QotW5: Online or Offline - Similar Rules of the Game?

"Identity is the total conception that people have of who they are" (Keneally, 2004). Everyone possess their own identity in real life, but what about an online identity? You may not realize it, but a lot of us own at least one or more online identity and that we actually care about them. Also, an online identity works very similarly to an offline identity in more ways than one.

An online community I used to be really active in was Final Fantasy XI, a massively multiplayer online role-playing game (MMORPG). In the game, the virtual world is known as Vana'diel. Players establish online relationships with one another. I had my own character and I was careful with this virtual identity of mine. I tried to make sure that my in-game identity was known as a good and respectable one. Just like reality, in the game, there are famous players, notorious players and regular players. One's reputation determines the category of player one is known for.

According to Masum and Zhang (2004), reputation is a surrogate - a partial reflection representing our "best educated guess" of the underlying true state of affairs. In the real world, people establish reputation for the actions they do, things they say, the outstanding skills they have, amount of wealth or authority they have. Not surprisingly, it is similar in the Vana'diel. There are no official rankings or points you can accumulate for being a helpful or nice player. Reputation is mostly established via word of mouth, or the various in-game media. Players can either gain recognition or disdain for the actions they do, the things they say, their outstanding techniques, in-game wealth or authority. Players also have to be responsible for their own identity in the sense that if they break the regulations of the game, their account may be suspended or even banned. It basically works the same way as real life, where one has to be jailed or fined after being caught breaking the law. It is rather comprehensive because in this aspect, it is quite similar to how things work in real life as well.

In Vana'diel, reputation can be vital for a couple of reasons. In order to progress in the game where you need to gain levels for one's character, it is more feasible to form a party of about six players. MMORPGs are highly interactive. With a rotten reputation, one may be rejected by other players, one may be unable to receive the help needed or one may be snubbed by other players for no good reason.

Phishing, according to Ian Loe's presentation, is the act of sending a message to a user falsely claiming to be an established legitimate enterprise in an attempt to scam the user into surrendering private information that will be used for identity theft (Loe, 2007). Attempts to assume identities in Vana'diel are not uncommon too. One of the main reasons why people phish in the FFXI world is because the items and virtual currency in game can be sold online for real, hard cash. One other way people try to assume other players' identities could be simply creating a new character that combines an underscore with the original player's online handle. Motivations for committing such acts can range from hoping to attain some gains to attempting to ruin reputations. Wrecking a virtual reputation tends to be easier since there are relatively lesser identity cues compared to the real life (Donath, 1996).

Despite the fact that online identities are more malleable than real life identities, it is not exaggerated to say that reputation online and offline works in a very similar way ("Online Identity", 2007). Some people take pains to build up a solid reputation online for reasons not very different to people establishing a good reputation in real life. Perhaps, whether it comes to online or offline identities, the rules of the game may be still the same.

References

Donath, J. S. (1996, November 12). Identity and Deception in the Virtual Community. Retrieved February 22, 2007, from http://smg.media.mit.edu/people/Judith/Identity/IdentityDeception.html

Keneally, L. (2004, October 29). Virtual Identity - Development - M/Cyclopedia of New Media. Retrieved February 22, 2007, from http://wiki.media-culture.org.au/index.php/The_Development_of_Online_Identity

Loe, I. (2007, February 14). Phishing, Pharming, and the latest potholes on the Information Highway. Retrieved February 16, 2007, from http://com125.files.wordpress.com/2007/02/it-community-latest-potholes_v7.ppt

Masum, H., & Zhang, Y. (2004, July). Manifesto for the Reputation Society. First Monday, 9 (7). Retrieved February 22, 2007, from http://www.firstmonday.dk/issues/issue9_7/masum/

Online identity. (2007, February 15). In Wikipedia, The Free Encyclopedia. Retrieved February 22, 2007, from http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Online_identity&oldid=108207999

QotW4: Give or Take or Give AND Take?

Introduction

A gift is something acquired without compensation. An economy can be defined as the efficient use of resources ("WordNet", 2006). Put them together and you get something acquired without compensation by the efficient use of resources. Therefore, on the Internet, a gift economy is something digitally acquired without compensation by the efficient use of online resources. Sounds too good to be true? Not really, since the Internet itself is considered as a gift economy (Phillips, 1997).

How Can It Be Free?

When one participates in a gift economy, you contribute, receive or engage in both. However, is the gift really free, with no strings attached? According to sociologists and anthropologists, one of the most widespread and basic norms of human culture is embodied in the rule for reciprocation. The rule requires that one person try to repay, in kind, what another person has provided (Cialdini, 2001). If this rule applies, broadly speaking, people who participate in a gift economy will feel the need to reciprocate when they receive something from others. Conversely, it is also possible that one contributes something in hope that someone else will reciprocate and contribute something back in return.

Another motivation for contributing to a gift economy includes the effect on one's reputation. According to Lewis Hyde, status is accorded to those who give the most to others (as cited in Pinchot, 1995). "High quality information, impressive technical details in one's answers, a willingness to help others, and elegant writing can all work to increase one's prestige in the community" (Kollock, 1999).

