False
identities is something that is unavoidable in the virtual reality world,
also known as the internet and "on line". It is a fact, people want
to be what they are not, and the internet is a perfect way to live a different
life style and be a different person. Everything from being better
looking to being an opposite sex is possible in virtual reality.
Other
things that happen are the complete opposite. People often create
an image that they are not. (In the "real world") Often, to meet
societies "norms" people act a certain way just to fit in. These
people can then show their true self in the virtual world, where they can't
be noticed by their peers.
Some
people actually can "come out of the closet" in a sense that, they will
be free to state their opinions and act how they feel. It may come
to the point that they spend all of their free time on the net. This
can be devastating, to their family and friends, and to themselves.
Becoming addicted to the virtual world is becoming common. I sometimes
feel that I have to go on line or I'll be missing out on something.
When my computer went down I immediately wanted to go and buy a new computer
while waiting to get my current computer fixed. My excuse was, "I
need a spare one just incase it breaks down again."
I
admit, I'd feel lost without my computer. How do I know? Well,
being without a computer for 3 days made me feel lost. I didn't know
what to do. My friends teased me. They told me things like:
I gotta
go home now and surf the web.
I'll
e-mail you later, oh wait I forgot your computer is dead.
You got
to check out this site it is awesome, oh never mind.
I might
have been funny to them, but to me it wasn't a joke. I told them
when my computer was fixed I was going to send them some viruses.
I didn't mean it, but the thought did cross my mind.
This
article was very confusing to me. It tried to explain how the relationship
between technology and on line behavior. It mentions that the virtual
community is a new form of community. These virtual communities exist
because we can't carry on the public discussions long enough. Maybe
it is in our programming that we as humans have to inhabit and/or control
(take over) everything, and the virtual world is just another place/thing
to conquer.
In
conclusion to my opinions with this article, I found that Virtual communities
exist because it is a world in which we can fully express our ideas, attitudes,
and anger toward everything and anything. Hey, if my name wasn't
on this report and if I wasn't being graded (judged) upon my opinions to
this article, who knows what I might have said about it. I guess
you'll never know...
The
Titanic Chatrooms were very nice. This was the first chat room I
really ever participated in. Form the Titanic Chat site I was able
to choose from a variety of rooms. The rooms that you can visit are
from all parts of the ship. As you enter a room a there are a few
pictures of the ship from the movie. I felt kind of cozy as memories
of the movie popped into my head. The people were basically chatting
about the movie and what they liked about it and what they felt about it.
It was a very enjoyable experience to see what people were actually saying.
Everyone was fairly nice, especially after I told them I was from Hawaii.
We chatted for about 15 minutes about life in paradise and I left.
(I started to get a headache and got tired of typing.) If it wasn't
for that I would have stayed on.
The
Beer Club I visited was called "The Beer Tour" it was formed for
beer lovers that have a hard time getting the many different variety of
beer to their local stores. The members of this club gets 2 deliveries
of different beer a Month. They also receive newsletters and recipes
for different beers.
The
Music & Audio Connection Recording Forum is formed to help people with
questions about a variety of recording mediums. From here you may
post a question or answer a question. I noticed that it takes as
little as half an hour to get a response. Like any thing else on
the Internet we must use our judgment on what advice to follow. I
could give advice to someone without really knowing what I was talking
about. Just be careful on the advice given to you, maybe it might
be better to wait until you get enough responses to your question and pick
the most common, if you have no other choice.
This
gameroom is a store on the web. They sell merchandise like Billiard
tables, cues, poker tables, soda machines, popcorn carts, pinball machines
etc. I choose this game room because my hobbies are Billiards and
Darts along with playing music. They also sell antique jukeboxes
and Replicas. They also sell SLOT MACHINES some of them legal
in all 50 states.
The
Internet Cafe in Honolulu was pretty well set up. They had projected
an image of Hawaii. There was a section on Kikaida and how Hawaii's
children loved the program. Mentioned also, was the Miss Universe
Pageant that was brought to the Islands for 1998. A live camera is
also set up inside of their shop, I guess so you can see who's there and
what the place looks like, however, it was not working when I tried clicking
on it.
