Meet Passport Citizens!
Figure 11.24 ch6aa.jpg
The
Chicago Black Sun Five pose at the Adler Planetarium.
Click
here for print resolution version
The design and content of worlds are only interesting for a limited
period of time. After that, it is the people who make a
world worth revisiting. Emperor P'ter's simple world
attracted a big crowd because he had designed a clock which would
count down the New Year, and he had gone out and found people
to share this experience.
The Chicago Five
The Chicago Five (pictured in the previous figure) are Dave Maloney
(nicknamed Guy) and
his wife Debbie, nicknamed Gal, and their friends WildBill,
Pegasus, and Jedi (their
avatar nicknames). They are posing in front of the Planetarium
in Chicago where they all journeyed to meet in the flesh
after knowing each other only as avatars in Black Sun worlds.
Their stories, which are recounted below, are about human contact
through the new medium of digital space, and how new friendships
can blossom. You can find the full story of all members of the
Chicaco Five on the companion book website under the Black Sun
link. Let us now hear about the Chicago Five from its ringleader,
Guy:
Guy, avatar ring leader of the Chicago Five, and Gal
by David Maloney (a.k.a. Guy)
Hello World!Ö.Those were the first words that I typed into
the keyboard. Before me on my computer screen was a world totally
new to me, and unlike anything I had ever seen before on the World
Wide Web. A three-dimensional world filled with color and light
that I could walk and fly through in real time.
I had been rummaging around on the Internet since November 1995,
and had seen my share of Web sites and chat rooms. In early March
of 1996 I was paging through a copy of Computer Graphics World
magazine, and came across a small article announcing that a company
called Black Sun Interactive had released a product called CyberGate.
Reading that it was a beta version of a multi-user virtual reality
chat room really did not mean much to me, until I went to their
Web site, downloaded the program, and installed it on my computer.
I soon understood what they meant.
This is a virtual space that allows people to communicate and
interact from anywhere in the world as if they were in the same
room. I could see other people that were also logged into
the world that I was inhabiting, and communicate with them though
a chat box below the 3D window. They appeared in the form of avatars,
three-dimensional shapes that could move and fly just as I could.
Black Sun had provided an avatar room filled with interesting
and bizarre creatures that would allow you to change how you appeared
to others simply by clicking on the avatar you wanted. At first,
all we could say to each other was, ìThis is incredible!î
and, ìWhen did you find this?î
It was Black Sun Avatar #12 that I first crawled inside to inhabit
the 3D spaces, and took the nickname of Guy. To this day, I am
not sure why I took this name, except that Avatar #12 was a kind
of generic-looking robotic shape, and I felt that I would start
out simple and hopefully transform over time, as I learned more
about these virtual worlds. I soon felt at home here, and started
to investigate this world. I was in the main meeting room called
PointWorld, which had links to many other 3D spaces, some of which
linked to web sites.
Although this new approach to surfing the Web was interesting,
it was the interaction with the people in these worlds that really
caught my interest. I spent the next couple of months popping
in as time allowed, and I began to learn more and more about some
of the people who kept returning. Slowly, I began to think of
some of these people as true friends that I saw almost daily,
much more often than I was able to see good friends in the real
world. An incredible dynamic was being created here. People linked
through worlds alone, and never actually met.
What made the conversation so dynamic was the diversity of the
people there. There were housewives, computer system managers,
Web developers, graphic designers, programmers, kids in high school,
just to name a few. All connected though one thing: words.
And it was through the use of these words that we got to know
each other. Not by how we looked, or how we were dressed, or where
we lived, or even the expression on our faces, just words. Some
of the conversations that took place were incredible. Subjects
ranged from books, movies, new hardware, new software, to a new
Baywatch episode. I guess we could get blamed for abusing this
great new technology, but we also used this place to amuse and
delight each other with our wit (or lack of it) and humor after
a hard day at work, school, or home.
My wife, Debbie, soon became interested in these strange shapes
moving across the screen, and was wondering why I was sometimes
laughing hysterically at the computer. After she began to see
some of these shapes start to emerge as real characters and real
people, she decided to beam in and join our little community.
Guy and Gal soon became part of the virtual landscape of PointWorld
and beyond, sometimes causing friendly races to the computer terminal
after work, as only one person could log in at a time.
As with any community, there can be problems. And we had our share
in cyberspace. Because we were using only typed words to communicate,
there was always the chance to misinterpret what someone said.
This caused problems more than once. We had to learn to be careful
of what we said. As Black Sun states on their site: ìDon't
forget that there is a living, breathing, thinking, feeling person
on the other side of that computer screen communicating through
their keyboard, just as you are.î
As with any chat room, there is always the problem of people who
enter only to cause trouble and ruin the experience for others.
