Lets kick off this series of articles with the one thing all digital 'gatherings' have in common. In all on-line community's, whether its games, forums, networking sites, or a metaverse such as Second Life, there is always a digital representation of you. The user. Sometimes we expect this representation to be accurate (myspace, oorkut), sometimes we accept this representation is inaccurate to the real life (RL) situation, such as in games (World of Warcraft).
I think the overall tendency is that we accept the Avatar to be just a reflection of what we wish to express trough the medium the avatar is a part of. Its not you, even on the more accurate social networking sites. This is largely due to the fact we can place, or withhold any information we want. Apart from it not being very trustworthy as the source of information is usually one-sided and anonymous even with information that is true you can make yourself out to be completely different then you really are. We will always tell or show what we want people to know about us, what we want to hide remains hidden easily.
According to Wikipedia the term 'avatars' originates from:The word "avatar" derives from the Sanskrit word Avatāra, meaning "incarnation" and usually refers to the deliberate descent of an immortal or divine being into the mortal realm for a special purpose. The term is used primarily in Hindu texts. For example, Krishna is the eighth avatar (incarnation) of Vishnu the Preserver, whom many Hindus worship as God. The Dasavatara are ten particular "great" incarnations of Vishnu.
I think its ironic how today we see an avatar as being a representation of our mortal form (the real you), into an immortal realm (the digital world). These 'new' modern day avatars are seen in various different internet media:
Forums:
Forums are usually limited to a nickname an image you think will tell others something about you you want them to know, and a signature. Most forum avatars are genderless, they don't tell you much about the person unless you start reading his or her comments. The information we have about the person talking is very limited and is largely based on content. What he or she knows or tells defines the person behind the Avatar.
Games:
Games usually don't ask a lot of information about who you are, and its certainly not represented in your avatar. Your name is a nickname, the visual representation is delivered by the game itself and unless you specifically choose to, nothing like who you are. No one would be surprised if the female 'orc' warlock 'Wendy the Dreadful' turns out to be Steve, a 18 years old boy working at Wallmart in the weekends. The expectancy of the accuracy of the avatar in relation to real life is low. Tho there are certain things you can tell from a persons game avatar, its mostly likely not information the intended to give out.
Social Networking sites:
mySpace, Flickr, Googles less well known copy Oorkut and other (often region based) social networking sites Offer you countless oppertunitys to express yourself. Besides real name, location age and gender you are asked for you favortie books, movies, hobbys, and there is a tendancy to share pictures or personal conversations. The expectancy of the accuracy of the information you provide is high. What you do or did, what you look like and your geological / demographical data tells people who the person behind the avatar is.
Metaverses:
Now we enter the grey area. Is the metaverse such as Second Life a game, or is it a social networking program? I think this is the core of wether you think there is a general acceptance amongst the citizens of the metaverse to 'lie' to each other, in other words, provide inaccurate information trough your avatar, or you think the avatar is always an expression of yourself, as you are and therefor expect a general level of accuracy. Ofcourse, between the two there is no wrong or right, but it raises an interesting question. If you do choose to provide inaccurate information, as the large majority does, why do you (why do I)? What are the motivations of someone not to enter the 3d envoirement as they are.
This is what I will post about in the next part of 'What it means to be virtual'.
05 September 2007
What it means to be Virtual: The avatar
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In SL, I believe that most people expect your AV to be a nearly accurate representation of You. IOW, it is more of a social network than a game.
Game implies rules does it not? Rules act like fences...there is a tendency to want to escape them. So, playing a woman when you are in fact a man is considered acceptable in a Game. You are merely escaping a fence, playing.
In SL, it really is not an acceptable practice though it does happen of course. There are no rules so people look for some stability and I think that is in the AV. They want to say...that AV, what it is, who it represents as is who it *is*.
So it is bad form for an AV to dissimulate in SL. You *can* be a man playing a woman if you put it in your picks "I'm a man in RL" but the lack of disclosure...no way.
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