Animal avatars are some of the most
popular at the Palace. Some people come as their pets. Because
animals symbolize certain traits or attributes in myth as well
as popular culture (e.g., strength, loyalty, grace, independence,
cunning, transcendence), the animal chosen for an avatar probably
bears psychological significance to the person - perhaps representing
some real aspect of his or her identity, or some characteristic
admired by the person. Thinking in the tradition of the Native
American, we might even regard an animal avatar as being an individuals
"totem" - i.e., a symbol of one's essential nature or potential.
Cartoon
Avatars
When Bumgardner designed the Palace,
he specifically choose a "cartoony" atmosphere. For example, the
balloons that pop out from one's head when speaking is a carry
over from the world of comic strips. Bumgardner felt that people
would readily identify with this atmosphere and find it intuitively
easy to use. The cartoony ambience also fosters a playful regression
among users. Bumgardner wanted people to feel like they were "getting
away with something" - which surely is a familiar theme in comic
strip plots. As a result, it's no surprise that cartoon props
proliferate at the Palace. While younger users (adolescents) may
be more inclined to don cartoon costumes, older members frequently
use them as well. The psychological significance of the cartoon
character probably affects the choice made by the user. People
select characters with whom they identify or admire. Some cartoon
characters have very specific cultural significance and may even
represent archetypal personality types (e.g., Bugs Bunny as the
confident trickster; Aladdin's genie as the powerful but benevolent
friend). Rather than relying on childhood cartoon figures, some
adults wear cartoon avs of a more sophisticated style - some of
these classified as "anime." The psychological tone of these avs
tend to be more seductive, whimsical, or mysterious.
Celebrity
Avatars
Celebrity avatars tend to follow
trends in popular culture. And like items in popular culture,
they may quickly become epidemic and then disappear. There may
be a variety of motives behind the use of these avs. People may
use them to express personality traits or social issues that are
associated with the celebrity's image (sensuality, intelligence,
power, corruption, rebellion, etc.). The user may identify with,
desire, or be poking fun at these attributes. They may hope to
bolster their self-esteem and identity by establishing their connection
to the celebrity. They may simply wish to display a knowledge
of current events in pop culture. Celebrity avs also advertise
one's specific interests in entertainment in order to find like-minded
users: "Hey, I like Seinfeld! Anyone else out there like Seinfeld?"
Evil
Avatars
Everyone has a dark or "evil" side
to his or her personality. The definition of "evil" varies from
person to person, although usually it has something to do with
malicious, aggressive fantasies and/or feelings of guilt. Note
how many Halloween costumes fit this category. As a form of sublimation,
evil costumes allow people to safely - and even creatively - express
their dark side. While some members may wear an evil av as their
facade for the evening (which may reflect their mood at the time),
others may "flash" it as a momentary cue to others. Mess with
wizards, for example, and they may flash their evil av as a warning
that they're getting annoyed and may pin, gag, or kill you. On
one occasion, I witnessed a male come on to an attractive female
member wearing a real face prop. When her attempts to brush him
off failed, she flashed a nefarious looking skull at him. He quickly
backed off. Some people may use evil or aggressive avatars as
a way (consciously or unconsciously) to alienate or "put off"
other people. This might indicate their anxiety about intimacy
and being vulnerable.
Real
Face Avatars
Most users do not use pictures of
themselves as their primary avatars. People prefer the partial
anonymity of expressing only limited aspects of their personality
through imaginative props. Or they simply enjoy the creative fun
of experimenting with new identities through their avs. In more
rare cases, members find the use of real face avs to be an uncomfortable,
dissociative experience. "I have a picture of myself in the prop
file but I really don't like to use it any longer than it takes
for me to show it to a new friend," said River, a wizard. "It
is a little disturbing to sit here at home and see myself speaking
in cartoon balloons in a non-reality. Whew!!!!"
When users do present pictures of
their real faces, it may be a gesture of honesty and/or intimacy
- a sign of friendship, or even romance. Showing one's real face
av can be a very poignant experience. Several members have described
to me encounters when an intimate conversation culminated in their
companion showing a picture of themselves. "That moment will stay
with me for a long time to come," one member stated, "The value
I placed on that particular moment was, friendship, trust, a sense
of oneness." This same member described how there seems to be
a pattern when an entire group feels compelled to use their real
faces - what he called "face nite." For that period of time, the
intimacy and friendship level reaches a point where people wish
to step out of their masks and out of their anonymity. They want
be as "real" as possible.
Some members develop an entire set
of real face avatars. Cleo, for example, designed each different
one to convey a specific interpersonal message, such as "Hi!",
"I'm sleeping" (a.k.a. BRB), and "Gimme Kiss."
Idiosyncratic
Avatars
These avatars become strongly associated
with a specific member - almost as if it is that person's trademark.
In some cases the avatar may be highly unusual or creative. Sometimes
it is quite simple. Yet its association to the particular user
is so strong that others experience it uniquely as that person.
While trading props is a common practice, the owner of an idiosyncratic
av rarely gives it away. It would be like giving one's identity
to someone else to use. Conscientious members also don't "steal"
(i.e., screen capture) an idiosyncratic av and use it as their
own. They respect its integrity. If someone does steal and attempts
to wear an idio av, they must be willing to put up with criticism
by the friends of the owner.
Positional
Avatars
These avatars are designed by the
member to be placed into specific positions within the Palace
rooms. The avatar may be created for a certain type of environment
(e.g., a sky or water avatar), or may be designed specifically
for a single room or even a very specific spot within a room (e.g.,
a favorite chair). These avatars illustrate how the graphics of
the Palace rooms are NOT simply "background" that have little
impact on behavior. Some members are exquisitely sensitive to
the graphical environment. Creating props to match and interact
with the features of the room is a highly creative activity. Such
avatars also are a sign of status. By displaying them, the member
is demonstrating a sophisticated awareness of the Palace environment
as well as technical know-how in prop editing.
Power
Avatars
Power avatars are symbols of... well...
power. Many, if not all, people have conscious or unconscious
fantasies of omnipotence. Who wouldn't want strength and invulnerability?
These types of avs seem to be most common among male adolescent
users. In some cases the power theme is benign. Sometimes not,
which may be a variation of the "evil" avatar. Because competition
invariably accompanies displays of power, members seem to vie
with each other in creating the most "awesome" power av. This
competition is probably more common among the adolescent users.
Members who persistantly display power avs may be troubled by
underlying feelings of helplessness and insecurity.
Seductive Avatars
Frontal nudity, including uncovered
breasts, are not permitted at the Palace. Offenders first are
warned by wizards, prop-gagged (forced into the standard smiley),
and, if necessary, disconnected from the server. Adapting to these
house rules, some users create avatars of partially naked or scantily
clothed figures. Mischievious members sometimes push the envelope
by wearing avs that test the limits and ambiguities of the rules.
Supreme court justices have had a hard time defining what is pornographic,
so the task has been no easier for the officials who run the EC
sites. Even though the rules have become very specific about what
body parts can and cannot be visible in an av, borderline cases
always pop up (see The Bad Boys of
Cyberspace).
