on the internet.....by hubert dreyfus

i am reading dreyfus's ''on the internet'' for class and i wanted to see what people had to say about the book. this is an interesting criticism i thought i would share. it comes from the second life herald, how appropriate.

http://www.secondlifeherald.com/slh/2003/10/review_of_on_th.html

cheating in online games

cheating frequently occurs in online games. perhaps it is the smaller chance of getting caught or the fact that no one can see you, but it seems to be more socially acceptable in virtual spaces. in many cases it becomes ''necessary'' to cheat to level the playing field.

why does the internet encourage socially unacceptable behavior?

the internet allows individuals to be connected to a huge participant base. people are able to find other who share their interests and wacky ideas. in a group setting people can rationalize almost anything they want - there are others like me, i'm not crazy.

sun!

it is finally sunny again! the beautiful weather makes me want to sit in the sun all day long. unfortunately i have to finish all the work i have left in my college career this week. on the up side its only one thesis, one paper and one project. wish me luck.

virtual worlds....

virtual worlds are a totally new social space. the interaction and behavior that occurs in these new online spaces is interesting from so many different perspectives. i have always thought the space itself has the potential for great experimentation. a discussion about the ethics of online experimentation probably deserves a separate post - so i won't really get into it here. the interesting natural systems that occur in real life could be replicated online. economics is one these interesting areas where research is already being done. if we can predict the outcome of natural systems it implies that we understand how to model that system on some level.

friendship strength

i have been trying to decide what would be the best way to measure the strength of online friendships. frequency of messaging or posting? its obvious that some friendships are stronger then others....but what can you really say about friendship strength from frequency of communication. i probably talk to some people more then i do my best friends but im not really sure that says anything. in online communities friendship strength would help to determine the balance of strong and weak connections in the network. is this balance the same in FtF communities?

online communities and you

http://www.lifehack.org/articles/lifehack/online-communities-and-you.html

yay for rain...

its raining....


makes me think of home. i wish i could stay in bed all day and read.