Second Life: Prospectus

Pride in the Virtual World
Trevor Thompson
January 18, 2008
Introduction to Field Research Methods in Virtual Worlds: MM333, Winter 08

Abstract
This prospectus will describe a plan for a research project based in the virtual world known as Second Life. It will tell you about the community of practice in Second Life in which I will be observing. The methods that I plan to use during these observations are also listed. It also includes protection protocols, a description of the population, sampling strategies, and a proposed time management. My plan however has some limitations, but I believe that I will be able to surpass them and have successful results.

Introduction: Research Problem
What is Second Life?
Second Life is a virtual world, that’s content is created by its residents and is overseen by a company called Linden Lab. It is not a video game by any means. Residents become whoever the want to be and create almost anything that they can imagine. Second Life is a social environment, a vast world of opportunities, from owning your own business to making friends around the world. Residents with similar interests band together in communities of common practice.

Proposed Community of Practice
The community of practice that I wish to research is a newer, mature, voice enabled sim in the Lesbian Gay Bisexual Transsexual (LGBT) community of Second Life. Unlike most sims in this community it is set in a forest instead of the usual colorful beach settings that I found everywhere else. It appears to be very laid back and casual. The way the sim is ran and setup is not like any other LGBT sim that I have been too. The residents here are very friendly and helpful (as long as you follow the rules of the sim of course). They hold regular weekly activities, such as DJ nights in the group club, as well as a group wide event about every 2 weeks. The normal daily activities usually include chatting around the campfire, swimming, building, and more.

Areas of Interest
I want to focus on the LGBT communities in Second Life and the effects a virtual world has on it as a whole. The group that I chose to observe seems to have a tight bond or unity, that I haven’t seen anywhere else in my Second Life experience. I will attend their group events as well as do regular day-to-day observations. Also, since this is a newer sim I will be trying to get a closer look into the planning of events and any group improvements.

Method
Qualitative Approaches to Researching
For this study I want to be a participant-observer in as many activities as I can. I think this would be best since I am not new to this group and have built friendships with many of the members. This is a very social group, it would be hard to sit back and observe without people getting nervous about what I’m doing and change their habits. I believe that my connection to this group will help me to get any information that I need for my observations.

Subject Protection
All of the identities of the people I research will be protected by changing all their names, and no data will be used without permission from the subject. The subjects and landowners are made aware of the privacy procedures by a virtual notecard that I will give to them and make sure they understand and agree to before I proceed. This notecard was created during my time in the MM 333 course, and it explains the project and the protection policies.

Population and Sampling
Since the LGBT community in Second Life is too large to cover, I have selected one social group within that community. They are a newer, mature group in Second Life; they are based on their own sim. I will be basing my study mostly on the group of “regulars” or “veterans”, those who are in the sim on a regular basis and play an active role in the group.

Time Management
I will attend the groups planned events in their entirety to get accurate accounts of the event. Each event last 2 to 4 hours, and sometimes longer. I will also plan to arrive early to observe the setup for each particular event. I plan to be in the field for 2 weeks, at least 3 times a week, then out of the field for 1 week. Repeating this through the entire semester.

Potential Limitations
Some limitations to my research would be the ability to get information from the members. Some people get nervous when they are being observed and change their habits. Another limitation is since this is a voice enabled sim, most conversations are held openly but using the voice feature. This will make note taking harder, especially if I am tracking a particular conversation.

Discussion
With this research I hope to provide some insight into the LGBT community of Second Life. I hope to discover what ties these communities together creating bonds of unity. As well as find out what they truly want from their virtual experiences.
The goal of my research findings is to allow us to have better understanding of not only LGBT communities, but also virtual social communities in general. What are the differences of a virtual environment compared to a real world setting? Are virtual environments the future of social networking?

Second Life: Practice Observation Notes

Assignment 11

These are notes taken Saturday January 19, 2008, slightly before and during the usual Saturday themed Dance in the club located on the Group sim.