Female seductive avatars tend to
be more common than male - although these female avs sometimes
are "manned" by male users (see "Male
Gender-Switching in Cyberspace") . In fact, the general impression
among members is that males are more likely to prop up as females,
especially seductive females, than women dressing up as males.
Members usually wear seductive avs
to draw attention to themselves. This works very well. Male users,
especially guests, quickly flock to a sexy female form. The owner
may be interested in harmless flirting, or (less frequently) be
advertising his or her availability for cybersex. I heard one
story about someone's office friend who, when frustrated on the
job, says "I need a Palace break" He then signs onto the Palace
dressed as a sexy female and lures guys into bedrooms. Being sexy
not only gets you attention. It also gives you power and control
over others.
Some people wearing seductive avs
wish to be admired as an attractive, sexy individual, without
necessarily being interested in flirting or cybersex. "I have
some very sexy stuff given to me by friends (all men!)," said
one female member. "What do they say about me? Not quite sure,
except that I would love to be younger and more beautiful and
some of my avatars are that indeed."
The competition in creating and displaying
props is especially visible for seductive avatars. "It's interesting
how some of the women at the Palace are getting into more and
more elaborate sexy props. Almost as if it's a contest," noted
one member. "But then, some of the guys too are into 'comparing'
props!" For men, the competition usually involves power props,
rather than seductive ones. As one member stated, "the stag with
the biggest rack thing, ey?"
A seductive, sexy, or simply "attractive"
avatar can have a powerful impact on other members. One member
described how his prop of a cartoon animal didn't seem to be getting
him much attention from females. Most of them wouldn't talk to
him. Curious about whether he could alter this situation, he searched
the net and found a picture of Brad Pitt which he turned into
a prop. The result?... Lots of attention. If he happened to be
wearing his cartoon prop and found that he was being ignored by
a woman, he would move to another room, switch to Brad Pitt, and
then return. Or he would switch to Pitt right in front of her.
Nine times out of ten, he said, the woman would strike up a conversation
with him even if he hadn't said a word. He even established a
relationship with someone who eventually wanted to meet him face-to-face.
"The pic got her attention," he concluded, "but in the end it
was me that won her over." The curious thing about this phenomenon
is that members KNOW that people are not their avatars. Just because
a prop is pretty to look at doesn't mean that the user is. Nevertheless,
that seductive av has tremendous drawing power. Perhaps some people
enjoy the illusion of interacting with (and hopefully winning
over) an attractive person. Perhaps, as many critics of contemporary
culture claim, some people can't resist the temptation of superficial
appearances, despite knowing better. Or perhaps some people are
just curious, "Who *IS* that person using that sexy av?"
Other members may display seductive
avs simply to be admired for their skill in knowing how to create
a seductive av. Because the Palace often feels like an ongoing
party where people are going to flirt, playfully compete, vie
for attention, and strut their stuff, it is almost a prerequisite
that every experienced member owns a seductive av of some type.
"Getting away with something" is an intrinsic component of the
Palace culture, as Bumgardner intended. Having at least one seductive
av is a cultural must.
Of course, there are exceptions to
every rule. As one member said, "I don't really think that sexy
type props are for me, just wouldn't be a true representation
of what I'm about."
Other
Avatars
Whenever we social scientists go
about categorizing things, we always end up with a miscellaneous
or "other" category. There is such a wide variety of avatars that
it's impossible to neatly classify them all. The same is true
of personality styles (which is the origin of the prop). Here
let me briefly mention just a few other types of avatars.
Odd/shocking avatars are unusual, strange,
and sometimes downright bizarre pictures - perhaps revealing
people who like to surprise, goof on, or even startle and outrage
others. Truly bizarre pictures might make you wonder about the
person's grasp of social appropriateness, or even their mental
health. Such very unusual avs are most popular among adolescents
- for whom extreme behavior is a way to express independence
and individuality, and to test the limits.
Abstract avatars may be used by people
who enjoy enjoy symmetry, are good (non-verbal) conceptual thinkers,
and/or are inclined towards visual artistic endeavors.
Billboard avatars are announcements of
some sort - political, philosophical, personal. They are used
by those who have something to say and are not reluctant to
display their thoughts in a commercialized type format.
Lifestyle avatars, which are quite common
and varied, depict some significant aspect of a person's life
- usually something to do with occupation, hobby, or personal
habit. It may be a way to attract like-minded individuals.
Matching avatars are designed to accompany
each other and indicate the connection or bonding between the
pair of members. Considerable imaginative and technical skills
may go into creating such avatars.
Clan avatars - are worn by members of
the same social group, some might even say "gang." These avs
tend to be similar in basic design with slight variations to
differentiate each one from the others. As such, each user announces
his/her allegiance to the clan by adopting its collective visual
appearance, while also maintaining some measure of individuality.
It reminds me of the songs in some bird species. The species
identifies itself and its members by a basic template that serves
as the collective song. Yet each individual bird adds a small
unique variation to that template in order to signify its individuality.
Clan avs are found almost exclusively among adolescents for
whom belonging to a peer group - and conforming to its standards
- is a developmental hallmark.
Animated avatars contain motion, such
as an eye tearing, a bird flying, or a flag waving. By visually
diplaying "behavior" they can express a wide and subtle range
of psychological meaning. Tapping a finger, blinking one's eyes,
banging one's head against the wall - there are infinite expressive
possibilties. The motion usually is cyclical and repetitious,
which - depending on the type of avatar - may convey a feeling
of persistance, determination, mindlessness, or rhythmic peacefulness.
Bigger is Not Better
The default size for an avatar is
about 40x40 pixels. That's about as big as your average computer
icon. When members create their first avatar, it's usually this
size. They're pretty happy with their accomplishment, until they
realize that other people have much BIGGER props. It takes a bit
more know-how to master the technique of building large avs. Some
members quickly get into a competitive feeling about whose is
biggest - although the contest quickly ends at about 130x130 pixels,
which is the technical limit.
Are there significant psychological
differences in who uses big and small props? People who like power
avs tend to like big avs, especially big power avs. People may
rely on prop size to gain attention and admiration. I've heard
some members state that younger users, especially male adolescents,
like large props, while women tend to wear smaller props in general
than men. These hypotheses certainly are amenable to quantitative
research.
The general consensus among Palatians
is that "bigger is not better." Big avs sometimes are considered
impolite. They take up a lot of precious space in a crowded room.
They're a bit ostentatious. What matters more than size is the
quality and style of your avatar. What matters is how you apply
it to express yourself. "It's not the size of the prop, but how
you use it."
Prop Evolution
Bumgardner designed the Palace not
as a game with imposed plots and rules, but as a open social environment
in which users would "make of it what they will." As a result,
the culture is changing and evolving according to the psychological
needs of the population. Because members have most control over
their props, these elements are probably incisive visual signs
of the transitory ebb and flow, and overall developmental path,
of Palace life.
In my e-mail interviews with
Bumgardner, he compared the history of props to biological evolution:
"This last week I read "Naturalist"
a memoir by the biologist Edward O. Wilson, and a fine piece
of writing. My intent was to read something completely unrelated
to the Palace, to take my mind off it, but I found Wilson's
descriptions of island ecologies particularly relevant, as it
turned out. In some ways one can compare Props to Plumage. More
interesting, attractive (or I might even say "powerful") props
tend to propagate, while less interesting, ugly ones don't.
