Difference between revisions of "Rape In Cyberspace"
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| − | ''' "A Rape in Cyberspace, or How an Evil Clown, a Haitian Trickster Spirit, Two Wizards, and a Cast of Dozens Turned a Database into a Society" ''' is an article written by journalist Julian Dibbell, first published in ''The Village Voice'' in 1993<ref name= "Dibble"> Dibbell, Julian. "A Rape in Cyberspace." The Village Voice. 21 December 1993 </ref>. The piece was later incorporated into Dibbell's book titled ''My Tiny Life'' which recounts his experiences and observations from his time in LambdaMOO, a text-based virtual reality. | + | ''' "A Rape in Cyberspace, or How an Evil Clown, a Haitian Trickster Spirit, Two Wizards, and a Cast of Dozens Turned a Database into a Society" ''' is an article written by journalist Julian Dibbell, first published in ''The Village Voice'' in 1993<ref name= "Dibble"> Dibbell, Julian. "A Rape in Cyberspace." The Village Voice. 21 December 1993 </ref>. The piece was later incorporated into Dibbell's book titled ''My Tiny Life'' which recounts his experiences and observations from his time in [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/LambdaMOO LambdaMOO], a text-based virtual reality that allowed for multiplayer role-playing games. |
| − | "A Rape in Cyberspace" is considered the most comprehensive record of the first virtual rape or cyber rape on the Internet and is often cited in the literature and | + | "A Rape in Cyberspace" is considered the most comprehensive record of the first virtual rape (or cyber rape) on the Internet and is often cited in the literature and research surrounding the topic <ref name = "SanderSander"> Fenech, Melissa Mary. "Questions about accountability and illegality of virtual rape" (2009). Graduate Theses and Dissertations. 11046. |
| − | https://lib.dr.iastate.edu/etd/11046</ref>. In his article Dibbell details | + | https://lib.dr.iastate.edu/etd/11046</ref>. In his article Dibbell details the aftermath of the attack on the virtual community and its struggle to determine an appropriate punishment for the virtual rapes because, although not technically criminal, these attacks negatively impacted the victim's real-life psyche - and called ethical online behavior into question. |
== LambdaMOO== | == LambdaMOO== | ||
[[File:LambdaMoo.jpeg|400px|thumb|right|screenshot of the LambdaMOO multi-user dimension (MUD) welcome screen from the mid 1990s.https://timeline.com/rape-in-cyberspace-lambdamoo-da9cf0c74e9e]] | [[File:LambdaMoo.jpeg|400px|thumb|right|screenshot of the LambdaMOO multi-user dimension (MUD) welcome screen from the mid 1990s.https://timeline.com/rape-in-cyberspace-lambdamoo-da9cf0c74e9e]] | ||
| − | The unprovoked attacks described in “A Rape in Cyberspace” took place in the virtual reality of LambdaMOO, a text-based online community which is an extension of MUD, a multi-user dimensions computer game<ref name = "Danaher">Danaher, John. “The Law and Ethics of Virtual Sexual Assault.” Research Handbook on the Law of Virtual and Augmented Reality, 21 Dec. 2018, pp. 363–388.</ref>. LambdaMOO is | + | The unprovoked attacks described in “A Rape in Cyberspace” took place in the virtual reality of LambdaMOO, a text-based online community which is an extension of MUD, a multi-user dimensions computer game<ref name = "Danaher">Danaher, John. “The Law and Ethics of Virtual Sexual Assault.” Research Handbook on the Law of Virtual and Augmented Reality, 21 Dec. 2018, pp. 363–388.</ref>. LambdaMOO is entirely text-based; game settings and avatars are rendered through descriptive text, and there are no graphics or animations to accompany said text descriptions. Players interact with each other, objects and locations by using avatars<ref name = "Danaher"></ref>. Players are given the freedom to customize the text description of their avatars in any way they would like, This include their preferred gender and physical appearance<ref name = "Dibble"></ref>. |
==Summary== | ==Summary== | ||
===The Attack=== | ===The Attack=== | ||