This is a sample of the notes i took during this practice observation:

Location: Dance Club located on the Group sim
mature
a no nudity in club policy
private club (not in the search menu, TP required)

7:50 pm (SLT) arrival

Area Description: “club”-ish atmosphere
large open room
dark walls
all floor is a dance area (flashing colorful floor lights)
laser lights, spinning lights, and colored fog machine
DJ booth and Stage opposite each other
sitting areas on each side of the DJ booth as well as in the overhead balcony
1 dance ball
2 dance cages
5 couples slow dance poses
1 sploder

group owners 1 & 2 show up to setup the DJ stream, voice feature is deactivated in the club
group owner 1 also owns the club
group owner 2 is DJing for the dance tonight (alternative music)
theme “Springer Show”

group owners greet people (owner 1 from a  dance cage, owner 2 from the dance floor) as they teleport in.
most members are dressed to fit the theme (Springer Show, “trashy” mostly)
other group members join in the welcomes as others come in.
It appears that everyone here knows each other in some way or another (regulars?)
members start dancing almost immediately

group uses a lot of animated gestures (ex. “Hooo!”), as well as saved quotes that other member had said during previous events.

members are dancing together (couples or close friends, males and females), but no one seems isolated or dancing alone.

members talk in open chat
mostly comments/jokes related to the theme and other member’s costumes

“cheers” and congrats are called out for the winners of the money sploder
owners
some members

A few members call it an early night
friendly good nights from both the owners and other members (nite nite, gnite, thanks for coming, cya laters, etc…)

Late comers are still greeted by owners
not as many welcomes from fellow members, but still a few

voting opens for theme costume contest
votes are collected via IM assigned persons
winner receives L$500

“cheers” and congrats are called out for the contest winner
owners
members

theme related jokes, quoting, and animated gestures continue in the open chat

some members start to use the slow dance poses, even to non “slow dance” music
appears they may be IMing with each other
very little commenting in open chat

friendly good nights from both the owners and other members, as people announce their departure in open chat

Average number of people was 15 over the course of the night

Observational Notes:

Area Description: Large open room, dark walls, overhead laser and spinning lights, as well as a colored fog machine. The entire open floor is a colorful light up dance floor. A DJ booth and sitting areas are setup at one end of the room and a large stage on the other. A small overhead balcony with more seating. There is one dance ball, 2 dance cages, 5 slow dance couple poses, and one money sploder.

2 of the group owners (owner 1 also the club owner) arrive via TP to setup the DJ stream for the night. They are dressed for tonight’s theme is “Springer Show”. Voice feature is disabled in the club and alternative music starts to play over the stream. Owner 2 (DJ for the night) starts dancing mid dance floor, as Owner 1 starts dancing in a dance cage. Both are greeting members as they enter the club. As more members arrive they also start greeting any members that follow them. It appears that everyone here knows each other in some way or another.

Members start dancing almost immediately. They start joking and commenting on the theme and other member’s costumes. This group seems to like to us animated gestures and saved quotes that other member had said during previous events. No one seems to be dancing by themselves, but you can kind of tell who are couples or close friends because they are dancing close together and in sync. This group seems to very friendly, late comers and early nighters received just as friendly hellos or good byes, and sploder winners got cheers and congrats.

Voting for the theme costume contest opens, as long as you vote you have a change of winning if nominated. The votes are collected via IM to assigned people and the winner receives L$500. Winners were announced in both open chat and over the DJ stream. Cheers and congrats where called out by the owners and the other members for the winner.

Some member start to use the slow dance poses, which circle the main dance floor area. Appears that they are chatting in IM since there is very little commenting from them in open chat. As members announce there departure, friendly good nights are said in open chat from the remaining members and the owners. Over the course of the evening there was an average of 15 people there at one time.

Methodological Notes:

I would like to sit in on the planning for the themed dance, if any.

Joined in with everyone on the dance ball but remained along the edge and did not get involved, only talking with people when they spoke to me. I think I would interact more if possible.

Go to the main meeting areas in the main sim before the dance, to see how they promote and prepare people for it.

Is it the same people every week? Do they always participate in the theme contests? Are their numbers constant?

Theoretical Notes:

I went to this club trying not to compare it to real life experiences, keeping in mind that this is all a virtual world. When I arrived I find myself in a very club-like setting.

Two of the group owners arrived to setup and be ready to greet people as they came in.

People seem to all start dancing immediately, joking and commenting on each others themed costumes. Lively group, everyone seems to know each other. Dancing all together but still divided.

After the main event of the costume contest was over, the dance continued, slowly dying down. Couples started slow dancing, and open chat slowed.

Second Life: Practice Interview

Assignment 10

Below is the practice interview that I conducted on January 18, 2008, with my contact member from the group of practice that I am observing. The interview took place at his home located on the group’s sim.