Some props have had incredible staying power - were created
a long time ago and are still around, while others have had
relatively short cycles. In addition there has been a marked
evolution in the quality and size of props. A typical scene
in Harry's bar this evening is quite different from a typical
scene two months ago. You see more large elaborate props, and
more sexy props. There was a big influx of sexy lingerie-clad
female props at the Valentine's
party and interestingly those have continued. Where competitive
principles come in is that the overall quality of the props
has been rising with time, as people keep up with the Joneses,
and teach other how to make better looking props."
Surely, there is a "survival of the fittest" among props. Those
with real staying power are those that best capture universal
human themes - such as sex, aggression, power, and spirituality.
Other long-lasting props are those specifically adapted to the
Palace environment (e.g., "be right back" and "I survived the
lag" signs), and those that are icons of contemporary culture
(e.g., cans of Spam, Winnie the Poo, the Three Stooges). Carrying
the biological analogy even further, Bumgardner suggested that
the categories may be more specific than outlined previously in
this article. For example - cartoon animals, cars, Japanese anime
women. Those which are not "fit" eventually disappear into extinction.
Those that ARE fit survive, develop, become more refined. The
overall trend towards more variety and subtlety in props (not
unlike biological evolution) points to a basic human need that
Palace successfully satisfies - the need to pursue variety, to
push the envelop, to advance.
This diversity is boosted by the
need for personal expression of an individual's identity. The
most fit types of props survive, but people also want and need
to be unique - at least this is true of American culture. As Sammy
Davis might have said, "I gotta be me." People prefer not to wear
the exact avs that other people are wearing. The results are avatars
that do not fall into the usual categories or species types and
an almost infinite variety of subtle differences within the categories.
This doesn't necessarily mean that avs become more complex or
elaborate over time. While this trend does tend to enhance individuality
and uniqueness, avatar complexity can get unwieldy, inefficient,
overly ostentatious. A push towards elegant simplicity counterbalances
the quest for complexity, resulting in developmental ebbs and
flows of avatar intricacy.
A clear exception to this basic rule
about avatar individuality are the clan props. Members sacrifice
the quest for a totally unique visual appearance in order to belong
to the group. Clan props are most likely to develop among adolescents.
They also will tend to evolve in a large, changing population
where some users will attempt to gain status, influence, and identity
by joining an established group, rather than by forging ahead
on one's own.
Taking It Personal
Like masks of any kind, avatars hide
and reveal at the same time. Behind it, people can conceal some
personal things about themselves, but the av also selectively
amplifies other aspects of their personalities. It may reveal
something about the member that otherwise is not immediately obvious
- maybe not even obvious if you met that person in real life.
Maybe not even obvious to the owners themselves. What users express
in their props is not always a conscious choice. Sometimes it's
unconscious. People may simply say that they are wearing a particular
av because "I like it." When asked, they're not sure what it says
about them. But other people may know.
On a few occasions at the Palace
I suggested to the group that we play a "prop
game." The game goes like this. One at a time, people take
turns standing before the group and trying on a few of their favorite
avatars. Free associating to the image, the rest of us toss out
ideas about how the prop looks, its psychological connotations,
its possible symbolisms. The question then becomes - does this
say something about the owner? More often than not, it does. The
avatar is like a Rorschach inkblot, or the Draw-a-House/Person/Tree
Test, or any work of art. It is selected from personal imagination.
Consciously or unconsciously, people condense a multitude of meaning
into it. They project their personality into it - who they are,
who they wish to be, what they fear, what moves them. In the prop
game, by free-associating, the other members help unpack all the
feelings and meanings condensed into the avatar. It's very much
like interpreting dreams. Of course, the other members may be
projecting their "own stuff" into the ideas that they toss out
about a fellow Palatian's avatars. But that's OK. In fact, it
says something about how they are perceiving and reacting towards
their fellow Palatian. It's what psychoanalysts call "transference."
People seem drawn to the prop game,
probably for the same reasons that they are attracted to Palace
as the haven of avatars. The Palace can be an entertaining, self-exploratory
arena for expressing one's ideas, feelings, and creativity. It
encourages people to experiment with new identities - all in a
highly visual fashion. Casually, and intuitively, people are playing
the "prop game" all the time as they socialize at the Palace.
They display their different avatars and people give them feedback
about it. In the best of circumstances, one learns something about
oneself as well as others. It feels like "playing," and indeed
it is. Playing is just another way to explore identity.
There is a serious side to playing.
You don't steal someone else's toys. One sure sign of how attached
members get to their avatars is their reaction when someone tries
to "steal" one - especially if it's an idiosyncratic avatar, one
that you put a lot of work into, or your "primary" or "home" avatar
that you spend most of your time wearing. Your identity is tightly
packed into these precious nuggets. That's how people recognize
you as unique. When someone takes it with a screen capture and
then wears it (which only takes a few minutes), they are stealing
a piece of your identity, stealing your individuality.
One evening when I entered Harry's
Bar, the social center of the Main Mansion site, I immediately
was warned by a friend, "Watch out! Nightmare is stealing props."
I quickly noticed that all of the people I knew were wearing the
generic smiley faces rather than their favorite avatars. Except
Nightmare. He wore River's idiosyncratic avatar, which, for a
second, disoriented me, then made me angry. I switched off my
own primary avatar, the gray owl, and automatically defaulted
to the generic smiley. But it was too late. Nightmare had already
captured my owl and put it on. I added my annoyance to those of
others in the room. We told Nightmare this was unacceptable behavior,
that people took their avs seriously, that what he was doing amounted
to stealing. Our concern didn't seem to have too much of an impact
on him. Adding insult to injury, he duplicated my owl and spread
copies of it all around the room. With the "clean" command, I
erased all the loose owl props, but later on I found others in
the Armory. I indeed felt that something important had been snatched
cavalierly from me - that my visual territory, my IDENTITY had
been violated.
Not all people who take others' props
are attempting to aggressively attack, manipulate, or steal someone
else's sense of self. Sometimes it's just a naive mistake. If
you explain to the person how it's a faux pas, they usually will
take your av off with an apology. Or a friend may take and put
on your prop as a goof (maybe they indeed admire or want something
from you), which usually is accepted by all in the spirit of fun.
One member told me the story of a
friend who tried to change her "image" (prop) after her primary
avatar had been copied. She could barely bring herself to do it.
After a week or so of trying different themes and styles, she
gave up. Eventually, she tried again and did create some new (idiosyncratic)
props that built on her original theme.
Members who become prop design experts
are especially sensitive to the themes of personal expression
in their artwork. They like to cultivate their own personal style
of avatars. This style makes them one of a kind. It also provides
some continuity to their identity and recognition by others, even
though they may be switching avatars. It is their "style" that
is recognized by others. For one specialist, it may be fantasy
anime figures. For another, who lives in Alaska, it may be themes
revolving around "cold." One prop expert, an artist who builds
her own avatars from scratch, commented on how she works within
specific "parameters" that will make her stand out. "I know with
my art, if you don't have 'gimmicks' you can go unnoticed or easily
copied." She also noticed similar tendencies in other members.