| − | On a night in March of 1993, LambdaMOO avatar Mr. Bungle entered Living Room #17, a very popular meeting site on LambdaMOO. There he forced two other players, Legba and Starsinger, to perform | + | On a night in March of 1993, a LambdaMOO avatar named Mr. Bungle entered Living Room #17, a very popular meeting site on LambdaMOO. There he forced two other players, Legba and Starsinger, to perform violent and explicit sexual acts <ref name = "Dibble"></ref>. Mr. Bungle was able to force these actions upon other players through the use of a voodoo doll, a subprogram that enables the user to override controls so that any statement written by one user can be attributed to another<ref name = "Johnson"> Johnson, Laurie. “Rape and the Memex – Laurie Johnson.” Refractory, 30 May 2011, refractory.unimelb.edu.au/2008/05/22/rape-and-the-memex-laurence-johnson/.</ref>. As a result, an avatar may do and say things that the avatar’s user did not intend or want their avatar to do. Mr. Bungle, with the help of his voodoo doll subprogram, was able to manipulate and control the actions of Legba and Starsinger - to have sex with his avatar and each other. Moreover, he forced Starsinger to violate herself with a knife. <ref name= "Dibble"></ref>. The attack lasted until someone summoned a wizard named Zippy, a player with administrator level access, who was able to cage Mr. Bungle. The caging caused Mr. Bungle to lose access to the LambdaMOO community without the deletion of his avatar or account, thereby ending his attack on the community that night - but not eliminating his online presence.<ref name ="Johnson"></ref>. |
===Community Response=== | ===Community Response=== | ||
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"I’m not calling for policies, trials, or better jails. I’m not sure what I’m calling for. Virtual castration, if I could manage it. Mostly, [this type of thing] doesn’t happen here. Mostly, perhaps I thought it wouldn’t happen to me. Mostly, I trust people to conduct themselves with some veneer of civility. Mostly, I want his ass.”<ref name= "Dibble"></ref> - Legba | "I’m not calling for policies, trials, or better jails. I’m not sure what I’m calling for. Virtual castration, if I could manage it. Mostly, [this type of thing] doesn’t happen here. Mostly, perhaps I thought it wouldn’t happen to me. Mostly, I trust people to conduct themselves with some veneer of civility. Mostly, I want his ass.”<ref name= "Dibble"></ref> - Legba | ||
</blockquote> | </blockquote> | ||
| − | The user behind Legba later confessed to Dibbell that she wrote her statement with tears streaming down her face due to the trauma she experienced from her virtual rape<ref name= "Dibble"></ref>. Later Legba called for Mr. Bungle to be toaded, or to have his account and avatar removed from LambdaMOO. However, Legba did not have the technological capacity to toad Mr. Bungle from the community and needed the assistance of a wizard to remove Mr. Bungle from the database. At this point in time, the LambdaMoo community did not have any formal organizational structure in place and primarily ran on majority rules decision-making process<ref name = "Mnookin">Mnookin, Jennifer L. “Virtual(Ly) Law: the Emergence of Law in LambdaMoo: Mnookin.” OUP Academic, Oxford University Press, 1 June 1996, doi.org/10.1111/j.1083-6101.1996.tb00185.x.</ref>. Despite the international support Legba received, the community quickly became divided on how to best handle the situation<ref name= "Mnookin"></ref>. | + | The user behind Legba later confessed to Dibbell that she wrote her statement with tears streaming down her face due to the trauma she experienced from her virtual rape<ref name= "Dibble"></ref>. Later Legba called for Mr. Bungle to be toaded, or to have his account and avatar removed from LambdaMOO permanently. However, Legba did not have the technological capacity to toad Mr. Bungle from the community and needed the assistance of a wizard to remove Mr. Bungle from the database. At this point in time, the LambdaMoo community did not have any formal organizational structure in place and primarily ran on a majority rules decision-making process<ref name = "Mnookin">Mnookin, Jennifer L. “Virtual(Ly) Law: the Emergence of Law in LambdaMoo: Mnookin.” OUP Academic, Oxford University Press, 1 June 1996, doi.org/10.1111/j.1083-6101.1996.tb00185.x.</ref>. Despite the international support Legba received, the community quickly became divided on how to best handle the situation<ref name= "Mnookin"></ref>. Three days after the incident, LambdaMOO users gathered to discuss the fate of Mr. Bungle. In the middle of the meeting, much to the community's surprise, Mr. Bungle joined the conversation to justify his behavior; he explained that his actions were simply consequence of the virtual reality and that they had no bearing on his real life<ref name= "Dibble"></ref>. Mr. Bungle left the discussion soon after his explanation was met with hostility. Despite a lengthy conversation, the users were unable to come to a resolution. Clearly, the online community was in need of an effective method to resolve disputes between members. |
