooked or cast in a negative light. Judging by this thread there are a lot of SL bloggers out there. Currently there appear to be no special regulations or restrictions in place or enforced with regards to bloggers and journalists, particularly where in-world conduct is concerned. This could change as soon as a Second Life blogger posts something injurious to enough residents.

The more I consider the issues with researchers, journalists, and anyone else with a professional interest in Second Life, the more I think that resident expectations need to be expanded. As far as I can tell, there have always been residents who are not only here to "play" but here for professional reasons as well. Just like in real life. It's just that only relatively recently have some residents realized "they walk among us." Understandably, this is a big shock for some.

It's fine to demand that lines start being drawn, individuals identified, etc., but such lines are fuzzy at best. As a journalist, I could put on a "PRESS" hat when I am "recording," but what happens when I learn something and my hat's not on? I still witnessed something noteworthy--"citizen journalism" comes to mind here. In real life, I am lucky enough to be able to make public general journalistic observations without restriction. I can write an article about something I saw on the street, or quote a stranger I overheard at a restaurant, even if the stranger is obviously trying not to be heard. Obviously a good journalist has some sensitivity towards the subject matter. The same goes for anyone else with a professional/academic interest in Second Life. My expectation coming to Second Life was that there would be individuals inworld with professional interests. I don't know where I got that idea from, because Second Life isn't advertised as a world where you might be the subject of observation or study. Rather than try to impose blanket restrictions on certain types of professional behaviour, it might be better to expand resident expectations to understand that they share SL space with bloggers, journalists, researchers, students, game designers, and businesspeople, just like real life.

1) i don't think all students are irresponsible. i don't even think most students are irresponsible.
2) i think they and their professors and ll should be held to well established ethical standards.

hopefully your research considers sampling bias better than this statement indicates. people who object to what you do would avoid you, no? and wouldn't that bias your sample?

also, if you read the forums, i'm not the only person who objects - simply one of the most prolific.

so it is true that there both those who do and don't mind being subjects in research. and those who do mind are very likely a minority. but even if they are a minority, good ethical research requires that their desires be taking into consideration - it's bad practice (especially in a social sciene) to ignore what people are actually saying and doing.

my comments are directed at those involved, most of which are students.

when the question is, "what harm can occur?"
the answer is this harm has occurred.

when the qeustion is, "what's the worst that can happen?"
the answer some really bad things can happen.

citing these things in response is nor paranoia.

i don't hold it against all educational groups, so much as i ask that all groups work to prevent such things from happening.

academically involved individuals and groups that deny such things can and have happen cast a dubious light on their own practices wrt to ethics.

while i do point out past issues and cite possible things that can be go wrong, it is geared towards preventing future events than any purpose of finger pointing of judgment.

an ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure.

* * *


as a matter of policy, most universities hold any academical driven activity geared towards expanding the knowledge base as research. and most hold any involvement with humans in this arena as human subject research, and there are standards and policies about this in this regard. you should go look it; consider it good journalistic practice.

journalism also has ethical standards wrt to quoting people who do not wish to be quoted. and it has a standard ethics about bias and fact finding.

even if coverage were good, it is not alway desirable. (not that i grant much to such an uncritical cliche as "x is alway good"

i agree. however, i think holding them to the same standards as in the first life is reasonable. as you say, "just like in real life."

i think it's less a shock for most. i ran into several researchers in sl months before any of the classes were announced.

while i do agree that some sl resident need to get used to the idea of sl getting more and more like first life, at the same time researchers need to realize that standards that apply in first life also apply in second life wrt to their research. that argument runs both ways.