"When someone stumbles upon those self-induced parameters that
get them noticed, they invariably stick with that persona and
build on it."
The word "avatar" means "incarnation"
or "manifestation." It is an appropriate choice to describe the
icons people use to visually represent the facets of their identity.
A more specific definition, from Hindu mythology, is the incarnation
of a god. Perhaps, unconsciously, people take their avs seriously
because it indeed feels like a divine product. To place oneself
into a form created from one's own imagination is the essence
of creativity. It's God-like.
Avatar Collections (That's Me
All Over)
(this link
leads to a version of this section WITH accompanying graphics)
We all have different sides to our
identity. Social psychologists would call them our "social roles"
that surface in the variety of situations and relationships that
make up our lives. Psychoanalysts would describe them as the constellation
of "introjects," "internalizations," and "identifications" that
comprises our intrapsychic world. On a daily basis, we juggle
and shift between several rather distinct selves, sometimes without
being fully aware that we are doing it. How, when, and why these
different facets of our identity manifest themselves is the story
of our lives.
In the multimedia communities of
cyberspace, you can tell a lot about people by examining their
collection of avatars and how they use them. Each avatar reflects
a distinct aspect of the individual's personality and lifestyle
- whether it is a mood, an interest pattern, a social role, one's
attitudes and values, or a wished-for state of being. During my
research on the Palace, I've often thought about how fascinating
it would be to examine a member's whole collection, or at least
his or her favorite avatars (since some members have hundreds!).
Doing such an analysis would be a
very personal affair, so I have hesitated to ask anyone to participate
in such a study. However, some readers of this article - like
Legnek and
Nacey - volunteered
to contribute a sample of their avs, along with an explanation
of what those avs mean to them. Other readers are welcome to do
the same. Here are some of the avs in my own collection:
Gray owl - "AsKi" is my
primary or "home" avatar. I spend the large majority of my time
wearing this icon. I specifically chose this picture for several
reasons. It is non-threatening. I did not hide the fact that
I was doing research on the Palace in addition to socializing
there, so I wanted to appear as benign as possible. The fact
that it is a small prop adds to its innocuous quality, as well
as makes it very portable and easy to fit into even a crowded
room. An owl also is observant, non-intrusive, and "wise" -
characteristics that I hoped would positively flavor people's
reactions to me (and that I'd like to claim as my qualities).
Also, the gender of the figure is unclear. My intention here
was to allow other members initially to perceive AsKi as male
or female according to their own projections (although I always
revealed my gender when asked). Curiously, as I moved about
the rooms of the Palace, I noticed myself looking for comfortable
perches for my owl. Often I found myself sitting above and on
the outside of a circle of people socializing - perhaps on a
chair near the door, or on a picture frame on the wall. Was
I acting like a bit of an outsider - observant, quiet, benign...
maybe a bit distant? I would be lying if I said these qualities
did not apply to me in "real" life. Many times I would have
to catch myself falling back into this detached "observer" (lurker)
mode. I didn't JUST want to do research. I wanted to get down,
socialize, and have fun too.
The Earth - This is next
in line as my most frequently used avatar. It's a positional
prop. Several of the rooms at the main Palace site (the Mansion)
are actually outdoor scenes (a beach, the Moor, the front yard
of the Palace, etc.). In these locales I place myself into the
sky. I was inspired to create this avatar when I first visited
Nrutas - an outer space scene where computer geeks (I use the
term affectionately) like to hang out. The first time I sat
silently in the Nrutas sky, a new member arrived and said to
a fellow Palatian, "I don't remember that Earth being there
in the background gif? Is that new?" Perhaps this says something
about my personality. Perhaps I like to blend in. I *am* ecology
minded, like to wear Earth tone clothes, am interested in spirituality,
love outer space fiction (a Star Trek fan, of course), and,
as a kid, very much wanted to become an astronaut. All of this,
and probably more, is condensed into that image. This avatar
reminds me of the final scene of 2001: A Space Odyssey, when
the "Star Child" returns to Earth.
James Taylor - This picture
of James Taylor dancing with his guitar is from his "New Moon
Shine" album. When I'm in my partying "let's get down" mood
I'll dance this figure across the carpet in Harry's Bar. Even
quiet people like to let their exhibitionist side out once in
a while. This also is a good example of a "Wannbe Prop." I play
guitar and piano, but am average at it. If I magically could
inherit anyone's musical abilities, it would be JT. I think
everyone has a Wannabe Prop of some kind in their collection.
A humanistic psychologist might say that it is an icon showing
their path towards self-actualization. Using this prop also
drove home for me the fact that avatars are powerful signposts
for signaling to and attracting like-minded people. If not for
this prop, I probably would not have connected to several other
Palatians who also are JT fans.
Freud wearing a propeller beanie
- As a psychologist, I've always been interested in psychoanalytic
theory (though I warn my students not to take any one theory
too seriously... hence the beanie). I sometimes jokingly put
on this avatar when people ask me questions about psychology,
or if someone in the room, not knowing I'm a psychologist, says
something to the group like "Maybe we should ask a shrink about
that!" I enjoy psychology, and sometimes I enjoy making fun
of it. On a few occasions I switched to this prop when obnoxious
guests were harassing people in the room. As "Freud," I tried
to find out why they were being so insulting in the hopes of
either talking them down, or, if necessary, encouraging them
to leave. Sometimes it worked, sometimes not.
Dressed to the Nines - This
silhouette figure of a man dressed in a formal suit is a "flirting
avatar." I've used it (on rare occasions, I might add) to approach
women who seemed in the mood to flirt. It's my attempt to assume
the persona of a sophisticated, debonair man-about-town. Another
wannabe avatar? It also came in handy for those nights when
everyone in the room was in the mood to dress formally.
Hercules taming Cerberus
- Let there be no mistake. This is a power prop. What could
be more powerful than Hercules wrestling down the multi-headed
dog who guards the gates of hell? Yet another wannabe prop?
Power avatars, not surprisingly, tend to be big, and this is
by far my largest. Some people are very impressed by it, others
are put off by its size and aggressive quality. So I tend not
to display it too often for fear of intruding on other people's
personal space or offending their tastes. Technically, this
was the most difficult prop I created. I had to dissect the
original image into nine separate squares and then reassemble
them in the Palace prop editor. As such, it was my competitive
attempt to demonstrate that I knew how to make big props.
Other positional avs - I
love to create avs that I can place into specific spots in specific
rooms. I selected the leopard's face, the wolf howling by the
moon, and the lightning bolt because they have a black background
and therefore blend perfectly into dark doorways. I enjoy interacting
with the Palace environment. Perhaps this symbolically indicates
how I like to "fit in." Sometimes, when I'm feeling left out
of a conversation in the room, I'll play with this props in
the background. It usually draws attention to me and brings
me back into the conversation.
When we compare different people's
avatar collections, some general patterns emerge. Many people
have persona that are seductive, powerful, formal/sophisticated,
silly/playful, and artistic/poetic. These may represent universal
or archetypal sectors of personality. Most people cherish at least
one original ("old") avatar because it represents their birth
identity in the Palace community. It's like an old, reliable friend.
