h2g2 The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy: Earth Edition

Chris, I promise not to address the 'incident' here as you request. You asked a question about it, though, so I answered at my home page http://www.h2g2.com/F40621?thread=70012 Read it if you wish, or not. I do have a couple of questions about VR, though. I have only been on h2g2 a relatively short time (I guess about 3 months) and I certainly don't know everything about how things work here. Some of the issues of VR behaviour are puzzling to me, and I'm still trying to work them out. 1. Scripting or controlling other people's actions, or their creations. To what extent is this allowed in VR? I know that in certain 'adventure' forums, you go in with an expectation that this will occur within the context of that particular forum or thread. But in general, in the community, is there a guideline? Examples: Can I, as a VR participant, do the following: (precede them with a 'This is true, it happened' statement or not -- I'm just interested in the implications) A. In a post, I drop a nuclear bomb on the Aroma Caf� which destroys the caf�, and also levels the Waterworks, The F&F, and several churches, leaving the ground a radioactive zone that will be uninhabitable for 100 years. B. In a post I state that Researcher X goes into the F&F and slaps Researcher Y in the face. C. In a post I state that, for now on, the :-) means 'I hate you' and everyone will view it that way. D. I state that Greebo has won the Virtual Prez election and it's over. I have a hard time reconciling these posts as being able to exist in a virtual community. If example A above is said as a post, how is it dealt with? Must Irv, and Menza, and Bluebottle go through an elaborate structure of cleaning up the radioactive waste, rebuilding, etc. and turn people away until they've done that? If so, what if I stop by every day and drop another nuclear bomb? It seems to me that the notion of a post being able to alter another's reality is problematic. I've always operated under the assumption here (maybe I'm wrong) that VR meant you could control your own reality and that of your creations, but did not mean that you could control or script other people's reality or their creations, unless it was with their consent, or an established protocol of the thread or forum. 2. If VR gives you unlimited power to affect everyone else, where does threadiquette come in? My reading of threadiquette was that it had to do with conforming to the reality, customs, and approach that had been established by the proprietor of the thread in which you were participating, but this is a tricky issue to me. Particularly when you compare activities which are limited to a particular thread to those which span multiple threads. 3. Someone posts an action or set of 'facts' which is in direct conflict with what had been established in previous posts. How do you respond? I am interested in your response. Thank you. - Redbeard

first off, thankyou for not talking about the incident again! i am pleased that someone heeded my warnings...

1. Ah, about this controling other people's VR lives and such; I admit that what I did in controlling what you, Celery, Webjello said and did was wrong - it broke my own rules...I'm sorry...

Most of your examples for posts controlling VR (A to D) should not be performed. Post example 'C' would work ,but it only means that whenever someone sees the in one of your posts, he'll take it as an insult...

2. VR does not, if you follow my rules, give one unlimited power...

3. I honestly don't know... I responded to your posts conflicting with mine rather angrily...
I'm sure there are other ways to sort out such a problem, but I hope they won't result in an argument!

- C. T.

I just wanted to give another take on this whole thing. I got very heavily involved in a VR environment about ten years ago. As with many such environments, once it was good word got around. The place got swamped with eager newbies. Those newbies, in turn, were understandably unable or unwilling to look up over a year of back history and rulings on behavior before beginning to interact with the regulars. This did indeed cause problems.

In the end, the flood of people became so overwhelming that it was impossible to patrol the basic rules of etiquette we had established. Most of the people who made the place so interesting left, and it died down of its own accord. I took a lesson from all this. I decided, in the end, you must either have a very thick skin or you must not engage as a VR ego.

These days, I tend to take all the confusion about threadiquette a lot less seriously. We all have different standards on what is and isn't permissible in a VR type of internet forum. It is inevitable that people will disagree. It is inevitable that people will misunderstand what has come before. And it is inevitable that someone (possibly you) will end up feeling personally insulted as a result of all the confusion. That's part of what you sign up for when you enter a VR setting.

I use my real personality for the most part. I chose an interesting user name, but my real name is on my page and my physical details are the same on-line and off-line. I knock around a little in VR forums, in what I hope is a good-humored way. They remain a good way to meet people. I guess I do feel that I am a part of the h2g2 community.

But I find the battling between VR egos tires me out pretty easily these days. And there are advantages to being yourself. After all, much of h2g2 is about the "real" world, isn't it? I prefer sitting back and writing Guide Entries to hanging out in virtual coffee rooms and on virtual beaches. I like talking about things that really happened in my past.

I think a rule against being yourself could lead to confusion and a lack of accountability for one's actions. For some people, thinking up a whole VR personality before posting is both unnecessary and confusing. h2g2 is a complex place. It would be rude to enter the Forum and Firkin and loudly refuse a beer because "it isn't real." But it would also be rude to post a bunch of threads on the Peer Review page about walking your dog. I don't think there is an easy solution.

*Any attempt to set standards in a VR environment inevitably fails.* There. I've said it. Of course, don't get me wrong. That's just my personal opinion. I'm sure other people might vehemently disagree.

You know, you've got some very valid points there, Fragilis, thankyou!

The rules I set out on this article are only my rules, which i follow, and hope that if other people don't follow them, they would at least not break them when talking to me...

And on your other point, h2g2 is two things really: the Guide itself, and the Community. You said, and other people are the same, that you'ld prefer to stick to the Guide side of things. That's fine, of course, and some people, like me, stick to the Community, the VR side of things...

Thanks for your opinion; this could turn out to be a good little discussion forum...

I think it is an interesting discussion, and of course I'm interested in other people's perspectives as well.