| − | ===Consequences=== | + | ===Consequences of the Rape=== |
| − | After the meeting, a wizard named JoeFeedback weighed the arguments and decided to take action upon himself. He quickly and silently removed Mr. Bungle from the LambdaMOO database | + | After the meeting, a wizard named JoeFeedback weighed the arguments and decided to take action upon himself. He quickly and silently removed Mr. Bungle from the LambdaMOO database, thus eliminating the existence of Mr. Bungle altogether<ref name = "Dibble"></ref>. Despite the avatar being kicked off, the Mr. Bungle's human user did not experience the same punishment. A few days later, the user returned to the platform in the form of a new character named Dr. Jest - but he quickly left the site and has not been seen since<ref name = "Dibble"></ref>. It remains clear that Mr. Bungle's user could return to the online community as a new avatar, and would then be able to carry out more virtual rapes (or other acts of aggression) until said avatar is punished. This cycle could, theoretically, continue unless the community effectively addresses the issue. The actions of Mr. Bungle had an everlasting effect on LambdaMOO, by forcing a diverse group of users to come together to form a community with its own rules and regulations. As a result, LambdaMOO's main creator Pavel Curtis set up a system of petitions and ballots where users can put any topic up to a popular vote and in which community wizards are required to implement the outcome of the vote<ref name = "Brennan"> Brennan, Linda L., and Victoria Johnson. Social, Ethical and Policy Implications of Information Technology. Information Science Pub., 2004.</ref>. The system helped to create a government for the community and provided ways to protect against acts of violence on the site<ref name = "Brennan"> </ref>. |
==Ethical Implications== | ==Ethical Implications== | ||
| − | In his article, Dibble debates the difference between real life | + | In his article, Dibble debates the difference between real life and virtual reality. He argues that the world of LambdaMOO is not completely real nor completely make-believe but exists somewhere in between. Those who exist in this virtual reality as avatars still have complex thoughts and emotions<ref name= "Dibble"></ref>. He brings to light the ethical question: what are the effects of virtual reality on real life? Further, can virtual harm create harm in real life? The actions committed by Mr. Bungle on that night in March were virtual rapes, sexually explicit behavior forced upon one virtual character by another virtual character in a virtual environment as defined by Danaher, and had real-life effects on the users who were victims <ref name = "Danaher"> Danaher, John. “The Law and Ethics of Virtual Sexual Assault.” Research Handbook on the Law of Virtual and Augmented Reality, 21 Dec. 2018, pp. 363–388.</ref>. Avatars can be viewed as virtual representations or extensions of real-life people and even in some cases a truer representation of themselves when society views their certain characteristics of their person as negative or odd <ref name = "Spencer"> Spence, Edward H., et al. “Virtual Rape, Real Dignity: Meta-Ethics for Virtual Worlds.” The Philosophy of Computer Games Philosophy of Engineering and Technology, 2012, pp. 125–142.</ref>. Since avatars are an extension of their real-life counterparts, any harm done onto the avatar affects the user who created the avatar. This is seen in the case of Legba and Starsinger who were deeply distraught and suffered post-traumatic stress from Mr. Bungle's actions against their avatars. |
==External Links== | ==External Links== | ||
Revision as of 16:58, 14 April 2019
"A Rape in Cyberspace, or How an Evil Clown, a Haitian Trickster Spirit, Two Wizards, and a Cast of Dozens Turned a Database into a Society" is an article written by journalist Julian Dibbell, first published in The Village Voice in 1993[1]. The piece was later incorporated into Dibbell's book titled My Tiny Life which recounts his experiences and observations from his time in LambdaMOO, a text-based virtual reality that allowed for multiplayer role-playing games.
