Virtual Communities, Virtual Culture, Virtual Governance

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Virtual Communities, Virtual Culture, Virtual
Governance

• A Walk on the Wild Side of Virtual Culture

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The Plan

• 0. Virtual Worlds
• The example of Second Life
• 1. Virtual Communities
• 2. Virtual Cultures
• What is a virtual culture
• Some examples?
• 3. Virtual Governance
• How does governance emerge in a virtual culture?

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0. Virtual Worlds
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Second Life
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Second Life Avatar Creation
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Second Life Content Creation
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1. Virtual Communities
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• We can think of a virtual community as a group of
  individuals that are spatially separated but that
  nevertheless engage in a broad spectrum of shared
  social activities using non-face-to-face forms of
  communication.

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• The rise of internet based social networking
  platforms has made the notion of virtual
  communities salient, but virtual communities
  predate the internet and even electronically
  mediated communication. Academic communities,
  for example, have long communicated through
  letters and other forms of written communication.

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• Not every network of individuals counts as a
  community. The same individuals may be in
  contact every day, but if the communication is
  merely to conduct business then they are engaged
  in a narrow spectrum of shared activities.
  Likewise, some social networks may fall short of
  being communities if the focus of socializing
  remains narrow (talking about lolcats, for
  example).

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• Graphical virtual worlds like Second Life are not
  the first virtual communities, but they provide
  many new tools to facilitate the formation of
  communities -- not just chat, but ways of
  expressing attitudes via virtual clothing, props,
  and rituals.

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2.0 Virtual Cultures
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• Gor

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• Griefer Culture

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Griefing
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And More Griefing
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WTC Build
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Attack on Edwards HQ?
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3. Virtual Goverance
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• There doesnt appear to be any top-down mechanism
  driving these norms and structures. Norms and
  ideas of governance are imported from different
  countries around the world, different virtual
  worlds in cyberspace, and even fictional worlds.

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• These imported norms collide in a kind of
  crucible in places like Second Life. Sometimes
  the result is a cultural fragmentation, while
  other times the result is a kind of fusion.

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• Virtual Paramilitary Organizations

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The Sims Shadow Government
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Government Organization
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SSGs Intelligence Branch
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Tagging a Griefer
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Conflict Resolution
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Dispute Resolution via Cyberwar
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Trouble Brewing
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One Song and Tank Split
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WWIIOLers Get Revenge
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Tank on the Rebound
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Or not.
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Pancake vs. Falcon
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Who should mediate?Chaunsey Crash vs. Lee Linden