Daniel Lakey NCT Thurs 9-11am: June 2008

Has Virtual Reality gone too far?

The Internet is the fastest growing type of technology on the planet. Therefore it is no surprise that with the increased interaction over the World Wide Web, alongside the rising popularity of social networking websites, that virtual reality is the next big phenomenon operating in the cyber world. The first applications that spring to mind are websites such as Google Earth and Online Poker. But there are much larger, diverse programs out there, known as ‘Virtual Worlds.’ These are places where real users create avatars that virtually live in a digital utopia.

Arguably the most popular and successful virtual world is known as Linden Lab’s ‘Second Life.’ Where users create cartoon human figures that respond to keyboard commands and socialize with others' characters. The probable reason for its success is widely due to the fact that unlike other virtual worlds, the game has no specific objective, very much like the real world. The similarities do not stop there. Millions of dollars of actual money is passed around each day through buying, selling and trading almost anything. This open-ended digital environment is a second home to over 6 million registered users. These include a vast array of citizens such as Former Senator John Edwards of North Carolina and a candidate for the Democratic presidential nomination who has opened a virtual campaign headquarters. Countless numbers of companies such as IBM, Reuters and even Adidas have jumped on the bandwagon reaping the rewards of widespread digital publicity. Even countries such as Sweden and Maldives have created virtual embassies in the game.

The fact that real people are making real money in a pretend environment shows that interactivity has reached a new level and no longer must someone work 9 till 5 to make a living. From clothing and accessories, to land and property, anyone is now able to create something in a pretend world, sell it to a pretend person and earn real money in real life. It is clear that the boundaries have been broken and there now lays a parallel world, the only difference is that it is a cyber world. Whilst most view this as an exciting break through, others aren’t so accepting. There are issues that need to be raised such as a moral behavior in the virtual world, copyright laws and even a person’s rights.

A fact of life is that when there is money to be made, people will be there and they will fight to get it. Therefore it seems logical to bring in copyright laws after there have already been countless conflicts of people stealing another persons virtual creations. Lawsuits include cases of someone breaking into a virtual house, a case of alleged rape, where a character supposedly raped another character and even someone accused of stealing ideas for clothing that another user designed and sold.

Copyright laws are probably the easiest and least complex law to enforce in Second Life. It is common enough in the real world to sue someone if they stole an idea off someone else for money. Therefore it should be understandable enough that rules and laws should be enforced for Second Life. Since there is money involved, copying is a money killer. Just like in the real world, it should be illegal for someone else to profit over somebody else’s ideas. Recently, a downloadable program called ‘copybot’ was designed for the Second Life game. This obviously created uproar due to the fact that now any user had the resources to duplicate any other item, accessory or house in the game. When something is scarce it has a high value, however creations are pointless if users can easily clone it instead of buying it. This resulted in Second Life merchants going on strike and shutting their stores until action was taken.

The reason that defining other laws are so difficult to deal with in the game is largely due to opinions believing that it would be ludicrous to fine or potentially send someone to jail all over a video game. Mixed feelings are evident when asked if the law enforcement should patrol the digital frontier. Another problem is that each country has different treatments for breaking certain rules. For example, it becomes unclear of what to do when a 34 year old male from Australia has virtual sex with a 19 year old female from the United States. The issue is that in Australia the man is not committing a crime, yet in the United States he is virtually having sex with a minor. Virtual renderings of child abuse are not a crime in the United States, but are considered illegal pornography in Germany. There is also the issue of charging the avatar or the player. For instance, if a male avatar was seen having sex with a female child avatar, despite both players being middle aged men. Even if charges could be laid, it would be hard to determine whether this was statutory rape or child pornography.

I believe that behavior in the virtual world of Second Life should be treated with the same moral ground of someone in the real world. Disgusting online acts should not be seen as digital fiction, considering that too many other elements of the game have the same regulations as in real life. It should not matter whereabouts in the world that the user controlling the avatar is from, nor should it matter how old the user is. There should be an official, prosecutable and consistent virtual justice system used by Linden Labs to ensure that proper conduct is strictly adhered to in the virtual world. Whilst meantime, the users of Second Life should all see themselves as citizens of a new place, not their individual countries.

Reference to Academic Journal Articles:

http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,1570708,00.html

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2007/06/01/AR2007060102671_pf.html

http://www.tgdaily.com/content/view/34598/118/

http://secondlife.reuters.com/stories/2008/02/07/virtual-retailers-decry-second-life-crime-wave/

http://thinkorthwim.com/2006/11/16/copybot-copyright-issues-in-second-life/

http://www.wired.com/gaming/virtualworlds/commentary/circuitcourt/2006/11/72143

Reference to Websites:

http://www.secondlife.com

http://www.worldofwarcraft.com

http://www.sciencedaily.com

http://searchcio-midmarket.techtarget.com