The people who visit the internet cafe can order drinks and food while they
surf the web. I'm not really sure but, I think most of these people do not have their
own computer at home or that they are away from home. When they first opened up
I visited it, and most of the people were looking at adult sites. I
am not sure if it has changed since then.
Asako
Shingawa's report on Cyberspace and Mind helped me to understand the differences
of being a citizen and a netizen. When we are in the virtual realm
we are not judged by the color of our skin, gender, or age. This
leaves only your true or false identity to be judged. Why did I say
true or false? Well, in virtual reality we can be almost anything
we want to be or we can show our true self.
The
virtual existence is measured upon how active you are. She mentions
that you are not truly a netizen until you actively have your own home
page, e-mail, and links to other pages.
I
feel that her report has given me the energy to do my reports. She
was in a similar situation in entering this course. She had hardly
ever touched a computer, just like me. I felt that I had to become
an active Virtual Player by becoming a true netizen and doing my part in
this Whole New World.
Marini
Singh's report helped me realize the fact that "Virtual presence begins
with a click on a link." A virtual presence occurs with communication.
It is mentioned how even when you decide not to click onto a link, it reflects
your sprit.
While
doing my research for this report, I kept it in my mind that, "If I don't
click on the links then I won't be giving justice to the author of their
sites. I felt that all of the work put into their pages should be,
at the least, enjoyed. I tried to remember that, "Hey, I'm putting
this link here for a reason. Please click on it." well, that's how
I feel. Sorry
about that, I was just trying to make a point.
Anyway,
I tried to design my reports so that the readers become more active thus,
giving you a virtual presence.
Ryan
Shintani's report on Cyberspace and Mind was very interesting. A
thought came to me while reading his report. I realized that I am
actually very involved in the internet. Right now it is not really
affecting anyone, but soon I shall be a link in another future student's
report or reports. Just the mere presence of this and all of my reports,
I am affecting the internet.
The
day that you put anything onto the internet you are adding a piece, a strand
if you will, to the great big "Virtual WEB." If one of the stands
of the web are broken or cut off, then someone is being affected by this
change, and so on. For example, if one of my links were to stop working,
all of the people reading my report will be affected by the change.
I notice it all the time while surfing the internet and you will too.
It's another certainty of life. (the other, of course, is death)
This
research has broadened my views on Virtual Relationships. It is very
interesting, it seems that we are becoming more dependent on the computer
then I ever imagined. While doing these reports my computer at home
died. The mother board knocked out and I had to replace it.
Luckily all of my files were still there after I repaired it. Funny
thing though, as I was waiting for the part to come in, I realized that
I felt so lost without my computer. I never really thought that I
could have such an attachment. I felt sad and confused on how and
when this change occurred. Before taking this course I hardly ever
touched my computer, I had it for about 2 years before taking this course.
Now I use it everyday, from browsing the WWW to checking my e-mail.
Wow! I can't believe it. I think I'm hooked.
My
classmates reports are a work of art. I know that a lot of time and
effort was put into their reports. I could almost see the blood,
sweat, and tears that was put into their reports. It's amazing how
many different styles each individual had. Everyone had wonderful
pages it's pretty hard to believe that most of us had no idea on how to
create a web page before taking this course. All of the reports look
as if it were done by professionals. Congratulations fellow classmates
on a job well done!; )
If
you are not computer literate and hardly ever touched computer, get ready
for a change that will affect you forever. Don't be afraid to take
risks, explore and play with the computer. Experiment with everything
don't leave a stone unturned. As I roamed the Virtual Realm I wondered...
"How did they do that" so I experimented and copied the some of the tricks
with page design. These Reports you see went through a metamorphosis,
it went through its own evolution, and so will yours. But, to evolve
you must change, some changes will not work and some will. So good
luck and most of all have fun.