:: Netwoman ::

:: Monday, July 30, 2007 ::

Rudeness, threats make the Web a cruel world

Article from USA Today talks about harassment when receive. Not surprising really, and these things continuously seem to happen to women. Why?

SAN FRANCISCO — Brooke Brodack remembers her first online "hater."

Nearly two years ago, the person posted rude comments about a video she had posted on YouTube, says Brodack, 21, of San Francisco, whose videos show her lip-syncing and creating characters. "It was shocking to me. Why would someone want to be so mean for no reason?"

Why, indeed? Nasty comments, sometimes even death threats, have become ubiquitous on virtually any website that seeks to engage readers in discussion.

"Ur ugly u suk and u should die," says a typical comment beneath one of Brodack's many videos. Such vulgar messages have inspired heated discussions, and video responses, on YouTube.

:: Netwoman 12:28 PM [+] ::
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Virtual World Spaces and Public Places

With the increasing media regarding Linden Lab's Second Life and the moral panic regarding Age Play & pedophiles, Sex play & Violence in Gorean Communities, and Furries. Considerable discussion regarding what these communities stand for and whether they should regulated and banned, or moderated in some way.

Either option is complicated and loaded. If we start banning communities that challenge ideologies and norms of behaviours in virtual worlds, what are we really saying about our rights & freedoms? Should we or better yet, can we exclude certain RL practices in the virtual world? What type of ideal virtual world are we striving for? Economically, I don't think LL can afford to ban these communities - there are too many of them and too much money would be lost in commerce.

If Linden Labs wants to start moderating spaces in Second Life, what does that say to us about notions of 'public spaces'? Does it mean market places? Corporate Land? Does it mean a club? Will people be restricted to the - out of sight, out of mind' mentality and keep their actions in the bedroom/personal land. What kind of political ideologies are we shaping and recreating in virtual worlds?

I had hoped for a virtual world with out Rl boundaries. There's so much potential, yet so much resistance, and thinking inside the box....

The repercussions of the media hype - members of these communities are discussing self-policing in public spaces. Age players dress in adult clothing, Goreans don their Earth clothes, and Furries change their appearance. So again, what are public spaces? Why or should people have to self police their behaviours in virtual worlds?

There are many questions to be answered and our answers often lead to more questions.
What kinds of virtual worlds will be branch off into their own 'private' worlds. Are we segregating people already? There's an ideological revolution going on in the virtual world....

:: Netwoman 1:38 PM [+] ::
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Frets on Fire

Frets on Fire - Very cool open source PC game similar to Guitar Hero. You can even plug in your Xbox 360 guitar into your PC and play that way. It's cool and it's clever - and it's free.
Even better, an online community where you can compete against others and you can see your rank.
You can watch a video on it Here.

I'm really interested in all this hype about music and gaming - Guitar Hero, Sing Star, Rock Band and so forth, all games where interactive gaming is taken to another level. You're not just playing with your fingers, but also using your voice. Gaming is becoming much more physical and interactive - the Wii is a perfect example of this as well; physical movements to control the virtual environment.

:: Netwoman 2:33 PM [+] ::
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GamerchiX - A Women's Online Gaming Community

In the last couple of years, I've participated in various online gaming forums and communities. It's always a nice feeling finding a group of female gamers to chat with and discuss games, gaming or non-gaming stuff. The warm fuzzy feeling however, disappears quickly in most of these online communities (I won't name them here), when ideological flame wars ensue - particularly those related to sexist, racism and homophobic discourses.

Some of these communities claim to be safe discussion spaces, while others do not. Some allow only women to participate, others do not. Regardless of whether the community allows men to participate or not - I still see the same old crap surfacing; women bashing each other, men bashing women, men bashing men, bashing the queer community, racist bashing. I hate it. I almost gave up on participating in them all together. I walked away feeling disgusted.

Then I found another online gaming community, and to be truthful I was wary at first given the numerous negative experiences I've had in the past. GamerchiX is a discussion forum for women gamers over at Xbox. It's a public forum, but restricted only to women and you have to be approved by the list moderator Trixie360.