[13:56] Eli Tyson: What attracted you to Second Life?
[13:57] Interviewee: well … I actually came here when my roomie pointed out that this would be a great place to promote my music (I’m a recording artist)
[13:58] Eli Tyson: How long have you been an active participant?
[13:58] Interviewee: Since Oct 2006
[13:59] Eli Tyson: Tell me about your involvement in SL.
[14:04] Interviewee: Well, there are so many layers to an SL experience. Socially, I’m involved in many groups and organizations, and try to make friends whenever possible. It’s truly a great way to meet people, and often with the potential of carrying it over into real life. I’m also involved in many ‘professional’ organizations, including music distribution, filmmaking, theatre, and live performance. Also, I run a few businesses in SL (nightclub, stores) and I co-own and manage an LGBT lakeside community sim.
[14:05] Eli Tyson: Can you tell me about your sim/group.
[14:10] Interviewee: My sim is an LGBT lakeside community. Aside from offering rental housing within our community, we run a lot of events (like ‘Forestwood Squares’ and ‘Woodland Feud’ to name a few). One of the sim owners is a master scripter, which affords us the luxury of designing whatever our imaginations can concoct. We’re aiming to develop a safe, fun, relaxing and entertaining area for gay people and transgendered, and we’re hoping to expand our operations to eventually include another 8 sims surrounding this one…to make one of the largest and most comprehensive LGBT areas in SL.
[14:11] Eli Tyson: What made you want to start your sim/group?
[14:15] Interviewee: Well, when the voice feature came into SL (enabling the user to actually talk and listen to others talk within world, as an option to typing) a friend of ours opened a ‘gay voice beach’ but was unable to maintain it at that time…so…we had a fair amount of land and decided to take it over, moving it to our sim. We changed a few things and made it our own. The whole idea was provide gay and transgendered people an optional ‘voice enabled’ hangout, as many of the popular gay sims were not offering that feature (some out of reverence for the hearing-impaired).
[14:16] Eli Tyson: In general, who are the most active participants of this area?
[14:19] Interviewee: Well, in addition to a long list of regulars that migrated over from ‘gay voice beach’, we also many of the regulars from my club (which conveniently hangs in the sky 700M above the sim). We also have a steady influx of new arrivals, as word spreads. I would say on average 30% of our traffic is new arrivals.
[14:19] Eli Tyson: What are the busiest times here at this area?
[14:22] Interviewee: Our busiest time is after 8 pm central time.
[14:22] Interviewee: Traffic slows down by around 3 am
[14:23] Eli Tyson: How does the time of day change the activities?
[14:24] Interviewee: We usually run events on weekends during the day, when most people are free to participate.
[14:26] Eli Tyson: You mentioned earlier some of the events you offer here, can you tell me about any other kinds of activities and events offer?
[14:30] Interviewee: Well we try to offer the most unique activities and events here. Having the master scripter here enables us to explore a lot of possibilities (like building elaborate scripted sets with impressive functionality, such as the Forestwood Squares set). At Halloween, we turned the entire sim into an eerie haunted set, made up an elaborate back-story about a serial killer, and had him chase and slaughter every avatar on the sim until one was left, who won a cash prize. We try to keep it as fresh as possible, as so many sims seem to be running generic events.
[14:31] Eli Tyson: If so, are your events successful (What is your turn out)?
[14:32] Interviewee: We have been very fortunate so far. People are always very intrigued by our events and turn out in numbers. We usually either fill the sim to capacity or crash it trying.
[14:33] Eli Tyson: I see that you offer land for members to rent. What does it cost to rent land from this area?
[14:35] Interviewee: Rental units here range from 2000L per month (for a standard unit) to 3500L per month (for the luxury units). We also offer land rental for those seeking larger areas they can customize.
[14:35] Eli Tyson: How many people are renting currently?
[14:36] Interviewee: As of yesterday, our rental units are full, and a waiting list has begun.
[14:36] Eli Tyson: Is owning this land profitable?
[14:38] Interviewee: Yes. If one decides to purchase a sim, having businesses on it or rental housing can actually lead to the sim paying for itself and turning a profit.
[14:38] Eli Tyson: Overall, do you think that you are successful in what you have accomplished in Second Life (with all your endeavors, including your sim/group)?
[14:41] Interviewee: Yes. Actually I’m quite surprised and appreciative of the successes I’ve managed in SL. It has surpassed any pre-conceived expectations I had, and I look forward to the future.

Second Life: Permissions

Assignment 5

I contacted the owners of the area of practice that i chose. The first note I sent them briefly explained what I needed and included the HSP procedures. We then setup an informal meeting where we discussed in voice, what I was wanting to do and I answered the questions they had about the privacy of their members. After going over all of these, they all agreed to allow me to practice in their sim.

