Authors: Kalvin MacLeod
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Online experiences challenge what many people have traditionally called identity: a sense of self is recast in terms of multiple windows and parallel lives -Sherry Turkle
Identity, it is the concrete and defining aspect of who we are. Without identity we have no way of discerning the differences between one another, no way of explaining how I differ from my friends, family, and complete strangers. Identity is synonymous with our individuality and our own personal make-up, and yet, due to the explosion of online, virtual communities, the singleness of identity is losing its meaning. MUDs, the most prevalent of all virtual communities, have created a new space, not physical, but just as real in terms of mental visualization, social interaction and self-actualization. Within these new virtual spaces identity is questioned, molded and exchanged like the daily changing of clothes. Who we are and how we are seen by others is now user-defined, multiple and mutable. What one has to wonder and what is examined in this paper is that if people require a stable sense of self, and a stable sense of who other people are in order to function in real life, why are people continually drawn into virtual worlds where identity is anything but stable, where deception is not only accepted, it is expected? If MUDs do indeed destabilize the oneness of identity, should their use be regulated? This paper will discuss these issues starting first with an explanation of what MUDs are, their history and classification. We then examine the concepts of identity in real life and identity online, ending with a discussion of policy recommendations that will help make MUDding a safe environment for casual use.
MUDs come in all shapes and sizes and have names as varied as MOOs, MUCKs, MUSHes and MUVEs; in this paper the generic term MUD (Multi-user Dungeon or Multi-user Dimension) will be used to refer to all virtual communities that rely on synchronous text-based communication over computer networks. To understand MUDs, one must first delve a little into the history of the Internet, the network of networks. Created in 1969 by the U.S. military as a means of communicating between military sites, the Internet (known at the time as the ARPANET) has no single point of failure and therefore, no single point of control. The Internet is a global system of mini-, micro-, and mainframe computers which allows access to anyone with a connection (telephone, ISDN, T1).
In 1977, Jim Guyton used the idea of networked computers to create the first multi-user game called Mazewar. Following upon Mazewar came Wizard, which introduced the concept of player interaction. These initial MUDs were adventure style games in which the killing of monsters and the collection of treasure elevated the characters experience levels. It was not until 1989 that the first social MUD was created by Jim Aspnes, called TinyMUD (Reid: 11). Since Aspnes' creation, interest in social MUDs have exploded in popularity. MUDconnect (www.mudconnect.com) lists 1469 MUDs as of November 23 1999 and as more and more people find their way onto the Internet this popularity will continue to skyrocket.
A MUD is a "software program that accepts connections from multiple users across some kind of network" which "provides to each user to a shared database of 'rooms,' 'exits,' and other 'objects' (Curtis:1). A user interface to the MUD database is entirely text based. Pavel Curtis, a leading pioneer in MUD development lists three factors that distinguish MUDs from adventure style computer games.
The popularity of MUDs is ever increasing, but this new popularity brings about new questions and new dangers. Does computer mediated communication hamper or enhance our interactive skills? Is it possible to lose perspective when worlds are simply strings of zeroes and ones? And most importantly, what effect does these worlds have on our identities?
What is identity? It is a hard question to answer. The Canadian Oxford Dictionary describes identity as "the state or fact of being the same one or ones as described, mentioned, etc." This seems to denote that identity is singular, that one's identity is fixed and immutable. But if this is truly identity, what cues do we use to broadcast our identities to the real world? In "Identity and Deception in the Virtual Community" states that "the body provides a compelling and convenient definition of identity" (Donath: 1). This does not translate to the virtual world, however, therefore we need a better description. Identity is an ephemeral quality of the human psyche that defines who we are, how we see ourselves and how we reveal ourselves to others. It is not just a physical description (although that is part of the picture), it is also a mental description and this is why identity can coexist on a purely textual medium.
The question arises: What happens when identity online intrudes on identity offline? Let us examine this. In its simplest form, MUDs offer "parallel lives"(Turkle: 1100). There are worlds upon worlds for users to explore and inhabit. Some worlds are based on popular fiction (Star Trek, The Lord of the Rings), others are more mundane (LambdaMOO takes place in an ever-enlarging house). The choices for MUD environments are endless as are the choices for online identities. In one MUD a user can be a knight, in another, the user can be a stripper and still in another the same user can be furry genderless bunny. "Your identity," Sherry Turkle writes, "is the sum of your distributed presence"(1101). She refers to this as "windowing" and says of it:
According to this metaphor, the self is no longer simply playing different roles in different settings . . . The life practice of windows is a distributed self that exists in many worlds and plays many roles at the same time (1101).
