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EVERYTHING SHOULD BE UNDER
THE SUN
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Playing in Mud: Introduction The social evolution of humanity is directly related
to invention and to the degree of these inventions assimilate into the
daily life. Each innovation, once assimilated, has some impact on the
psychological and sociological aspect of human existence. Innovation
changes the structure and organization of society. It affects the existence,
thoughts, relations and continuity of human beings. Each century, a
leading new technology exerts such an influence on human life (e.g.:
print, radio, television, computer). Today, a new and globally effective
information technology is changing the social structure of human existence.
This new technology is the internet. Today's, the computer plays an important and growing
role in everyday life. The number of virtual communities is increasing
at a considerable rate, and the amount of people who find a voice within
these chats rooms is becoming larger and larger. In my essay, I would
like to focus on virtual communities and analyze why people need to
log on to chat rooms in order to communicate. With the advance of electronic communication technologies,
and especially with the invention of the internet, the border between
machine and human is greatly reduced. There is new terminology to describe
the nature of this new medium. For instance, for people connected to
the internet, we apply the notion of 'cyborg' , a hybrid creature of
machine and organism in a post-gender world. In these post-modern times,
machine and human are dependent each other. They become inseparable
- as one. A person, using a machine and his knowledge to manipulate
this machine, experiences interactivity within the context of the virtual
space. The internet is considered by most as a new public
sphere where a diverse group of people gathers to discuss issues of
social concern. Of course, not everyone has access to this new medium
of communication. Those who do belong to a high-level, educated class.
I do not plan to discuss the nature of equality of access to the internet
or the possibility of its democratization. Democracy, I believe, is
a utopian notion which has never existed, even in archaic Greek society.
It has been long been sought as the ultimate stage in human existence.
But it has never achieved; and within this capitalistic, market-driven
system where someone with power always dominates others, will probably
never be realized. My paper is, instead, a mosaic of ideas composed of
my thoughts about cyberspace, the internet and Mud's - a popular on-line
games. The Nature of the Internet The internet is a textual and graphical space where
users log on for different reasons. Several activities take place within
the realm of the internet: commercial interaction, academic research,
netsurfing, real time interaction and chatting with interlocutors who
are similarly "connected". Cyberspace is very often described as disembodied space.
Based on a Cartesian vision, or supporting Descartes' philosophy of
duality of body/mind, many people argue that cyberspace is a virtual
world where there exists a separation of body and mind. I do not agree
this hypothesis. The way people interact is different from the real
world where social interaction depends on embodied communications, like
known, stable genders, sexualities, races and classes.. Cyberspace communication
challenges all that. In cyberspace, identity is not given but constructed,
chosen. But even though the promise of cyberspace is to free communication
and movement from the limitations of the body, the body still exists,
and can not be abandoned easily. The fact of the body remains. The first thing that a user on Mud has to do is to create an identity. Very often, other users make assumptions about identity and gender. The way of communication is very different from the face-to-face relationship. In cyberspace, interaction takes place in a text-based virtual space where words become actions and what you hear is what you see. The mind functions like the body. People are connecting
to each other in a virtual space, -real people with emotions, feelings,
fears. Even though the person is physically behind the screen, connected
to the world beyond the screen by pressing a key on the keyboard, he
or she is present psychically when connected to one of these environment.
The majority of the people feel a sense of "being there" when
an intense interactivity and communication process is happening. Several
cases have proven that cyberspace is an existing physical world where
people can be hurt, can have sex, even can be raped. Because of the fear of AIDS and many other diseases,
people escape to the realm of virtual world in search of intimacy. In
the virtual world, people establish connections, find and create opportunities
to meet people and even have sex not in action, but in words. In Sherry
Turtle's book "Life on the screen", she describes a case where
a couple got divorced because the woman discovered that her husband
was having virtual sex in cyberspace, and she considered this cheating.
She was not able to accept this act as purely happening in an imaginary
world. Her feelings were hurt. This case reveals us that many people
consider sex as starting not in physical action but in the mind. In
cyberspace, although you do not touch somebody's body, you have an interaction
with a real person in real time through words. I believe that it is misleading to describe cyberspace as a disembodied medium. Whenever we enter cyberspace, our bodies are actively involved in the construction of virtuality. Virtual reality, which is a simulation of real life,
is an existing space. It is a space where information flows densely,
where action and reaction are translated seen into a textual format.
