Homeless on Second Life

If you saw the BBC documentary "Virtual Adultery and Cyberspace Love" in their Wonderland series, you might be a bit nervous of Second Life. It's certainly true that all human life is here, well almost. Yes there is conflict and abuse, but there is also real learning and growth happening in this virtual world. At the moment I tend to avoid the seamier sides and concentrate on its powerful educational and/ or transformational possibilities. Even so, surviving probably requires some awareness of how to deal with the negative.

"Educate and Entertain" - Bertolt Brecht

Second Life is entertaining and absorbing. You learn a lot too. It improves hand eye cordination, your typing improves without you even realising it; and life skills, well they have to get better.

Two recent experiences highlighted that for me. The first was when a student using the "Homeless Aeon" avatar to improve their spanish ended up abusing the owner of a virtual mall and getting banned. There's probably a part of all of us that wants to let rip when given the opportunity. It's better to get it out of your system in SL.

The second was on UK Education's Virtual campus - you'd think that would be sufficiently "safe" and "boring" to avoid the so-called "griefers" . But I've learnt that you, and that includes a complete beginner, can be abused (griefed in SL (Second Life) jargon) within minutes of being "born". The photo above is taken on part of that campus. I was attacked by two would be gamers, one dressed as Robin (Batman's sidekick) armed with virtual weapons and a foul mouth.

OK in the end I could teleport out of there - and find somewhere quieter - but if it had happened in the midst of a virtual lecture or filming session, it would have been a real drag.

There are solutions, including trying to reason with them, maybe asking if they have the bottle to visit SL real combat areas such as Toxian City; reporting the abuser, freezing their "avatar" or deploying a special virtual device etc. Essentual reading is Richard Mansfield's "How to do Everything with Second Life".

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The above machinima animation was made on second life using the "HomelessAeon" Avatar and tracks made for the Oxford Nightshelter musician group "Making Tracks"




So watch this space for more developments.
Check out "UK Education" on Second Life
and also "The Ivory Tower Library of Primitives" for self paced tutorials.
"Tiki Island" is a quiet place to camp and make some linden dollars.
One day soon we will have our own virtual gatehouse Cafe.

Watch this space for news of our activities on Second Life


- avatar "Homeless Aeon".









News:
TOKYO (AFP) - A paralysed man using only his brain waves has been able to manipulate a virtual Internet character, Japanese researchers said Monday, calling it a world first.
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The 41-year-old patient used his imagination to make his character take a walk and chat to another virtual person on the popular Second Life website.

The patient, who has suffered paralysis for more than 30 years, can barely bend his fingers due to a progressive muscle disease so cannot use a mouse or keyboard in the traditional way.

In the experiment, he wore headgear with three electrodes monitoring brain waves related to his hands and legs. Even though he cannot move his legs, he imagined that his character was walking.

He was then able to have a conversation with the other character using an attached microphone, said the researchers at Japan's Keio University.

It is the first time a paralysis patient has succeeded in meeting a person and having a conversation in an Internet virtual world, they added.

Researchers are now studying a system that would let patients create text messages by mentally selecting certain letters, said Junichi Ushiba, associate professor at the biosciences and informatics department of Keio Universty's Faculty of Science and Technology.

"In the near future, they would be able to stroll through Second Life shopping malls with their brain waves... and click to make a purchase," Ushiba said.

Second Life is an increasingly popular virtual world in which people -- and animals -- are represented by animated avatars and do everything from social activities to shopping.

Ushiba says Second Life could motivate patients with severe paralysis, who are often too depressed to undergo rehabilitation.














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