Online, then, the singleness of identity loses its meaning. One is now made up of the sum of her parts. MUD users can be anyone, from anytime and do most anything. On MUDs, "it is possible to by-pass the boundaries delineated by cultural constructs of beauty, ugliness, and fashion" (Reid: 42). "Players are able to create a virtual self outside the normally assumed boundaries of gender, race, class and age" (Reid: 47). But one must keep in mind that this is imaginary. On MUDs we create virtual identities, perhaps dependent or based upon real life, but never completely the same. The danger occurs when this perspective is lost.
So what does this mean for the individual that chooses to create alternate identities for MUD usage? The answer is it depends. It depends on the severity and seriousness of the each inhabitant, and it depends on what each user expects to get out of their MUD experience. "Players must become actors and must provide their own scenery" (Reid: 15). This in itself, is life affirming. It allows players the freedom to experiment, stretch their creative powers, experience instead of observe how others live their lives and allow the casual user an outlet for dealing with real life problems of shyness, anger, resentment, etc (Reid: 15-20).
But MUDding can be habit forming (Bruckman: 35). MUDs can absorb huge amounts of a users time (80-120 hours in the extreme cases (Sempsey: 3)). Users can lose focus and start overlapping their online windows with that of their offline lives. One case study reported on the Online Internet Support Group describes one users daily schedule:
Clearly this is an extreme case, but anytime when online life intrudes, even limits, real life there is a problem. The truth is, online life is full of deception. It is an anonymous arena where gender-swapping, identity-deceit and harmful lies runs rampant. This is to be expected on a medium that promotes the creation of identity, but the "intrusion of another's imagined reality, an imagination that can shatter the carefully constructed projections of the victim inspires great resentment" (Reid: 34). If MUDs are taken too seriously, people can get hurt.
Although hard to prove, experimenting with identity can confuse the issue. One can lose their real life identity to that of their online identity. Who we are suddenly becomes a question of what we can manufacture from text. Identity becomes a "fluid" (Rheingold: 84), an object that can be manipulated on the whims of its creator. We lose our consistency and our real life suffers because we are living a lie and suspect that those we are conversing with are also guilty of deception.
Those problems though are mute for the casual user, though, those of us that use MUDs as an escapist form of entertainment, or a means of social discourse with others around the world. These identity issues are only really a problem for those that suffer from what James Sempsey calls "Internet Addiction Disorder" (7). This occurs when people "abandon their real lives, spending up to 18 hours a day living in virtual reality" (Sempsey: 7). These people, those that do not know moderation, are the ones that suffer from a loss of perspective and a loss of real life identity.
While examining the detrimental effects of MUD usage on self actualization, one cannot ignore the benefits that controlled usage can offer. First and foremost, interaction with MUDs "provokes reflection on the nature of self" (Turkle: 1093). One cannot fashion a false identity without first examining their real life identity. The online identity is a carefully crafted masterpiece, full of insight into one's fears, like, dislikes, dreams, ambitious and more. Voicing these thoughts, and actualizing them on a computer screen promotes self-examination.
James Sempsey in The Therapeutic Potentials of Text Based Virtual Reality believes MUDs can be used as therapy. He lists three different group therapy models that correspond to positive aspects of MUDs:
Also as Rheingold states MUDs are "a way for people who lack social skills to be more social" (91). MUDs promote disinhibition, greater equality of participation and an heightened degree of self expression (Sempsey: 3), all this because of the innately anonymous environment that MUDs offer.
Policy recommendations suggested for anything as global and uncontrollable as the Internet must be taken with a grain of salt. Anything suggested can only be implemented as long as there is agreement amongst the players. If we choose to regulate MUDs and there is no agreement, then new MUDs will spring up that do not incorporate the new policies. So outlined here are merely suggestions that could improve MUD usage. They are not meant as all encompassing restrictions nor is it my attempt to censor the MUD users freedom of expression. With that said, here are the recommendations.
First, MUDding is a drain on resources. In "Are MUDs Banned in Australia," Elizabeth Reid states that 10% of network traffic can be attributed to MUD usage (1). Where bandwidth is not an issue, this drain is also not an issue, but for companies and institutions that have limited bandwidth, there must be a limit to MUD usage. Several universities have banned them altogether. Several institutions have already implemented what I feel is a better solution: MUD usage should be limited to off peak hours. Limiting MUD usage to after-hours allows users with more important usage of computer resources, fast, unhampered access. Also limiting usage will also help with the second policy recommendation.
