Difference between revisions of "Second Life"
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== Program Overview == | == Program Overview == | ||
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==Ethical Issues== | ==Ethical Issues== | ||
There are many ethical issues present in Second Life. One of the ethical issues involves problems with crime. Larry Dignan at the Tera Nova State of Play conference said, "Virtual worlds are virgin territory for law. It's not clear how local community criteria will handle the situation if someone got cheated because another group of people illegally got money through deception. Lawmakers and Linden Labs themselves are currently attempting to settle on a deal with the CopyBot, a program used to copy objects that other people have made. The issue is, no one really knows how to deal with the ample amounts of copying that go on in Second Life or at what point the government should get involved with Second Life affairs. The problem presented to the residents within Second Life is that if they are not satisfied with Linden Lab’s terms of service and how they handle copyright infringement, they can hardly just go anywhere else because their property are digital items within Second Life. | There are many ethical issues present in Second Life. One of the ethical issues involves problems with crime. Larry Dignan at the Tera Nova State of Play conference said, "Virtual worlds are virgin territory for law. It's not clear how local community criteria will handle the situation if someone got cheated because another group of people illegally got money through deception. Lawmakers and Linden Labs themselves are currently attempting to settle on a deal with the CopyBot, a program used to copy objects that other people have made. The issue is, no one really knows how to deal with the ample amounts of copying that go on in Second Life or at what point the government should get involved with Second Life affairs. The problem presented to the residents within Second Life is that if they are not satisfied with Linden Lab’s terms of service and how they handle copyright infringement, they can hardly just go anywhere else because their property are digital items within Second Life. | ||
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| + | Another ethical issue that arises from using Second Life is not present in the game, but affects a person’s life in the real world. Though extensive use of Second Life by students would not inhibit attending classes in the virtual world, it could lead to possible Internet addition. Massive multi-player on-line role-playing games similar to Second Life tend to be some of the most addictive aspects of the Internet because of the system of goals and achievements established in the game. If addiction occurs it could lead to not only poor performance in the classroom but also a disregard of real world responsibilities. | ||
| + | Another ethical issue present in Second Life is not showing up in the game, but affect's a person's life in the real world. Even though the vast usage of Second Life by students would not hinder students of attending classes in the virtual world, it could develops students to be addicted to the internet. Massive multi-player on-line role-playing games that are analogous to Second Life generally are some of the most addictive features of the Internet due to the system of goals that are found in the game. If internet addiction happens, it could lead to poor academic achievement in school, lack of socializing with others, and ignoring many other real world possibilities. | ||
== Lawsuits == | == Lawsuits == | ||
== References == | == References == | ||
Revision as of 21:23, 16 December 2011
Second Life is an online role-playing game launched by Linden Labs in June 2008. Players (called residents) use client programs (called viewers) to enter a virtual world and perform real-life and fictional actions. These actions may include interacting with other users to play activities and exchange items. There are almost one million users currently using Second Life.
History
| Year | Important Historical Event in Second Life. |
| 1999 | Philip Rosedale formed Linden Lab. |
| 2008 | Residents spent a total of 28,274,505 hours "inworld". |
| 2008 | Second life honored at 59th Annual Technology and Engineering Emmy Awards. |
| 2009 | Residents total spent hours drops to 62,000. |
| 2010 | Residents total spent hours drops again to 54,000. This is due to new rules
implemented by Linden Labs, decreasing the numbers of campers and bots. |
| 2010 | Linden Labs laid off 30% of its workforce. |
Program Overview
Ethical Issues
There are many ethical issues present in Second Life. One of the ethical issues involves problems with crime. Larry Dignan at the Tera Nova State of Play conference said, "Virtual worlds are virgin territory for law. It's not clear how local community criteria will handle the situation if someone got cheated because another group of people illegally got money through deception. Lawmakers and Linden Labs themselves are currently attempting to settle on a deal with the CopyBot, a program used to copy objects that other people have made. The issue is, no one really knows how to deal with the ample amounts of copying that go on in Second Life or at what point the government should get involved with Second Life affairs. The problem presented to the residents within Second Life is that if they are not satisfied with Linden Lab’s terms of service and how they handle copyright infringement, they can hardly just go anywhere else because their property are digital items within Second Life.
Another ethical issue that arises from using Second Life is not present in the game, but affects a person’s life in the real world. Though extensive use of Second Life by students would not inhibit attending classes in the virtual world, it could lead to possible Internet addition. Massive multi-player on-line role-playing games similar to Second Life tend to be some of the most addictive aspects of the Internet because of the system of goals and achievements established in the game. If addiction occurs it could lead to not only poor performance in the classroom but also a disregard of real world responsibilities. Another ethical issue present in Second Life is not showing up in the game, but affect's a person's life in the real world. Even though the vast usage of Second Life by students would not hinder students of attending classes in the virtual world, it could develops students to be addicted to the internet. Massive multi-player on-line role-playing games that are analogous to Second Life generally are some of the most addictive features of the Internet due to the system of goals that are found in the game. If internet addiction happens, it could lead to poor academic achievement in school, lack of socializing with others, and ignoring many other real world possibilities.
