[arg_discuss] Deception and what it means to be Real

[David Flor]

Suffice to say, we've had all sorts of fun controversy in the past few
months, haven't we?

If I wasn't in such a brutal hurry now, I'd talk about this for a while.

My commentary's on my blog:
http://www.brainclouds.net/Darklight/20090617/Fictional-Reality.aspx

And I am *not* a dog... I'm a rabbit.

On Thu, Jun 18, 2009 at 5:56 PM, Brooke Thompson <brooke at giantmice.com>wrote:


> So, do you not think that there is a difference between people adapting an

> online persona (fictional or otherwise) and creating a fictional persona and

> placing them into a community in order to later be a part of a larger

> fictional project (ie PixelVixen707 & the game bloggers for PE:DA or Martin

> Aggett & the ARG community for a not yet launched project).

>

> To me, there is a difference and that is based in the intent behind it. In

> the case of the aforementioned MUD player, Karyn, it never extended beyond

> her single story and, for all we know, the death was a way of giving up the

> game. In the case of Martin Aggett, the intent was to infiltrate the

> community for a larger purpose and a larger story and game. And, as people

> consider Karyn to be a "hoax", if these things are similar or, even, the

> same - does that mean that when designers spend time creating and nurturing

> an online history complete with relationships before the experience launches

> in full are perpetuating a hoax?

>

> And, while breaking the UF TOS is bad! and wrong! and full of fail! it is

> not all that unusual. Though, this is the first time (at least in my memory

> and to my knowledge) that it was done by a character months before the

> project would be live in order to infiltrate the community. It is usually

> done by as a way for someone to help players struggling through a puzzle or

> plot element. Players can usually quickly figure out who those folks are,

> alert a mod/admin who can match IPs and do other research, and it's dealt

> with quickly and easily (with the occasional cry of "it was my brother! I

> left my computer on the page and he thought it would be funny! i'll beat him

> up so it never happens again! I promise! just don't ban me!"). In this case,

> it went beyond that and was an effort to become involved in the community. I

> am not surprised (or upset) that it happened. But I do think that this is a

> different case - again, because of the intent behind it.

>

>

>

>

>

> On Jun 18, 2009, at 4:36 PM, Nathan Mishler wrote:

>

>  This sort of thing does happen all the time. And sometimes we never know.

>> For instance, here's a great article from Raph Koster about a memorial

>> service held in a MUD for a player that had died.

>> http://www.raphkoster.com/gaming/essay1.shtml

>> And then it's not until more than five years later they learn that person

>> never really existed at all, at least how they knew the person.

>> http://www.raphkoster.com/2003/04/14/revisiting-the-garden-of-remembrance/

>> Kind of part of the treacherous nature of this space, I think. People

>> generally wear at least one mask when they come into these spaces. How

>> many

>> people annouce their real names in unfiction? And puppetmasters often

>> encourage people to put on some other layers and present themselves as

>> different than they really are in game spaces.

>>

>

>

>  On Thu, Jun 18, 2009 at 4:26 PM, Andrea Phillips <

>> deusexmachinatio at gmail.com

>>

>>>

>>> We live in a time when your public and online representation of

>>> yourself doesn't necessarily have a lot to do with who you are,

>>> really. On the internet, nobody knows you're a dog, right?

>>>

>>

>

>

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