The war of desire and technology at the close of the mechanical age
The war of desire and technology at the close of the mechanical age
The wired neighborhood
Netizens: on the history and impact of Usenet and the Internet
Netizens: on the history and impact of Usenet and the Internet
Community Support for Constructionist Learning
Computer Supported Cooperative Work - Special issue on interaction and collaboration in MUDs
Conversation and Community: Chat in a Virtual World
Conversation and Community: Chat in a Virtual World
My Tiny Life: Crime and Passion in a Virtual World
My Tiny Life: Crime and Passion in a Virtual World
Life on the Screen: Identity in the Age of the Internet
Life on the Screen: Identity in the Age of the Internet
The Electronic Eye: The Rise of Surveillance Society
The Electronic Eye: The Rise of Surveillance Society
Virtual Community: Homesteading on the Electronic Frontier
Virtual Community: Homesteading on the Electronic Frontier
What is special about the ethical issuesin online research?
Ethics and Information Technology
Ethics and Information Technology
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This article considers ongoing attempts to regulate or even ban researchon LambdaMOO. Industry, private individuals, and research institutionshave supported MOOs, or multi-user object-oriented worlds. The earlyresearch on MOOs by Pavel Curtis, who was one of the key designers,suggests that these systems are part of a research project and have beenresearched since they were originally designed. However, a group ofMOOers have grown increasingly uncomfortable about the quotation ofcertain texts on web sites and academic journals and the potentiallypanoptic effect of research. Some of these practices have breachedcommunity conventions. Yet, such things as testing, invisibly watching,freely quoting characters, and ignoring certain rules have always beenaspects of the system. The dispute over research ethics and theparticipation of varied researchers within this setting indicate thatdiverse values are represented among MOOers and different expectationsexist about how the MOO might be a community. The term ``community'' andthe presumption that online characters are people may have alsoincorrectly informed the research debate by making it seem that onlinesettings provide immediate access onto spaces, bodies, and individuals.Many MOOers may believe that research threatens individuals andcommunity. However, critical histories and analysis are needed in orderto explain the system to new users and encourage alternative forms ofdevelopment. Such work can only be produced if online systems are opento research and critique.