"A Rape in Cyberspace" is considered the most comprehensive record of the first virtual rape (or cyber rape) on the Internet and is often cited in the literature and research surrounding the topic [2]. In his article Dibbell details the aftermath of the attack on the virtual community and its struggle to determine an appropriate punishment for the virtual rapes because, although not technically criminal, these attacks negatively impacted the victim's real-life psyche - and called ethical online behavior into question.
Contents
LambdaMOO
The unprovoked attacks described in “A Rape in Cyberspace” took place in the virtual reality of LambdaMOO, a text-based online community which is an extension of MUD, a multi-user dimensions computer game[3]. LambdaMOO is entirely text-based; game settings and avatars are rendered through descriptive text, and there are no graphics or animations to accompany said text descriptions. Players interact with each other, objects and locations by using avatars[3]. Players are given the freedom to customize the text description of their avatars in any way they would like, This include their preferred gender and physical appearance[1].
Summary
The Attack
On a night in March of 1993, a LambdaMOO avatar named Mr. Bungle entered Living Room #17, a very popular meeting site on LambdaMOO. There he forced two other players, Legba and Starsinger, to perform violent and explicit sexual acts [1]. Mr. Bungle was able to force these actions upon other players through the use of a voodoo doll, a subprogram that enables the user to override controls so that any statement written by one user can be attributed to another[4]. As a result, an avatar may do and say things that the avatar’s user did not intend or want their avatar to do. Mr. Bungle, with the help of his voodoo doll subprogram, was able to manipulate and control the actions of Legba and Starsinger - to have sex with his avatar and each other. Moreover, he forced Starsinger to violate herself with a knife. [1]. The attack lasted until someone summoned a wizard named Zippy, a player with administrator level access, who was able to cage Mr. Bungle. The caging caused Mr. Bungle to lose access to the LambdaMOO community without the deletion of his avatar or account, thereby ending his attack on the community that night - but not eliminating his online presence.[4].
Community Response
The actions committed by Mr. Bungle violated the community norms that had been established within LambdaMOO, eliciting outrage from the community and its members[5]. The day following the attack, Legba posted a statement on the in-MOO mailing list, a form in which members could talk about and debate issues important to the entire community [4] In her statement, Legba, although still confused about how she should feel after the attack, did call for some kind of repercussion.
"I’m not calling for policies, trials, or better jails. I’m not sure what I’m calling for. Virtual castration, if I could manage it. Mostly, [this type of thing] doesn’t happen here. Mostly, perhaps I thought it wouldn’t happen to me. Mostly, I trust people to conduct themselves with some veneer of civility. Mostly, I want his ass.”[1] - Legba
The user behind Legba later confessed to Dibbell that she wrote her statement with tears streaming down her face due to the trauma she experienced from her virtual rape[1]. Later Legba called for Mr. Bungle to be toaded, or to have his account and avatar removed from LambdaMOO permanently. However, Legba did not have the technological capacity to toad Mr. Bungle from the community and needed the assistance of a wizard to remove Mr. Bungle from the database. At this point in time, the LambdaMoo community did not have any formal organizational structure in place and primarily ran on a majority rules decision-making process[6]. Despite the international support Legba received, the community quickly became divided on how to best handle the situation[6]. Three days after the incident, LambdaMOO users gathered to discuss the fate of Mr. Bungle. In the middle of the meeting, much to the community's surprise, Mr. Bungle joined the conversation to justify his behavior; he explained that his actions were simply consequence of the virtual reality and that they had no bearing on his real life[1]. Mr. Bungle left the discussion soon after his explanation was met with hostility. Despite a lengthy conversation, the users were unable to come to a resolution. Clearly, the online community was in need of an effective method to resolve disputes between members.
