Wk 10 Tutorial Readings: Julian Dibbell, "A Rape in Cyberspace..."
Julian Dibbell – “A Rape in Cyberspace; or How an Evil Clown, a Haitian Trickster Spirit, Two Wizards and a Cast of Dozens Turned a Database into a Society.”
A Rape in Cyberspace is the account from Dibbell on an occurrence of cyber violence/rape that occurred in LambdaMOO, a virtual text based community. It dealt with the follow up consequences for the perpetrator, reactions of victims and community, and the resulting politics that were implemented afterwards. This article sheds light on the grey area of virtual experience, the psychological attachment we have with our ‘self’ online.
I found the article interesting, yet at the same time I found it exaggerated in style – using comments throughout the article such as ‘they wanted his virtual head’ sometimes made it hard to take seriously despite the fact that the writer declares it a serious issue for online communities. What I took from the highly descriptive almost screenplay-ish writing was a sense that Dibbell was trying to re create the feeling of an MUD in the article, and also that, despite how confronting virtual violence can be, that perhaps we need to lighten up in order to protect ourselves from the trauma of it. Although Mr Bungle was ‘toaded’ he came back later on, there is really little that you can do to avoid such occurrences at this time – if there is someone out there who really wants to abuse people then they will, despite the consequences. We cannot avoid the act itself. I find this interesting in that it ties in with violence and crime in real life – we walk through the world with the same problems – violence is punishable not always preventable. In this sense the LambdaMOO is displaying characteristics of real life community.
The point I identified with most was the feelings created by the abuse. I can see how the virtual self being violated can be traumatic for the real self. ‘…the combined power of anonymity and textual suggestiveness…unshackle[s] deep-seated fantasies…’ allowing people to experience feelings of passion and emotion, thus a cyber rape could bring about negative and traumatic feelings in the same way. If you have invested time and you have developed this persona that is your instrument in communicating then it is a part of yourself, a perception of self. It not only belongs to you, it represents you.
Key Quotes:
CR pg 248
‘…perhaps the body in question is not the physical one at all, but its psychic double, the bodylike self-representation was carry around in our heads…’
CR pg 248
‘…what happens inside a MUD-made world is neither exactly real nor exactly make-believe, but profoundly, compellingly, and emotionally meaningful.’
CR pg 248
‘…every set of facts in virtual reality…is shadowed by a second, complicated set: the real-life facts.’
posted by Jessica @ 10:12 PM
3 comments
3 Comments:
Okay,
I thought that my presentation fit in quite well with the overall tutorial. I noticed that we discussed ideas of virtual and real life with reference to violation/rape, which I thought was really important in considering the article. In particular it was important to discuss if the word 'rape' was appropriate for online violation, I found this really helpful in understanding the gap between real and virtual better - although it is still difficult to grasp in a concrete way.
What I didnt mention in the tute:
I feel that the idea of politics online was an important part of the formation of the community on LamdaMOO that I didn't really discuss. (despite the fact that it was in my notes!)
That the incident with Mr Bungle suggests that online communities have expectations of conduct for those who participate, when rules must be set to make everyone feel that they are safe and can enjoy themselves it becomes more of a 'virtual' community - the community has exhibited a characteristic of our everyday society. Do you think that virtual community is a better description of certain communities rather than online communities?
I think your presentation went well, you managed to bring up some good points. I agree with you that Dibbell’s writing did tend to detract from the seriousness he was trying to convey. But, as you said, this was most likely done to help the reader understand and visualise the workings of the MUD. I thing Dibbell was well aware that his audience may be unfamiliar with MUD’S, so his writing style proved to be useful.
You also mentioned that the violence experienced in the MUD is similar to violence in the real world. The fact that violence is preventable but not always punishable is a very real concern. It is interesting however, that in the MUD no initial rules regarding behaviour were set up. Considering that they knew they were simulating real society, it is odd that they did not think to include some kind of conduct guidelines. The fact that it took an occurrence such as this one to highlight this oversight is telling of the implicit trust these players had within this world. Either that or they were working on an utopian notion of a society that needed no rules. I suppose this ties in with your idea that the participators in MUDs have expectations regarding conduct in the world and that once they needed to establish rules to maintain a safe environment they become more of a “virtual” rather than online community.
I also found it interesting that something like the voodoo doll program was even introduced. The very nature of this program seems to me problematic. It led me to wonder whether many other characters had used it and what the consequences were in those cases. Admittedly, Mr Bungle used it in quite a vile way, but I think the issue of control regarding your character would be prominent in any case. I suppose that could be another avenue to explore.
Okay, that’s all from me. Hope it’s helpful.
Hi :)
thought your post for your tute was well set out, structure wise. its good you had some quotes selected and presented (with page numbers too :)
especially liked the last one about virtual reality being echoed by real life.
i agree with your last point, about virtual abuse translating into real life, the psychological aspects of it all. i think it is distubing, because as you point out, the virtual you reflects the "real" you (if such a thing can be defined).
so, good job on ur tute presentation
:)
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