We can be totally immersed in the VR (virtual reality), with our body
and mind. We can feel alive in cyberspace, where the physical self is
transformed into a package of information. The body exists in a digitized
form. Thus, because of the aliveness of our senses, we can still be
hurt. The case of a virtual rape in Tinymud further suggests
that cyberspace is an existing world in words. Like in the real world,
bad things can happen and danger exists. A character known as Mr. Bungle
committed a series of sexual assaults in a virtual encounter with a
female character known as Starsinger. Mr. Bungle was immediately censured.
The Moo, surveyed by Wizards, had to enact the judicial system. In this
virtual tribunal, the case was discussed on-line and toading Mr. Bungle
was the recommend punishment. This case illustrates that sexual harassment
can occur on-line, that people can get hurt. The internet can also be a world
of deceit where falsification can occur. On Thursday, April 23, 1998, "New York Times"
ran an article about internet support groups. It explained that althougth
newsgroups offer a new form of community where diverse of people connect
on-line to share experiences, feelings, and ideas, they also become
places where people lie, some invent stories and intrude into networks
of people who have come to care about one another, and to think of themselves
as communities. One such case involves a 15 year old girl who communicated
on-line with parents of premature infants. She lied about having a premature
baby and got sympathy and affection from the members of the group. When
the truth was revealed, the members who had supported her felt betrayed.
Dr. Feldman, an expert on faked illnesses, call this "virtual factitious
disorders". Individuals suffering from it long for sympathy, care,
and attention that they feel unable to get in a more appropriate way.
These people also take satisfaction from lying and deceiving others
on-line. Dr. Feldman refers to this as "duping delight". The
internet, where people can neither see nor hear each other, easily assists
those people with factitious disorder. The Internet, because of its
anonymity and prevention of control, becomes a place for faking pain
and suffering. What should the ethics of this new medium be? How can
we avoid such misleading behaviors on the internet? Where should restrictions
be placed? These questions must be addressed. The purpose of newsgroups
is to let people share their emotions and ideas. Some people take advantage
of the medium to falsify and invent stories. In doing so, they do harm
to other people who, though virtually connected, exist in real life.
As in real life, falsification and deceit occur in the embodied world
of the internet, and real people get hurt. People do really feel involved cyberspace. The body
is never left behind the screen. Although physical distance separates
users from each other, the truth of "being there" is real.
Cyberspace, a social, text-based virtual reality, is filled of emotion
and action. Obviously, no one was really raped, in the Tinymud case,
but someone was virtually raped. Whenever we enter cyberspace, we project
our self into it; we never leave our human being. We re-present ourselves
in a digitized form. Julian Dibble describes it well I like to use the metaphor of motion to describe the
activities on cyberspace. We associate the term "motion" with
any object moving from one place to another. We are accustomed to seeing
human motion only within the physical dimension. But, this vision has
collapsed with the invention of the internet. On the internet, we move
in a way that differs from the real world. Maybe in real life, we are
still sitting in front of our computer; but we are definitely going
elsewhere while connecting to cyberspace. I like to describe cyberspace
as a land of roving motion and flow. It is a smooth world which allows
us to wander and travel in multiple directions. The road on which we
travel is not defined in advance. Like the nomads Those three terms - -pluralism, diversity and community-
- are key to understanding the virtual world and I would like to describe
what they mean in the context if cyberspace. Diversity: Cyberspace is founded on the primacy of
diversity. For instance, the first thing that a person does when entering
in a Mud's is to create a character. You can be anyone that you desire
to be. You give yourself a name and an identity, depending on the mood
you are. You can be someone totally different from yourself existing
in the real world. You can even change your gender and be someone that
you would not dare to be in the reality. Pluralism: The self on the internet is not limited
to one. You can create multiple of selves, all very different from each
other. You can change your role anytime you want. For example, a regular
player of FURRYMUCK has created several characters: "Aileen"
who denies her sexuality; "Tracey, who is a pretty, sexy, blonde
girl; Tase" a young gay; and "Kari" a young women who
is submissive. Depending on her mood, the player can choose which character
to be. Community: Cyberspace is seen as the new informal public
space where people can rebuild a community. On the internet, each day,
a new virtual community is being constructing where many international
users are connecting simultaneously in real-time environment. Here,
they are interacting, chatting, raising questions and discussing interesting
topics. Observations on MUD community MUD (Multi User Domain) is an on-line game. Essentially
a multi-participant virtual game which is accessible through telnet.