We came to call these people ìrudies,î not to be
confused with newbies, who were new arrivals, and had not yet
learned all the rules associated with these VR spaces. We even
had set up meetings to discuss the behavior of these people and
how to deal with them. These meetings were not pretty, as this
was a decisive issue for some. Some believed that it was an issue
of free speech, while others believed that the rooms should be
patrolled for such people, and their right to be there revoked.
Black Sun eventually created an elegant solution to this problem
by installing an Ignore button into a new release of their software.
This allowed those who did not want to hear someone to block them
out, while others would not have this censorship forced on them.
Peace reigned again in cyberspaceÖ. for the time being.
Figure 11.25 ch6ba.jpg
Avatars
made by Guy, Gal, and Pegasus of the Chicago Five.
Click
for print resolution version
One of the most fascinating things for me was to first learn that
we could create our own avatars. My first project was to create
custom avatars for Guy and Gal. I had experience working with
computer models in the engineering field that I work in, so I
began to investigate VRML, and how to create for it. It wasn't
long before we were using the avatars shown here. Gal also took
on the alter-ego of the evil penguin, Feathers MacGraw, from the
British claymation movies, Wallace & Grommet by Nick
Park. I would change my avatar depending on the location from
which I was logging in. Currently, I have over 80 different avatars
posted on my Web site for use by the community. (see Guy's
site at http://www.execpc.com/~dmaloney/wrls.html).
I always thought that everyone should be able to have their own
individual avatar.
Another great feature of the Black Sun browser is that, as well
as adding your own avatars, you can also build your own worlds
for yourself and others to inhabit. Black Sun supplies information
on how to make them multi-user. Besides the Black Sun homepage,
another great place for information about world building can be
found at Gerry's Inner Sanctum (http://www2.magmacom.com/~gerryp/howtowrl.html).
As I write this, we are planning the one-year anniversary party
for PointWorld. It first opened on February 13, 1996. As part
of the celebration, we are going to try to set a record for the
number of people in a Black Sun world at one time. The unofficial
record is 44, I believe. We tried once before, and made it up
to around 36 avatars in one world, but I know we can make it up
to 50. (See Guy's Pile-in report at http://www.execpc.com/~dmaloney/pilein/).
Last summer, several of the regulars had an opportunity to actually
meet for the first time. The meeting place was in Chicago, where
some lived, but others traveled all the way from North Carolina.
One even rode his motorcycle all the way from New Jersey to be
there. I think we were all a little nervous meeting for the first
time, but it did not take long for us all to get talking, just
as we did in Black Sun worlds. We are also planning to make this
a yearly meeting out in the real world, each year adding new people
that we have met.
Won't you join us?
Guy
Don't forget to see the full story of the Chicago Five
on the companion book website at http://www.digitalspace.com/avatars/chicago.htm
Netiquette in Passport Worlds
Here are some guidelines from the good folks at Black Sun about
building a civil cybersociety.
If someone is bothering you
If someone is offending you in any way, you have the option of
ignoring them. This means you will no longer see their avatar
or any of the text they may write. To do this, highlight the offending
party's name on the list of people and click on the Mute button.
Use Mute as a last resort. Imagine how uncomfortable it would
be if someone suddenly refused to acknowledge that you even existed!
Lurk before you leap
This is one of the few times virtual voyeurism is OK and actually
encouraged. Listen in on what others are chatting about to get
a general sense of how the regulars act. Once you understand a
little of the lingo and tempo and topics, go ahead and participate.
Introduce yourself
In real life, it can be daunting to go up to a group of people
you don't know and say ìHi,î but in avatar cyberspace
that's the best way to get started. You'll find that the people
are happy to greet you (even if you are a newbie) and show you
around.
Remember the human element
This is the Internet's (and life's) golden rule: Do unto others
as you would have them do unto you. Imagine how you'd feel if
you were in the other person's shoes. Stand up for yourself, but
try not to hurt people's feelings. Don't forget that there
is a living, breathing, thinking, feeling person on the other
side of that computer screen communicating through their keyboard,
just as you are.
Think before you speak
Avatar cyberspace is a community, and like every community, it
has members of all ages, including minors. With this in mind,
please try to refrain from obscene or offensive language. If you
wouldn't say it in front of your mom, boss, or child, don't say
it here. One of the joys of the Internet is that you can express
yourself freely, explore strange new worlds, and boldly go where
you've never gone before, but this should not be at the expense
of the other community members' sensibilities.
Be careful when using sarcasm and humor
When you communicate electronically, often all you see is text
on a computer screen. You don't have the opportunity to use facial
expressions, gestures, and tone of voice to communicate your meaning;
words are all you have, so be as clear as possible.
General communication tips
DON'T SHOUT! Typing in all capitals is the equivalent of yelling,
so typing in mixed case is a softer touch.