The second oral report is on chapter 9, "Virtuality and its discontent," from the book, Life on the Screen.

Introduction: The chapter beings with an introduction to anthropologist Ray Oldenberg?s description of a "great good place." This is any common place of social gathering for members of a community. It can be any place. Where I grew up these was either at the Game Room or at Café. You could go to this place anytime and see just about everyone. There are communities that seem to have less and less of these types of places. Sherry Turkle states that, "Some people are trying fill the gap with neighborhoods in cyberspace."(232) A description of a virtual bar, Dred?s Bar, is described. In this virtual place is set up like a physical bar in the physical world. Here one can meet friends, dance, and order drinks virtually.

Main Street, Mall, and Virtual Café: The steps it took to move from the original "great good place," to the virtual Dred?s Bar is described. It seems that a lot of things that are taken as authentic are actually recreations. One set of recreation or simulations can make another set of simulation seem more real. Remember the classic television shows where families got along, parents stayed together, parents and children respected each other. The Parents always seem to have answer to everything. This simulation of a family becomes the ideal real life family. In real life one may try to shape our lives in accordance to the standards portrayed on television. Turkle explains how a shopping mall is an attempt to recreate the Main Streets of small towns.

The Loss of the Real: Which is better the real or the virtual? What is real? Real refers to things in the physical world. Which is better a real bar or a virtual bar? Some may feel that the virtual simulations cannot replace the real experience. Does one really have to choose between the virtual and the real? I do not think that there is a problem with having both. The virtual simulations do not have to take away from the real experience. It could even enhance the real experience.

The Politics of Virtuality: In this section, Turkle give one reason what the virtual world, especially MUDs, is so attractive to some individuals. A few individuals are introduced. These are people who came from middle class lifestyles, graduated college but have not been able to maintain their middle class lifestyles post graduation. They seem to been having some obstacles moving up the latter in their real world. A virtual community, like the MUD, gives them a medium where they can climb the virtual social ladder.

Escape or Resistance: Is being involved in the MUDs communities an escape or resistance? Some people spend a lot of time in these communities working of MUD polities and developing a fair and safe MUD society. In the real world some of these same people have given up of the real political system and society. I feel that when being involved is these MUD type activities and the sense of accomplishment and motivation that comes from it and be generalized into real world setting it is a form of resistance. When the motivation, desires, self-confidence that are developed through the use of MUD does not extend from the virtual environment it is a form of escape.

Panopticon: This is just another section about how being on-line is not a private activity.

MUD Rape: Only Words? MUD rape is an event where one person takes control of other person?s character. There appears to be two views on this issue. The first view is the MUDs are just games. Having someone taking control of another?s character is just another aspect of the game. The second view is that is almost the equality of physical rape. With physical rape the victim losses total control and feels violated and helpless. MUD rape can lead to similar emotional trauma.

The oral presentation went well. I thought the part about the MUD rape was interesting. I was surprised that none commented on that. This was the first time I encountered this concept. I can see being mad that someone has taken control of my MUD character. I would not suffer any emotional trauma. I see MUD as a game. A character is just a piece of the game. I can understand that a person can suffer a deep emotional trauma if they view the MUD character as an extension of themselves and see MUD an extension to their social environment.

Do not wait until the last minute to do this. I found the oral presentations to be one of the easier projects to do. For your presentation, you may what to have some experience with MUDs.

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