Almost everyone has a primary, all-purpose av that they use most
of the time. It's the familiar home base, the image they feel
most identified with and most comfortable wearing. Often it's
one of those original, birth avatars. But sometimes it's a relatively
new one. Active members are always creating new avs. One's collection
is a balance of new and old persona, which reflects the balance
between experimenting with new identities and holding onto the
familiar, stable aspects of self. The size and variations in one's
collection probably reflects the extent to which the person explores
and experiments with personal identity. Many people have a secret
avatar that they use when they don't want others to know who they
are, as well as an avatar they wear when they're with friends
- an appearance that readily identifies them to their friends,
often that birth or primary avatar. Curiously, many people have
an av which they really like, but aren't sure why they like it.
It is a conscious reminder of an unconscious aspect of identity.
Visual Social Grease
By this point it should be obvious
that props make interacting easier and more efficient by providing
a visual means to express oneself. They are very useful communication
tools. On the simplest level, they act as conversation pieces.
If you can think of nothing else to say, express an interest in
someone's prop. Talking about props is one of the most common
topics of discussion at the Palace. It greases the social interaction,
especially with people whom you are meeting for the first time.
It's like discussing the weather - except people are more personally
invested in their props than they are in whether it's rainy or
sunny.
On a more complex level, changes
in avatars convey changes in mood and intention, without the person
necessarily having to speak (type). Many members have told me
that what they are wearing affects how they behave, as well as
influences how others will react to them. Wear a female seductive
prop, or even just a pleasant looking female prop, and you will
draw attention, whether you want it or not. If you're annoyed
with someone and want to drive them away, put on that skull prop.
One member said, "When I use my animated props" (props that show
motion) "you can be sure I'm in a jovial mood." Another commented,
"The ability to adjust a prop in any situation to meet the needs
of the individual at that particular moment makes the Palace unique
as compared to the rest of the cyber chat sites."
In some cases the prop is used in
a very specific situation to convey a very specific meaning. One
member described how he uses a prop of a man with his hand in
the air as a "high-five" to greet one of his friends. "I also
have a white dog with a stick and a bandera on the end that I
use to signify my exit... packing it in for the nite, if you will.
Some of the regulars note the avatar's presence and immediately
say goodnight to me." The icon, he concluded, sometimes works
much faster than key strokes.
What follows is a log excerpt illustrating
some typical cyberspace flirting behavior - in this case facilitated
and amplified by prop play. The key participants are SweetyPie,
whose well-dressed female avatar is positioned in the sky at the
Palace front gates, and AsKi (hey!... I'm allowed. It's participant-observation
research!):
SweetyPie: I look like a bride,
I need a groom
Misty: dont look here hahaha
AsKi: (changes to avatar of a formally-dressed man and joins
SweetyPie in the sky) Will you marry me, SweetyPie!
SweetyPie: yes dear yes
Misty: Wow...SP...a proposal online 5 mins..
SweetyPie: my groom!
Misty: thats power
AsKi: (changes to prop of the earth) A match made in heaven!
Misty: I will sing at the wedding
SweetyPie: yes
Misty: hahaha
SweetyPie: He is now the world to me (changes to star-shaped
prop)
Misty: hahahaha
AsKi: and you my shining star!
SweetyPie: A BRAND NEW WORLD!!!!! (plays "kiss" sound)
AsKi: (changes to a lips prop - plays "kiss" sound)
SweetyPie: now he is all lips (plays "kiss" sound)
SweetyPie: oh my groom
AsKi: SweetyPie, we can't go on meeting like this, people will
find out!
Misty: swooning....
SweetyPie: ahhh yes well what can we do, love is in the air
SweetyPie: hahahaha
AsKi: (changes to flying bird prop) you are the wind beneath
my wings
SweetyPie: lolol
SweetyPie: awwww so cute
AsKi: ah, shucks
Entire social events may revolve
around specific themes that are highly amenable to avatar displays.
Members may specifically create props for planned celebrations,
as in a St. Patty's Day party or the historical Valentines Day
party. Some special theme gatherings, like a Hawaiian get-together
seem to pop up almost spontaneously, as if it was spontaneous
theater. Showing off, trading, and talking about props is a big
part of the festivity. At the Valentine's Party special visual
events were planned, such as the Dating Game,
the Props Contest
and Showoff, and the rather mystical meeting at Nrutas , where
Bumgardner displayed some his visual magic with iptscrae scripts.
The wizard "flash light" induction ceremonies
proved to be a fascinating blend of tradition and humor, thanks
to graphical touches. All of these events were quite captivating,
to a large extent because they were so visual. When the creator
of another Palace site once asked me how he could draw people
to his server, a few solutions seemed very obvious - prop contests,
theme parties, and special visual events. These kinds of events
now are springing up at Palace sites all over the internet.
Aberrant Av Behavior
With the new visual dimension of
cyberspace socializing comes new ways for people to be aberrant.
Like all aberrant behavior, "deviant" behavior at the Palace ranges
from mild to severe (see "The Bad Boys of
Cyberspace" for a detailed discussion of deviant behavior
and how wizards cope with it).
Mischievous Pranks - As Bumgardner
intended, people do try to "get away with something" by playing
jokes on their fellow users. Usually the naive guests are the
victims. Sometimes it's just a good-natured prank. Sometimes it
has an edge of hostility. Using the brush for painting on the
background room image, some users adorn the walls with graffiti,
obscene drawings or words. Other mischievous members smear black
over an entire room, or they fill the entire room with props,
leaving newbies totally confused as to where they are or what's
happening. Freud would want to label them "anal expulsive personalities."
By "spoofing" someone with the "msay" command, you can throw your
voice to make the cartoon text balloon pop out of someone else's
head. Or you can make the words hang in mid-air with no body attached.
A member, rather inappropriately, kept putting the words "I'm
gay!" into the mouth of another user as he was trying to carry
on a conversation with me. Using msay like this may indicate the
person's inability to contain some thought or feeling, while also
being unable to own up to that thought or feeling for fear of
how others will react.
Sometimes, it's hard even for sympathetic
people to resist the antics and game-playing. One night, although
trying to remain a neutral observer, I eventually found myself
as an accomplice to another member in a prank where we set up
an unmanned female prop in the spa pool. We used "msay" to talk
THROUGH the prop while also talking TO it as if it were another
user. Essentially, it was a virtual ventriloquist act. "Honey"
(the prop) was rather seductive towards the guests, and the guests
all thought it was a "real" person. It was quite funny, although
perhaps a bit mean to the poor naive guests who were unaware of
the msay command.
Flooding - Users who make
rapid, multiple changes of their avatars - especially large avatars
- may flood the server, resulting in lag that makes it difficult
for people to talk. Usually the person is not aware that he is
causing a problem. But sometimes people do it on purpose. It may
be a hostile attempt to gain attention, or a jealous ploy to disrupt
the socializing in the room. Wizards will warn, pin, or, if necessary,
kill for this offense.
Blocking - Members consider
it a social faux pas to place your avatar on top of or too close
to another person's prop. Unless the person is a friend who's
in the mood to be close, it's an invasion of personal space. "Please
get off me!" and You're sitting on me!" are two common complaints.