Second Life: Practice Interview Prep

Assignments 8 & 9

I chose my subject because he is on of the owners of the area I am going to observe in. He seemed to be a good informant, knowing a lot about Second Life as well as what is obviously going on in his group. He is a rising musician in his real life, seems to know what his goals are and is trying his hardest to reach them. I believe that he would have a lot of meaningful and knowledgeable things to say, so hopefully this practice interview goes well.

General questions:

What attracted you to Second Life?

How long have you been an active participant?

Tell me about your involvement in SL.

Can you tell me about your sim/group.

What made you want to start your sim/group?

In general, who are the most active participants of this area?

What are the busiest times here at this area?

How does the time of day change the activities?

What kinds of activities and events do you offer here?

If so, are your events successful?

What does it cost to rent land from this area?

How many people are there renting currently?

Is owning this land profitable?

Second Life: Preliminary Map

Assignment 6

This is a preliminary map of the area where I wish to observe

Second Life: Event

Assignment 2

Today I went to a Second Life Birthday party. They held it on a beach and it was an open all day event. The area was decorated with large birthday signs, balloon, and a colorful particle burst exploder. A dance area with three dance HUDs, as well as, a campfire area with logs and other things to sit on. Most people dressed in beach attire, like swimwear, sunglasses, and sandals.Lots of the regulars are here, as well as several new faces, but no obvious cliques. Almost everyone is dancing, giving birthday wishes, and talking in open chat (random subjects, both SL and RL, kind of hard to follow sometimes). A very lively group of people, all very friendly and comfortable with one another. A poor version of “Happy Birthday” was sung, candles where blown out, and Birthday spankings were given; the party continued like it had before. As the day goes on, people leave as a new time zone of people filter in, and just mingle in with the rest.

Second Life: Community of Practice

Assignment 3

The community that I will practice in is a LGBT social group in SL. I was drawn to this group because of the maturity level and almost classiness of the sim and its residents. They still joke around and have fun but adhere to the rules of the sim. There is a unity amongst them, everyone knows everyone and if they don’t they welcome the newcomer warmly. The owners make an effort to bring everyone together by offering multiple weekly activities and biweekly events. Even when there isn’t any activities going on you can still find a group of residents sitting around the campfire just chatting about both their Second Life and Real Life experiences.

Second Life: 5 Communities

Assignment 1
Location 1 is a newer, mature, voice enabled sim in the LGBT community of Second Life. Unlike most sims in this community it is set in a forest instead of the usual colorful beach settings that you find everywhere else. It appears to be very laid back and casual. The way the sim is ran and setup is not like any other LGBT sim that I have been to. The residents here are very friendly and helpful (as long as you follow the rules of the sim of course). They hold regular weekly activities, such as DJ nights in the group club. As well as a group wide event about every 2 weeks. The normal daily activities usually include chatting around the campfire, swimming, building, and more.

Location 2 is a social hotspot in the gay community of Second Life. It is a mature beach sim, however, does not utilize the voice feature. Most of the members, at least the ones that are regulars, are very friendly and helpful to newcomers. They have regular but spontaneous beach parties, where a group DJ will play. The group offers nice places to hang out and talk with friend, dance, swim, and surf. As well as, rental properties and a large “sandbox” for building.

Location 3 is a mature, voice enabled island dedicated to the artist of Second Life. They hold a weekly meeting in a bar located on the island, where a they have a guest artist give a lecture or presentation. This group consist of and is open to all artist in SL, but is very welcoming to anyone wishing to participate. They offer several opportunities for group critiques and places to create, show, and view all types of art in Second Life.

Location 4 is a group of sims dedicated to fantasy role-play, such as elves, fairies, centaurs, etc. It is a PG sim and does not have voice to help enforce role-play. All people are welcome, but are expected to remain in character. They hold regular Bardic (poetry) readings and Friday night dances. As well as, large formal events, like Seasonal Balls and Elven Olympics. The residents of the group are very helpful to people who are interested in their group, and if they can’t answer your questions they will find someone who can. To join the group its seems almost like an interview, where they have you read the group charter, answer questions, and so forth.

Location 5 is the meeting place of group of theater performers. This group plans and performs real life plays in Second Life. They meet one regular basis, depending on what stage they are in of a production, to discuss their progress and the ins and outs of the theater world. The group offers acting workshops about every 2 weeks or so. The members are extremely friendly and are willing to offer help to anyone interested in performing. At the moment they are between productions, but will begin planning for the next very soon.

Second Life: MM 333

This blog will record my time through my MM333 class and track my progress.