Here's the Manifesto:

If you play games, you're a gamer chick. Whether you're an Xbox Halo 2 champ, play RPGs on the PC, or Mah Jong Tiles on MSN Games, you're a gamer chick.

Xbox GamerchiX don't talk trash about other women. Ever. When women stop hating on each other … we will rule the world!

Xbox GamerchiX support each other.

Xbox GamerchiX are good role models for young gamer girls.

Xbox GamerchiX are not pin-ups. We're all hot in our own unique way, but it's about the games and the companionship, not T&A.

You can be a member of any clan or group, but while you're part of GamerchiX, you don't talk trash about other gamers.

I signed up, with hopes of a different community experience, and I'm glad I did. I've spent a lot of time going through the forum posts and reading the topics posted and the replies - anything from game questions, to meeting F2F to social support for personal issues. The space is very positive and supportive, and I feel that I've found my gaming community.

So if you're a female gamer, I strongly encourage you to join XGX. There's about 2700 women waiting to chat with you and hang out!

:: Netwoman 5:08 PM [+] ::
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Broadband Adoption 2007

The Pew Internet & American Life Project has released their Broadband Adoption 2007 report.

The report finds that nearly half (47%) of all adult Americans now have a high-speed internet connection at home, according to a February 2007 survey conducted by the Pew Internet & American Life Project. The percentage of Americans with broadband at home has grown from 42% in early 2006 and 30% in early 2005. Among individuals who use the internet at home, 70% have a high-speed connection while 23% use dialup.

The 12% growth rate from 2006 to 2007 represents trails the 40% increase in the 2005 to 2006 timeframe, when many people in the middle-income and older age groups acquired home broadband connections. Those groups continued to show increases in home broadband adoption into early 2007, but at lower rates than in the past.

:: Netwoman 5:05 PM [+] ::
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Video games rob reading, homework time

Social implications of gaming. Gaming doesn't necessarily replace F2F interactions.

Reuters - July 3 2007

Boys who play video games on school days spend 30 percent less time reading, and girls spend 34 percent less time doing homework than those who do not play such games, U.S. researchers said Monday.

But they said video games do not appear to interfere significantly with time spent with family and friends.

"Gamers did spend less time reading and doing homework. But they didn't spend less time interacting with their parents or their friends, nor did they spend less time in sports or active leisure activities," said Hope Cummings of the University of Michigan, whose study appears in the Archives of Pediatrics & Adolescent Medicine.

The study comes as U.S. doctors voice growing concern about the long-term effects of video games.

:: Netwoman 1:59 PM [+] ::
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EA Announces Wii Exclusive Family Play

Tom Ivan talks about addressing the needs of novice gamers.

Electronic Arts has announced "Family Play," a new feature exclusive to its upcoming roster of EA Sports titles for Nintendo Wii designed to ensure pros and novices alike can enjoy evenly matched, competitive games.

The Family Play system, which will feature in Madden NFL 08, NBA Live 08 and FIFA Soccer 08, will offer more inexperienced gamers the chance to utilize a simplified control system.

Players will use only the Wii Remote, allowing them to come to terms with the system's controls at their own pace while the console looks after the more advanced aspects of gameplay. According to the press release, "it's like having an invisible helper on your Advanced users on the other hand will take control of both the Wii Remote and Nunchuck, therefore assuming complete control of gameplay.

:: Netwoman 4:57 PM [+] ::
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Xbox Offers a Forum to Reach Gamers Where They Live

New York Times

Interesting impact of gaming consoles on television viewing and cable. I don't have all my TVs hooked up to cable, as some are only for gaming.

Last year when Mr. Roberts moved with his wife from Los Angeles to Memphis, he didn't have cable for several months. So he began using his Xbox 360 for something more than his standard fare of games like Guitar Hero II and Madden NFL: he downloaded episodes of his beloved "South Park" as well as the occasional movie in high definition, for fees running from $2 to $6 through Xbox LIVE Marketplace, the emporium accessed through the console's interface.
"I'll sometimes also look and see what the top downloads are and check them out too," he said.

:: Netwoman 2:51 PM [+] ::
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