Again, some naive users do this without knowing it is inappropriate,
or the person may be lagging and unable to move. But some hostile
people deliberately accost others by blocking them. Wizards will
warn, pin, or, if necessary, kill for this offense.
Sleeping - Sleepers usually
are users who have walked away from their computer. They are completely
unresponsive when you talk to them. The social norm is to put
up a "BRB" (be right back) sign to indicate your unavailability.
Sleepers fail to do this. Although sleepers may be found in text-only
chat environments, the experience of them is a bit different in
multimedia chat. It feels much more eerie to SEE a person (avatar)
in front of you, yet the person fails to react.
Eavesdropping - By reducing
their avatars to a single pixel and their usernames to only one
character, members may try to become "invisible" and secretly
listen in on conversations. As a type of "lurker," they are acting
on voyeuristic tendencies to avoid intimacy and gain a sense of
advantage and power over others. I wonder if chronic eavesdroppers
last very long at the Palace. People enjoy so much the ability
to express themselves visually through their avatars that it seems
self-defeating to avoid this opportunity by hiding. Maybe that
says something about eavesdropping. It *is* self-defeating and,
literally, self-negating.
Borderline Avs - There are
very specific rules about what avatars are acceptable and what
ones are not. Unacceptable avs fall into four general categories:
overly sexual; overly violent and aggressive; hate avatars (evidence
of prejudice concerning gender, homosexuality, religion, ethnicity,
and nationality); avatars that promote illegal activities (e.g.,
drug use). Looking for loopholes or pushing the envelope as far
as they can, acting out members sometimes test the limits of the
rules.
Flashing - Although nudity
in avatars is not permitted at the Palace, some people nevertheless
flash their naughty pictures. They may be goofing around with
their friends, advertising their availability for cybersex, attempting
to shock other people (like the typical exhibitionist), or defiantly
and perhaps masochistically begging to be killed by a wizard.
In private rooms, behind locked doors, people engaged in cybersex
will display pornographic props to one another. Because this is
not public behavior, it is not punished.
Prop Dropping - Not quite
as brave as the flasher, a prop-dropper will toss an obscene prop
into an empty room and then run, so as not to get caught. The
exhibitionist and rebellious psychology of the prop-dropper is
probably similar to the flasher, with the exception that they
attempt to dissociate themselves from their "dropping." In the
mind of a Freudian, the scatological implications of this behavior
are very signficant.
Imposters - Stealing someone's
avatar and wearing it is a no-no. Stealing someone's avatar, wearing
it, and also using that person's name (or a variation of it) is
a real no-no. You are abducting their entire identity. As a momentary
joke to mimic your friends, this behavior is tolerated as fun.
But some people are more insidious. I've heard rumors about a
few people, in an act of revenge, snatching the identity of the
person that offended them. Behaving inappropriately under that
identity, they attempted to damage the person's reputation. Pretending
to be a wizard or a god can get you into real trouble.
Identity Disruption - One
day in Harry's Bar I was greeted by someone I didn't recognize.
Something about how he spoke made me uneasy. He acted as if he
knew me, but his abstract avatar and name were unfamiliar. After
a few minutes, he changed his prop to another abstract design.
For some reason, this made me more uncomfortable. "Do you know
this guy?" I whispered to another member. "It's Octagon," she
said. "He's been changing his name and props lately".... About
a week later, I heard that Octagon was hospitalized. He had been
suicidal.
This incident taught me something
important about avatars. Unfortunate people suffering from disturbances
in their identity may act out their turmoil in the props they
wear. A virtual world where you can switch among alternate appearances
might attract people suffering from "dissociation" - the splits
in consciousness and identity as a result of trauma, as in the
classic multiple personality disorder.
There is a lesson here as well for
the average Palatian. Playing with your avatar and username as
a way to express yourself can be fun and creative. It's a fascinating,
synergistic combination. But change your prop and/or name too
often - especially if you are a relatively new member - and you
run into trouble. People won't recognize you. Your identity de-constructs.
In order to be treated like a solid individual, perhaps even to
FEEL like a solid individual, you must maintain some level of
continuity in either your avatars or username. Most people choose
consistency in their username, perhaps varying it slightly for
different occasions (e.g., HappyAsKi, McAski, Dr. AsKi). If they
are going to experiment with identity expression, they do it mostly
with changes in avatars. Despite this experimentation, almost
everyone has a primary or home avatar that everyone recognizes
as the "real you." The primary avatar provides the necessary continuity,
the core self. It takes time to establish it. Switch avatars too
often as a new member and you will probably slow down people's
ability to recognize you. Once your username and a few of your
avs are firmly recognized, you have more leeway to express other
aspects of yourself through other avs, without your identity becoming
too diffused.
In fact, this may be the essence
of a "healthy" Palace life - knowing how to handle that delicate
balancing act of experimenting with who you are, while maintaining
a stable baseline of public and personal identity.... Is this
any different than "real" life?
It's Not Just Wallpaper
One afternoon at the Palace I happened
to run into someone who was designing his own multimedia environment.
He was visiting the Main Palace site to check it out, probably
comparing this graphical environment to his own conceptual plans.
Considering he was very interested in multimedia communities,
I was a bit surprised by his underestimation of avatars and the
graphics of the background rooms. "No-one has quite figured out
what to do with an avatar to identify themselves," he said later
to me in e-mail, "and the backdrops are largely that, wallpaper."
At this point in this paper, I surely
hope I've demonstrated the invalidity of his first point. As to
his second, it seems to me that the background graphics that make
up the Palace rooms are anything but "wallpaper" - a word which
implies that the graphics are basically inconsequential. In fact,
that's a bit of a devaluing attitude towards wallpaper as well.
Would wallpaper even exist if it did not significantly influence
people's attitudes, moods, perceptions, even how they behave?
I'm sure that wallpaper does have
this effect, as do the Palace rooms. For example, people are drawn
to Harry's Bar, which is the social center of Palace life at Main.
Why? The colors are warm, fuzzy, and inviting; there are chairs
for people to sit down; it is a bar which people associate with
get-togethers, partying and fun; there is a plush carpet in the
middle of the floor which acts as a stage or even a dance floor
for people to "get-down" and mix it up with one another. The psychological
effect of Harry's Bar is not unlike that of the Study or Chess Room
which also contain warm colors, luxurious chairs facing each other,
and a fire place. Cohesive subgroups of members have formed in
these rooms. Contrast these rooms with Grand Central where the
mostly black and white color scheme feels cold, the floor is a
stark checker tile, the sparse furniture is knocked over, and,
quite bizarrely, a locomotive is crashing through the window.
Fewer people gather there. Contrast these again with Nrutas, the
outer space scene near a planet that looks like Saturn. You would
think it's not a very hospitable place for humans. Yet people
often do gather here, with the discussion often focusing on tech
talk. A perfect spot for Star Trek fans.
What are other popular rooms at Main?
The Palace Gate, where users automatically are deposited when
they sign on, which makes it the perfect place to greet people
as they come in. The Spa, where
people meet to "bath". The Hallway upstairs, just outside the
guest rooms where people can talk in private and get intimate.
