This week, I will be focusing on the ethical conundrums that we have been facing in the past few weeks. Initially I
was just focusing on our problems but I came across some interesting news that I thought I must share with you.
Butterbusch and Talab (2009) explain various unethical scenarios in a very reader-friendly manner. They talk
about how a female avatar, who is new to SL is taken advantage of by a creature. The creature brings her to
different lands, including the "seedy" side of SL. This was taken even further when the creature persuades the
female avatar to get a furry avatar of her own. What is interesting is that these furry creatures have their own
social rules, values and practices. They have immersed themselves so completely into this identity that they have
forgotten what its like to have a simple human avatar and that it comes with its own identity. What proceeded
was that the female avatar was harassed and it was only when the female avatar changed back into her human
form that the abuse stopped. Now, all of the above seems obviously unethical. However, apparently, even
choosing not to disclose your real life identity is unethical in Virtual Worlds. Dr. Alex Gordon, who conducted
research on identity in Second Life revealed that 80% of female avatars were actually male and 75% of male
avatars were actually female!! It is shocking to find how many people actually want to escape the realities of life
by going to the extent of changing their identity. What makes the unethical aspect of this even worse is that there
are scripts that allows the abuser to control his/her victim's avatar. Eg. Knees detached from the body, shoes on
top of the head, etc. The icing on top of the cake is when SL users get punished in real life for crimes committed
in SL. True stories include, a woman in Tokyo who kills her husband's avatar and is consequently sent to
prison and a woman in Delaware plotting to abduct her SL boyfriend.
Coming to ethical issues that concern us more. Many researchers feel that it is alright to simply stand in the
background and collect the data trail that people leave behind. However, as long as they are 'lurking', it is
unacceptable.
Butterbusch, H. R., & Talab, R. S. (2009). Copyright and You Ethical Issues in Second Life [Journal]. TechTrends, 53(1), 6.
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