Reading 10/13 October 13, 2008
Posted by mshelle54 in Uncategorized.trackback
While reading Jenkins I could not help the whole time thinking isn’t this what these people want. They start these spoiler websites to spoil it for everyone that wants to know all the information that they can. But once the tables where turned and someone other then them was giving away the answers. They didn’t like that and the game that they were playing was no longer in their control and was not being played by their rules, so they got upset. These Survivor spoilers are doing the same thing that ChillOne did to them. Except this is the thing, ChillOne did not backup his information with any really facts. It was what he knew, and these other people did not like that. They have a set of rules and standards that they play within, but at the same time they are not telling everyone what those are.
Jenkins focus was on “the knowledge of a community” (25), Lister was more focused on life on line. Whether it was you on line as the person you are or a newly created persona. Being online allows for people to be something that they are not. It could be the everyday person that they are or it could be someone new they these people create. Either way this ability to be who you are or remain a mystery allows for people to do and act in ways that they might not be able to in their everyday “real” lives. This can be beneficial, these people now have the ability to be someone different and live a different life. You are able to meet new people and learn new things. But on the other hand there can be a down fall to this. Depending on how involved one becomes in their on-line life it can begin to effect the off line life of a person. In reading this section I could not stop thinking about The Office when Dwight created a Second Life character that was exactly himself, because his off line life was so awesome. Jim went on and did the same thing, but he created a totally different person then he really was. Which is almost the point of a game like that, to be someone that you are not. Hence the name, Second Life, you have a second chance to do what you want.
The same is said with the video games that are so real that they suck you in. You play as the person, you never see a face, but your moves move them. It’s a trick that the mind plays. I do and have played games where you are in the first person, and it is so intense. It’s not like when say I am playing Mario cart, I can see the character that I am, but something about playing in the first person mode really sucks you in. I find myself being more caught up in the action. And for some people, video games are their second life. There are always stories about how a shy, quite kid who is always the leader of his troop in a multiplayer game like World of Warcraft. How once he is online he is a different person and takes control of the group and leads them to successes. Which is the point of any of these things, they take us from somewhere and put us somewhere else.
http://www.survivorsucks.com/topic/38958/t/Re-Episode-2-CBS-Website-Clues.html?page=-1
http://www.worldofwarcraft.com/info/basics/guide.html
Can you have both? A fully developed online and off line life?
Can their be rules on a spoiler website?
You pose an interesting point about the apparent (sp?) hypocrisy present in the spoliling communities. it appears its not enough to achieve a goal as a community, but it does matter who is responsible for it. I think there are definitely some hierarchichal and power issues that are present in these online niches that would be interesting to explore further.