Also, according to Kollock (1999), having a sense of efficacy, is a third possible motivation for contributing valuable information. Hoping to have an effect or make an impact on one's environment can be powerful for quality contributions, especially when one is aware of that the contributions may reach a larger audience.

My Gift Economy

The gift economy I'm choosing to represent my answer is GameFAQs. GameFAQs is a website that hosts FAQs and walkthroughs for video games. The site has a large database of video game information and has been called a site where readers "can get almost any information" regarding game strategies ("GameFAQs", 2007). In a nutshell, GameFAQs has a huge library of user-submitted walkthroughs, which are documents that attempt to teach players how to beat or solve a particular game ("Walkthrough", 2007), mission guides, specific strategies and maps. Some video game enthusiasts even contribute walkthroughs that are so detailed, they can amount to more 100 pages.

Observations & Analysis

How is GameFAQs regarded as a gift economy? Let's compare it with my observations on the common characteristics of online gift economies. First of all, since it is a gift, it must be free of any repayments. There should not be any obvious obligation to reciprocate, unless of course, the receiver volunteers to. This checks in with GameFAQs, since it is free even if one downloads a thousand copies of walkthroughs. Also, one will never need to contribute a post in order to read the message boards.

Second, the bulk of contribution is from Internet users. Usually, the information is not provided by any authorized experts but is submitted by people who believe they have the knowledge - most of the times. As mentioned above, the game strategies provided by GameFAQs are user-submitted. Anyone and everyone can submit a game guide.

A third characteristic is the interactive nature. Since "gifts" are shared among people online, people will communicate to clear their doubts, express their gratitude, and build relationships ignited by a common interest. This is also evident in GameFAQs, where there is a message board for every game for users to discuss game strategies. Furthermore, in game walkthroughs, writers often include contact information like e-mail address for people who use their guide. This frequently results in users notifying writers the errors they detected after reading the guide. Sometimes, users may even provide writers with extra information about the game. In return, writers usually thank the users who contributed when they update their guide.

Lastly, a common interest in the information shared. This is an obvious trait for contributors and users of GameFAQs alike. In order to write a walkthrough, a gamer typically has to complete the game at least once. It is not uncommon for a walkthrough author to complete a game several times before writing a walkthrough. Similarly, the reason users accessed the walkthroughs is because they are currently playing the game and is interested to discover more strategies.

Conclusion

As the common characteristics of a gift economy were illustrated, it is apparent that GameFAQs belongs to a gift economy. GameFAQs, Wikipedia, SourceForge, IMDb, DeviantART, MyCarForum and many other online gift economies are wildly popular and thriving, owing mainly to the nature of how the system works and the motivations to share. Whether you only give, or only take or give and take, online gift economies will be here to stay.

References

Cialdini, R. B. (2001). 3. Influence: Science and Practice (4th ed., pp. 50). Boston, MA: Allyn & Bacon.

Cnet Networks, Inc. (2007). GameFAQs Contributor Central. Retrieved February 9, 2007, from http://www.gamefaqs.com/contribute/

Economy. WordNet 3.0. (2006). Princeton University. Retrieved February 9, 2007, from http://wordnet.princeton.edu/perl/webwn?s=economy

GameFAQS. (2006, January 7). In Wikipedia, The Free Encyclopedia. Retrieved February 9, 2007, from http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=GameFAQS&oldid=34188321

Gift. WordNet 3.0. (2006). Princeton University. Retrieved February 9, 2007, from http://wordnet.princeton.edu/perl/webwn?s=gift

Gift economy. (2007, February 4). In Wikipedia, The Free Encyclopedia. Retrieved February 9, 2007, from http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Gift_economy&oldid=105681971

Kollock, P. (1999). The economies of online cooperation: Gifts and public goods in cyberspace. Retrieved February 8, 2007, from http://www.sscnet.ucla.edu/soc/faculty/kollock/papers/economies.htm

Phillips, E. (1997, June 2). Gift Economy. Retrieved February 9, 2007, from http://www.rewired.com/97/0602.html

Pinchot, G. (1995). The Gift Economy. In Context, pp. 49. Context Institute. Retrieved February 9, 2007, from http://www.context.org/ICLIB/IC41/PinchotG.htm

Walkthrough. (2007, February 7). In Wikipedia, The Free Encyclopedia. Retrieved February 9, 2007, from http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Walkthrough&oldid=106414852

QotW3: Pay to Share

Introduction

It is human nature that we want to protect the things we create, and it is only reasonable that we want to make sure the things we created remain ours and receive credit for sharing them. This is why the copyright law exists. Copyright is a form of protection provided by the laws of the United States (title 17, U. S. Code) to the authors of “original works of authorship,” including literary, dramatic, musical, artistic, and certain other intellectual works (“Copyright Office Basics,” 2006). However, one of major unresolved problems copyright faces is file sharing. File sharing is the practice of making files available for other users to download over the Internet and smaller networks (“File Sharing,” 2007, para. 1).