A graphical pathway or corridor where people tend to walk (and
gather along the way) extends from this popular hallway, down
the stairs, through the Armory, Game Room, and Red Room, and into
the similarly popular Harry's Bar. The Red Room often serves as
a "waiting area" for people to socialize as they are waiting to
get into the bar, since the room occupancy is limited. This graphical
pathway, with Harry's Bar and the Guest Rooms at opposite ends,
were the original design of the Palace, with the other rooms added
on by links through pictures or fixtures on the walls.
What have been the least populated
rooms? The Void, a psychedelic swirl of colors that insults the
eyes, looks like it's going to suck you up, and greets you with
the message "Abandon Hope all ye who enter here." And let's not
forget The Pit - a gloomy, fiery cavern that places horns on your
head and a cigarette in your mouth.... Not exactly inviting places,
except, perhaps, for trouble-makers who like the fact that the
Pit's graphical theme matches their psyche. Anti-social gangs
have claimed it as their home.
Even these unsavory locales are preferred
over nothing at all. On occasion, I've traveled to other Palace
sites where some of the rooms were under construction, leaving
nothing but a black box. When other people popped in and quickly
realized there was nothing there but empty nothing, they left
in a hurry. People find it boring, and perhaps even disorienting.
Backdrops of rooms and scenery give people a sense of place and
space. It creates a necessary visual grounding for their virtual
experience. Some people avoid the usual text-only chat rooms for
similar reasons. With only text scrolling down a window, they
feel like they are floating in a void with no visual or spatial
frame of orientation.
At the Palace, users can place their
avatars anywhere within a room - on the floor, walls, ceiling.
But by no means do people move and position their avatars randomly.
Even though there are no physical laws to restrict their movement,
people behave as if there are. Responding to "gravity," such props
as walking figures and cars tend to stay on the floor, while icons
of flying or floating things remain up. Sometimes this is a purely
unconscious reflex on the part of the user. Sometimes people deliberately
play with the laws of physics and space - now obeying them, now
defying them. Sit in a chair, or hang upside down from the ceiling.
Whatever you like. It's part of the fun of Palace life. Rather
than being static wallpaper, the background graphics are a playground.
The positional props
are a good example of how people consciously enjoy interacting
with the visual features of a room. By providing tools for drawing
on the background gif and the ability to place props into the
scenery (flowers, bottles, artwork, etc.), the designers of Palace
are encouraging this play. "Dr. Xenu," a longstanding member of
the Palace community, offered some interesting observations on
this phenomenon, which he calls "set-dressing:"
There are now simple ways to automate
such set-dressing. I have a friend who habitually decorates
one or two particular rooms in the same way whenever we meet.
There was also someone, for a while, who was relentlessly posting
a pair of cherubs to the wall in the bedrooms of members' palace.
I would find the cherubs there at all hours, and eventually
began deleting them (though I liked them) to see when they would
return -- sometimes in as little as 15 minutes! I never did
find the unseen decorator.
Such behaviors allow people to personalize
the environment for themselves and friends, or perhaps feel some
sense of personal impact or "ownership" by leaving one's "mark"
on the territory.
There are a wide variety of other
ways that people intuitively respond to the spatial qualities
of the rooms, as if they were "real" spaces. People like to "walk"
the path from the Bar to the upstairs hallway - rather than using
the "goto" command to pop right into their destination - because
it feels like a real-world, architectural corridor. At the Spa,
members actually bath in the pool,
adding reflections of their avatars into the water to make the
scene more realistic (perhaps, according to Rorschach inkblot
research, a sign of an introspective personality). Some people
frequently place their avatar at the same specific spot in a room
- a favorite chair, or perch, or perhaps the corner of the screen
- almost as if that spot is their "territory." There seems to
be an implicit norm that the carpet in Harry's Bar is for old-timers
who want to be physically close as a group, while others gather
at the periphery of the room to converse in pairs or occasionally
chime in with the conversation on the carpet. Even the patterns
of where people place their avatars follow familiar principles
in group dynamics theory. Dyads, triads, isolates, alliances,
leadership patterns, and fluctuations in group cohesion are clearly
visible. At meetings of the Palace User Group,
the visual format of the room - an auditorium with a stage and
neatly aligned rows of seats - helps create order and structure
for the group's behavior.
Palace users are not limited to the
standard background graphics. The creators of Palace intentionally
designed it as a virtual world where users could express themselves
by shaping the environment. At the Member's Only Palace site,
people could create their own room using any background image
of their choice. Cooperative "set-dressing" in these rooms developed
into a complex art form. These custom rooms became the focal points
of friendship subgrouping and cliques. If you are ambitious, you
can create your own Palace site on your own server, which gives
you total control over the look of all the rooms. Each new space
-whether it is a single customized room or a whole new site -
will reflect the personality of its creator and will draw people
of similar temperament. In order to attract people to a site,
attempts are made to make the new environments as psychologically
appealing to as many users as possible. Finchy, an old-timer at
the Palace, describes her site, the "Nest:"
"In creating the Nest, we thought
about the fact that people love a spatial relationship they can
"fit" into. The rooms are designed with that thought in mind.
Our goal was to create a space where people felt "at home". The
Goddess Theater is considered exceptional by many, as the perspective
is highly unusual. But it works perfectly for groups of participants.
Jbum said `The Finch Nest gets the award for the Palace that is
most habitable, yet Finch-like.'"
From a social psychological perspective,
this flexibility in creating new graphical spaces is resulting
in the formation of separate communities and subgroups within
the Palace "universe." Issues of immigration, territory, recruitment,
intergroup cooperation and competition, loyalty and betrayal are
all beginning to surface in this universe.
Let's Get Physical
The visual and spatial qualities
of Palace lead to something that is not found in text-only environments
on the internet - something that has a subtle, yet profound impact
on socializing. Human interaction feels PHYSICAL. Users have at
their disposal not only words to communicate, but also non-verbal
behavior that can create almost tangible sensations. So far in
this paper, there have been numerous examples of this "physicality."
Blocking or crowding someone's avatar feels like a palpable invasion.
Maneuvering one's av back and forth in synchrony with another
creates the intimate sensation of "dancing." When someone is excited
or agitated, their av may fidget and bounce around the room. Someone
who parades back and forth while displaying fancy props looks
and feels like a strutting peacock. Animated avatars can mimic
all sorts of real and surrealistic movements. While users in IRC
may imitate such non-verbal behaviors with action command descriptions
("Sally gives Bob a push"), the effect is not the same. Visually
SEEING the behavior has a much greater psychological impact.
A key component of this physical
awareness involves the dynamics of personal space, not unlike
face-to-face relationships. Users instinctively feel that the
area on and immediately around their avatar is THEIR personal
zone. Step on it without invitation, and they quickly ask, then
demand you to get off. Persist, and some people will holler for
a wizard to discipline you. If members don't interpret your behavior
as an invasion, they will experience it as an intimate advance.