As stated in the body of this paper, the real problem of identity loss only occurs with obsessive MUD usage. Limiting a users logging in time from the server end--while not preventing a user from logging into different MUDs--will at least force users to take time away from the MUDs to which they are most dedicated. It is unhealthy to spend an extreme amount of time online both physically and mentally and something must be done to curb excessive use.
Limiting access from the server end is only a part of the solution. Something must be done to educate these obsessive users. MUDs can offer these users tips and counseling on how to better managed their time. This can come in the way of exclaimers to new users, online counseling classes and by providing links to information on online addiction. MUDs operators who are serious about protecting their users could make a course on online addiction mandatory before allowing a new user to join a MUD. Of course all of this is mute if the user refuses the help, but just like alcohol addiction, the information must be out there for those that are willing to accept the help.
The fact is MUDs are here to stay. It seems as if every day a new virtual community springs up and more of the world gets connected. If used properly, MUDs can benefit our lives, promoting greater socialization and offering therapy for those that lack real life interaction skills. Problems arise when online life begins to replace real life and online friends become a person's only means of communication. But with the proper regulations of MUD usage, this type of obsessive drain on identity can be avoided. Because of MUDs and other virtual communities, our notions of identity are being questioned, but perhaps this is the natural progression of society. It is impossible to describe a person in one word. Perhaps it is also too much to ask to describe a person's identity in terms of one character. Let's explore some new windows and see who we become.
Hard Copy Books
Busey, Andrew. Secrets of MUD Wizards. Sams.net, 1995.
Haynes, Cynthia. Holmevik, Jan Rune. Editors. High Wired: On the Design, Use and Theory of Educational MOOs. Michigan Press, 1998
Rheingold, Howard. The Virtual Community. New York: Simon & Schuster, 1998.
Turkle Sherry. Life on the Screen: Identity In the Age of the Internet. Simon and Schuster, November, 1995.
Hard Copy Journals
Gaitenby, Alan. "Law's Mapping of Cyberspace: The Shape of a New Social Space." Technological Forecasting and Social Change. Vol. 52, (June-July):135-145.
Turkle, Sherry. "Constructions And Reconstructions of Self in Virtual Reality: Playing in the MUD." Mind, Culture and Activity. 1, vol. 3, (1994):158-167.
Turkle, Sherry. "Multiple Subjectivity and Virtual Community." Social Inquiry. vol. 67, (Winter 1997):72-84.
Turkle, Sherry. "Computational Technologies and Image of Self." Social Research. Vol. 64, (Fall 1997):1093-1110.
Online Journals
Curtis, Pavel. "Mudding Social Phenomena in a Text-Based Virtual Realities." Xerox PARC. [online] http://www.oise.on.ca/~jnolan/muds/about_muds/pavel.htm (Accessed: October 1997).
Keegan, Martin. "A classification of MUDs." Journal of MUD Research Vol 2, No. 2, July [online] http://journal.tinymush.org/v2n2/keegan.html (Accessed: October 1997)
Reid, Elizabeth. "Cultural Formations in Text-Based Virtual Realities." Cultural Studies Program: Master Thesis. http://people.we.mediaone.net/elizrs/cult-form.html (Accessed: November 1997).
Reid, Elizabeth. "Are MUDs Banned in Australia." http://metalab.unc.edu/cmc/mag/1994/aug/muds.html (Accessed November 1997).
Suler, John. "From ASCII to Holodecks: Pyschology of an Online Multimedia Community." (Report on the Palace Study). Paper presented at the American Psychological Association Conference [Online] http://www.rider.edu/users/suler/psycyber/palsumary.html (Accessed: October 1997)
James Sempsey III (January 1997) "Psyber Psychology: A Literature Review Pertaining to the Psycho/Social Aspects of Multi-User Dimensions in Cyberspace", Journal of MUD Research Volume 2, Number 1 [online] http://journal.tinymush.org/v2n1/sempsey.html (Accessed: October 1997)
Sempsey, James. "The Therapeutic Potentials of Text-Based Virtual Reality." Journal of MUD Research Volume 3, Number 1 [online] http://journal.tinymush.org/v3n1/sempsey.html (Accessed: October 1997)
Sempsey, James. "When is the MUD too Gooey." Journal of MUD Research Volume 3, Number 1 [online] http://journal.tinymush.org/v3n1/sempsey.html (Accessed: October 1997)
Haeberle, Chuck. "An Essay on Ethics and Virtual Reality." (Accessed: October 1997)
Young, Jeffrey. "Textuality in Cyberspace: MUDs and Written Experience." [Online] http://metalab.unc.edu/pub/academic/communications/papers/muds/Textuality-in-Cyberspace (Accessed Oct 27th, 1999).
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