Consequences of the Rape
After the meeting, a wizard named JoeFeedback weighed the arguments and decided to take action upon himself. He quickly and silently removed Mr. Bungle from the LambdaMOO database, thus eliminating the existence of Mr. Bungle altogether[1]. Despite the avatar being kicked off, the Mr. Bungle's human user did not experience the same punishment. A few days later, the user returned to the platform in the form of a new character named Dr. Jest - but he quickly left the site and has not been seen since[1]. It remains clear that Mr. Bungle's user could return to the online community as a new avatar, and would then be able to carry out more virtual rapes (or other acts of aggression) until said avatar is punished. This cycle could, theoretically, continue unless the community effectively addresses the issue. The actions of Mr. Bungle had an everlasting effect on LambdaMOO, by forcing a diverse group of users to come together to form a community with its own rules and regulations. As a result, LambdaMOO's main creator Pavel Curtis set up a system of petitions and ballots where users can put any topic up to a popular vote and in which community wizards are required to implement the outcome of the vote[7]. The system helped to create a government for the community and provided ways to protect against acts of violence on the site[7].
Ethical Implications
In his article, Dibble debates the difference between real life and virtual reality. He argues that the world of LambdaMOO is not completely real nor completely make-believe but exists somewhere in between. Those who exist in this virtual reality as avatars still have complex thoughts and emotions[1]. He brings to light the ethical question: what are the effects of virtual reality on real life? Further, can virtual harm create harm in real life? The actions committed by Mr. Bungle on that night in March were virtual rapes, sexually explicit behavior forced upon one virtual character by another virtual character in a virtual environment as defined by Danaher, and had real-life effects on the users who were victims [3]. Avatars can be viewed as virtual representations or extensions of real-life people and even in some cases a truer representation of themselves when society views their certain characteristics of their person as negative or odd [8]. Since avatars are an extension of their real-life counterparts, any harm done onto the avatar affects the user who created the avatar. This is seen in the case of Legba and Starsinger who were deeply distraught and suffered post-traumatic stress from Mr. Bungle's actions against their avatars.
External Links
References
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 1.3 1.4 1.5 1.6 1.7 1.8 1.9 Dibbell, Julian. "A Rape in Cyberspace." The Village Voice. 21 December 1993
- ↑ Fenech, Melissa Mary. "Questions about accountability and illegality of virtual rape" (2009). Graduate Theses and Dissertations. 11046. https://lib.dr.iastate.edu/etd/11046
- ↑ 3.0 3.1 3.2 Danaher, John. “The Law and Ethics of Virtual Sexual Assault.” Research Handbook on the Law of Virtual and Augmented Reality, 21 Dec. 2018, pp. 363–388.
- ↑ 4.0 4.1 4.2 Johnson, Laurie. “Rape and the Memex – Laurie Johnson.” Refractory, 30 May 2011, refractory.unimelb.edu.au/2008/05/22/rape-and-the-memex-laurence-johnson/.
- ↑ Kiesler, Sara & Kraut, Robert & Resnick, Paul & Kittur, Aniket. (2012). Regulating Behavior in Online Communities.
- ↑ 6.0 6.1 Mnookin, Jennifer L. “Virtual(Ly) Law: the Emergence of Law in LambdaMoo: Mnookin.” OUP Academic, Oxford University Press, 1 June 1996, doi.org/10.1111/j.1083-6101.1996.tb00185.x.
- ↑ 7.0 7.1 Brennan, Linda L., and Victoria Johnson. Social, Ethical and Policy Implications of Information Technology. Information Science Pub., 2004.
- ↑ Spence, Edward H., et al. “Virtual Rape, Real Dignity: Meta-Ethics for Virtual Worlds.” The Philosophy of Computer Games Philosophy of Engineering and Technology, 2012, pp. 125–142.
