Inkanta
Group: Admins
Posts: 1453
Joined: Feb. 2000 |
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Posted: Oct. 15 2006, 23:36 |
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Hey all,
This topic seems to have been created by a spammer, but it was a half-way decent one, so we made a few course corrections and left it.
This Board had pretty-much been it for me until a few months ago when I joined another one for perspective, and then recently yet a third. The first one is a Rush Board. Nice group of people--huge forum and I keep getting lost, but find my way back to where I want to be. The other one I just joined and haven't had time to make so much as one "hello" type post. That one focuses on IQ (er, the prog rock band as opposed to the test).
Lately I've been finding my direction again and am seriously thinking of heading back to school for another degree. I want to focus on some aspect of online communities/virtual worlds with regard to sociological or anthropological aspects. For me, increased involvement in virtual communities has led to greater blurring between "real" and "virtual." For example, last week when my 12-year old had amnesia and knew I was out of town but didn't remember where and she was too lazy to ask her sister in the next room, she messaged Korg, who informed her. Someone half a planet away tells her where her mother is. In Second Life, some artists digitize their tangible paintings to sell to folks for their Second Life homes. Some SL residents buy virtual ones, while others go on to buy the real painting to hang in their real homes. As you well know, many "Planet Oldfield" community members have met in real life. I find it interesting how "virtual" and "real" impact on each other and shape community, both the virtual ones, but also the real life ones. Relationships seem to be the most important component. Whether it is a forum like this, or something with more immersion like Second Life, perhaps virtuality is a medium that sustains relationships, whether they are completely virtual or mixed reality. <needs to finish Howard Rheingold's book>
-------------- "No such thing as destiny; only choices exist." From: Moongarden's "Solaris."
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