It has become very popular The MUD environment lands somewhere between real life and other adventure-style computer games. Certain characteristic make it different from other computer games. For example, there is no goal, no score. Therefore, there are neither winners nor losers. In MUD, unlike in many other games, the player can manipulate the game by adding new objects to the database. Finally the MUD player is not alone. He or she interacts with participants in real time. This feature brings a new social dimension to the game. These characteristics of MUD have some impact on the psycho-social aspect of the player. Many players start to think that they extend beyond the screen, and they see the virtual space as a counterpart to reality. But they feel less inhibited
when interacting in the MUD environment than they feel in real life
circumstances. Without feeling the pressure that the society imposes
upon the individual, they do things that they normally would not dare
to do. Because there is no real judgment or no real harm occurring on
the virtual space, they feel an increased sense of freedom. Perhaps, the most significant reason for Mud's popularity is the anonymity that it provides. The first thing a user does is to give a name to this persona that he/she wants to be. The user is creating an incarnation, an avatar, an identity on this virtual place. Through the game, people create themselves, reconstructing a new set of identity and roles. Based on words, virtual characters converse to each other, exchange gestures and express emotions.. But all interaction is anonymous. This anonymity gives users the comfort to confess their deepest secret and to freely express
their thoughts about the most critical topics. It allows participants
to be whoever they want to be. They play a role or several roles that
can be close to their real personalities; or on the contrary, they can
add a new personality which is totally different from their real one.
In MUD, reconstruction of the self is critical Identity is not limited to one dimension; on the contrary, a multiplicity of self can be displayed in this constructed environment. Nothing is given, all constructed. Participants, rebuilding
new identities, creating their own stories, can express unexplored parts
of themselves without fears of censure or embarrassment. MUD can be reached at anytime. In this interactive
environment, people can almost be sure to find someone with whom to
chat. Friendship can be built, and, intimacy can be reach a different
level and dimension behind the screen. Perhaps this emphasis on multiplicity, intimacy and
freedom accounts for the gender swapping phenomena so prreviewent in
the MUD realm. It is very common for an individual to adopt an identity
of the opposite sex. For instance, a male can pretend to be a female;
thus, he can begin to explore the secret of the opposite gender in a
virtual social community. And identity is not restricted. Players can
create as many identities as they wish, and switch whenever they want
to do so. MUDS are also considered as the new addiction of the
new generation. There are people who spend more than 10 hours per week
on the Mud's which shows that Mud's is the new social context of those
people to create new friendship and share their feelings and ideas. For instance, Robert, an addicted Mud's participant
says: "Mud's, It is like a kind of addiction "It is my life"
is, like, living on the MUD" Most of the time, I felt comfortable
that this is my life. I'd say I am addicted to it." Conclusion: The computer and especially the internet are shaping
our ways of thinking and feeling. The cyberspace environment engages
our bodies and minds; it taps into both our emotional and mental capacities.
Through this technology, we can experiment with different existences
and visit two different worlds: the real and the virtual. The virtual
world is a simulated world, a projection of the real one - but it is
no less real to those who inhabit it. This technology allows us to experience
other ways of being. In doing so, we cross the boundary between the
real and virtual worlds. And that has the power to change us all. Bibliography: Related Web Sites: 1 Sherry Turkle, Life on the screen, page: 201 This essay was written for the "New
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TURKCE - ISIK BINYILI
BAHAR sayisi web'dedir. |
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@The Light
Millennium magazine was created and designed
by Bircan ÜNVER. 6th issue. Summer 2001, New York. URL: http://www.lightmillennium.org |