The Conflict

File sharing is now an extremely common online activity. More than 60 million Americans have downloaded music and the number of file sharers continues to grow rapidly (Oberholzer-Gee & Strumpf, 2005, p. 2). Usually file sharing follows the peer-to-peer (P2P) model, where the files are stored on and served by personal computers of the users (“File Sharing,” 2007, para. 1). In 2004, there were more than nine million simultaneous users on the major peer-to-peer (P2P) networks. Because physical distance is largely irrelevant in file sharing, individuals from virtually every country in the world participate (Oberholzer-Gee & Strumpf, 2005, p. 2).



Yet, sharing copyrighted materials is an infringement to the copyright law. "As a general matter, copyright infringement occurs when a copyrighted work is reproduced, distributed, performed, publicly displayed, or made into a derivative work without the permission of the copyright owner" (U.S. Copyright Office, n.d.). Obviously, this has caused an outrage among copyright owners against the various file sharing technologies available to the public. Copyright owners are furious so they started suing P2P network companies, websites and even individuals who are distributing huge number of copyrighted files. They advertise and use campaigns to educate the public that they are breaking the law if they share or download copyrighted materials. Copyright owners also resort to psychological tactics such as associating illegal downloading to stealing, in attempts to persuade the public to boycott piracy (Motion Picture Association of America, 2005).

In light of the conflict between the people who believe that copyright infringement is acceptable and copyright owners who boycott file sharing, whose side should we take? Or should we even take sides?

A Solution

Instead of taking sides, could there be a solution that can accommodate both the content creators and the public? The answer may be negative in the minds of many, but there are actually many ideas being developed with respect to this question.

Electronic Frontier Foundation (EFF) is a non-profit organization dedicated to defending freedom in the digital world for the general public. Online distribution lowers costs and increases exposure; all that is needed are new ways for music lovers to support and pay the artists they love. (Electronic Frontier Foundation, n.d.) File sharing does not necessarily mean that content creators are always on the losing end. Most people understand that downloading copyrighted materials is illegal, but because the practice of file sharing has been around for some time, internet users who download on a regular basis are used to getting copyrighted materials at no cost.

Furthermore, many P2P applications are readily available to the public free of charge. These free P2P applications tempt people into downloading illegally. A solution proposed by EFF suggests P2P software vendors to start charging for their service. P2P software vendors start a subscription service and P2P users pay a flat fee for a monthly subscription. This way, the funds collected can be used to pay for legal licenses to copyright holders. In fact, Napster announced a subscription service in 2001 (Evers, 2001). Nevertheless, it was unsuccessful due to the lawsuits it was involved in and the lack of support by music record labels (“Napster,” 2007).

For this solution to work, both parties have to take a step backward and compromise. Copyright holders can try to see the bigger picture and consider the interests of the public. The public can be then be further educated that original creations have to be paid for, and that the subscription fees made to the P2P software vendors are used for that very purpose. In another words, copyright owners and P2P vendors need to put aside their disputes and lawsuits, and work together. In this digital age, copyright owners must accept that the content they own will be distributed on the Internet, whether they like it or not. The mindset that they must destroy all channels of file sharing should be abolished. Likewise, if the public has no ways to download copyrighted materials at no cost, they will have no choice but to either purchase a copy of the music or movie or to pay for a P2P subscription.

Conclusion

The existence of copyright laws is necessary to protect the interests of the content creators just like EFF is founded to protect the digital freedom of the public. Profiting from copyrighted materials that do not belong to you is unethical, but non-profit P2P file sharing should not be condemned by similar standards. Since the technologies of P2P networks are here to stay, content creators should put aside the grudges and look at other alternatives available for them to coexist with file sharing community.

References

Electronic Frontier Foundation. (n.d.) In Making P2P Pay Artists. Retrieved February 2, 2007, from http://www.eff.org/share/?f=compensation.html

Evers, J. (2001, January 29). Napster to launch fee-based service. Cable News Network. Retrieved February 2, 2007, from http://archives.cnn.com/2001/TECH/computing/01/29/fee.based.napster.idg/ index.html

File sharing. (2007, February 2). In Wikipedia, The Free Encyclopedia. Retrieved February 2, 2007, from http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=File_sharing&oldid=105156182

Motion Picture Association of America. (2005). In Who are Movie Pirates? Retrieved February 2, 2007, from http://www.mpaa.org/piracy_whoAre.asp

Napster. (2007, January 31). In Wikipedia, The Free Encyclopedia. Retrieved February 2, 2007, from http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Napster&oldid=104501348

Oberholzer-Gee, F., & Strumpf, K. (2005). The Effect of File Sharing on Record Sales. Retrieved February 1, 2007, from http://www.unc.edu/~cigar/papers/FileSharing_June2005_final.pdf

U.S Copyright Office. (2006, July). In Copyright Office Basics. Retrieved February 2, 2007, from http://www.copyright.gov/circs/circ1.html#wci

U.S Copyright Office. (n.d.). In Definitions. Retrieved February 2, 2007, from http://www.copyright.gov/help/faq/faq-definitions.html#infringement