Simply to move towards and stand next to someone is seen as an
act of friendship, or more. Snuggling
and climbing onto someone's icon ("piggybacking") may convey warm,
sexual, or romantic feelings. They can very subtlety create emotional
bonds. If someone's snuggling goes on for too long, or is not
what you want at all, you may feel restricted, suffocated, and
hesitant to move away for fear of hurting feelings. Right or wrong,
other people may think that you two are an "item." The emotional
depth of these non-verbal behaviors can be quite amazing. As in
face-to-face interactions, they may provide glimpses into underlying
feelings and attitudes that are not being expressed verbally.
After one member read this article,
she told me about one of her incidents with snuggling which she
did not experience as indicating any intimate relationship between
her and the other person. Instead, it simply felt like playful
fun - a kind of "playing to the room" or "public theater." She
did add, though, that snuggling probably won't occur unless there
is some measure of friendship between the participants. It's also
interesting that she clearly remembered this particular incident
- which suggests that it did have an impact on her. Being able
to get close visually ("physically") in cyberspace does indeed
have a significant psychological effect on people.
Some avatars are designed specifically
to snuggle, piggyback, or somehow interact with other avatars.
One member, for example, has a pair of upside legs that he inserts
down the cleavages of unsuspecting women, giving the illusion
of the rest of his body being inside their dresses. This typically
is a harmless prank played only on people he knows will enjoy
the joke. The correct response, one female member informed me,
is "oooh, that tickles!!"
Evidence of the physicality of the
Palace can be very subtle. Once in a while you will enter a room
where two other users are sitting, motionless. Perhaps their avatars
are next to each other, perhaps not. You speak, they give a minimal
reply, or don't reply at all. It's very hard to shake the feeling
that these people are telepathically linked to each other, especially
if they are sitting side by side. They may indeed be using the
private messaging feature called "whispering." It's very hard
to shake the funny feeling that they are somehow PHYSICALLY connected
as a pair, as if they are sitting together on a couch - and that
you are NOT part of that dyad. Two is company, three's a crowd.
Confronted with this uncomfortable dilemma, most people leave
the room very quickly.
Even the simple act of giving someone
a prop can be very meaningful development in a relationship. On
a symbolic level, it is a sign of generosity and friendship (unless
you don't want it, which makes the gift feel like an intrusion
or a manipulation). On a more basic kinesthetic level, the act
of "giving" someone a prop physically joins you to that person.
It feels important because it feels like a tactile connection.
Props as objects also allow you to physically DO something with
someone. HoBob and Amber, for example, joined together in creating a garden
out of flower icons . If you get tired of playing with props,
you can always go for a walk together through the Mansion - what
some members call "cruising the Palace." These kinds of non-verbal,
collaborative activities can solidify a relationship, much like
"doing something" with friends in the real world. It's not just
talk, it's a shared "physical" experience.
Inside Your Av, or Out
Some multimedia worlds are 3D. Usually
the view also is first person, so you live "inside" your avatar,
looking out into the world much as you do in real life, without
seeing your own avatar (body). You have to move through the graphical
space in order to see other avatars and objects that may be hidden
from view. 3D advocates like the feeling of "immersion" that such
worlds create. You feel like you are really there, in the environment.
Some advocates claim that this 3D living creates heightened emotional
reactions because it mimics the sensory experience of the real
world. Things come towards you, or withdraw. You don't know what's
around the next corner. There is an element not only of realism,
but even suspense.
The problem with a 3D graphical experience
is that it requires a lot of computing power and speed that cannot
(yet) be handled too well by internet band width. The result may
be a slow, jerky experience that feels disjointed, unreal, and
that jars the brain. Even under ideal conditions, some people
don't feel comfortable with the "head in a box" or "tunnel vision"
view of 3D, first-person worlds. Lacking peripheral vision, some
people feel closed in, claustrophobic.
The Palace is a 2D, third person
experience. You look down onto the scene that includes your avatar
and everyone else's avatar. Some people like this transcendent
and somewhat paradoxical experience of being above but also in
the scene. You get to see yourself, the way other people do. You
move yourself about in the environment and then sit back to see
what happens. Your perspective of the scene and what people are
saying may seem more "objective." You may feel more free. There
may even be a magical, mystical sensation to witnessing oneself
within the world. Many mystical traditions emphasize the transcendent
awareness that is the "observing self." The 2D worlds may address
an archetypic need for such transcendence. This observing awareness
is paradoxical. It simultaneously exists within the world and
transcends it - a paradox that is manifested in the 2D virtual
setting. Some Palace members take delight in the objective/subjective
fluidity of being in the scene and above it, at the same time.
The avatar appears as an independent entity that actually is a
manifestation of your personality and will. Separate but connected.
It can be like an artistic creation, a self portrait. It's an
"out there" expression of what's inside. "It's me, it's not me....
it's both."
It's possible that when first person,
3D worlds becomes more sophisticated with the advance of technology,
people will prefer them. On the other hand, some people may always
favor third person, 2D environments. These differences in preference
may reflect differences in cognitive and personality style.
What Lies Ahead
The wonderful, and sometimes frustrating,
thing about computer technology is that it never stands still.
Where are multimedia environments like the Palace headed? What
advances in the world of avatar-populated environments wait for
us around the bend? 3D, morphing, audio/video/tactile/olfactory-enhanced
avatars? Are contemporary multimedia worlds the earliest forerunners
of the Star Trek holodecks?
Gimmicks and flashy features may add some novelty
to the experience. But the most successful advances will stick
to basic rules that has made Palace unique and popular. Give users
the opportunity to express themselves as they wish - to explore
and experiment with their interpersonal identity. Give them the
ability to participate in the creation of their environment. Offer
a world that can stimulate sensations of space, action, and physicality.
It doesn't have to be a world that exactly imitates the "real"
world. In fact, it probably would be better if it didn't. Offer
a world that is an experientially robust alternative. Fantasy
can be more entertaining, educational, and, paradoxically, more
"true" or "real" than the real world.
The following links lead to the subpages of this article that
contain graphics. The text on these pages is identical or very
similar to the text in the article on this page:
The
Standard Palace Smileys and Props (jpg, 28K)
Animal Avatars
(gif, 33k)
Cartoon Avatars
(gif, 28k)
Celebrity Avatars
(gif 22k)
Evil Avatars
(gif, 35k)
Real Fave Avatars
(gif, 27k)
Idiosyncratic
Avatars (gif, 22k)
Positional Avatars
(gif, 45k)
Power Avatars
(gif, 37k)
Seductive Avatars
(gif, 32k)
Other Avatars
(gif, 21k)
An Analysis
of a Personal Avatar Collection (approx. 120k)
The 1996 Valentine's
Day Party (jpg, 76k)
The Hula Party
(jpg, 66k)
The Dating Game
(jpg, 69k)
The Avatar "Showoff"
(jpg, 73k)
Jbum Demonstrates
Visual "Magic" with Prop Scripts (jpg, 63k)
The "Flash Light"
Wizard Induction Ceremony (gif, 64k)
A Typical Gathering
in the Chess Room (jpg, 22k)
Legnek's Avatar
Collection (25k)
Bathing in the
Spa Pool (jpg, 25k)
Meetings of the
Palace User Group (jpg images, 90k)
Prop Snuggling
(jpg, 39k)
The Garden: An
Example of Collaborative Activity in Using Props (jpg, 49k)