Fighting Fire with Lanterns

The online sensation known as Second Life offers beautiful landscapes where players customize their avatars and explore this vast virtual world as well as participate in a variety of activities. This grants users a place to live out their wildest, most creative fantasies or can be a place to relax, and socialize with whomever they please. Though many people would agree that this world is one giant privilege, others are compelled to abuse the system and stomp out any dream they can. With nightmares running wild, virtual crime such as vandalism, unofficial escort services, and player harassment are just a few examples of what can take place in the shadows of SL. With so much to offer, this world has so much potential for evil to takeover.

One of Second Life’s well-known peacekeepers, GreenLantern Excelsior, takes matters into his own hands by shining light in the darkest, coldest corners of this massive community. Even when the naughtiest of avatars try to run, they mysteriously trip, and find themselves face down with a mouth full of rulebook. By choosing to devote his second life to preserve virtual peace, GreenLantern is a rare breed among SL residents and a role model who may be the first person to welcome you and show you around SL. Having the opportunity to interview GreenLantern gave me a taste of his role in the world and the delinquencies he has encountered in the past.

"My focus is helping people... one of the best ways I know of to help people is to report the griefers who are causing them problems."

How can these efforts go unappreciated? With so many ways for griefers to master their evil tactics on good players for hours on end, it is unfortunate that the inventory to retaliate is much smaller. I have learned that when you have a social society, real or virtual, that the people involved will naturally organize themselves into segregated areas. Some spaces may be more crude than others appear and tend to be filled with many self-centered and unattractive characters; just as real cities have their bad neighborhoods.

"I had a guy try to sell me drugs in SL once. I just laughed at him, because I couldn't imagine how that would work... I haven't seen any underground gambling although I've heard rumors that it's still around. There are "escorts" to be found in many places. That's not illegal if it's between two consenting adults, and there's all kinds of role play that people enjoy which isn't criminal here. Vandalism happens almost every day when someone fills a sandbox with replicating cubes. I suppose the gambling and the escort services could benefit people in the real world, but I don't think the other two could."

Although SL is capable of having its fair share of grim influences, it is known  for offering a majority of surreal and positive experiences such as cloths shopping, dining out, attending performances, putting on a show, or simply enjoying the scenery.

"I know there are people who do things here that they would never dream of doing in RL. People who are afraid of going out of their homes will talk to you in SL. And imagine someone who's bedridden, who comes to SL and can FLY. I can only imagine that must be quite an experience for them."

Those who lack heroic experience may refer to GreenLantern Excelsior as a vigilante, but such a negatively viewed term does not fit his battle tactics. Earning the peacekeeper badge is much more than a title; it is a lifestyle.

Ghost Composition: Virtual Protest

In Bridget M. Blodgett’s article, “And the Ringleaders Were Banned: An Examination of Protest in Virtual Worlds,” she breaks down the factors of her theoretical framework that focuses on the aspects of virtual protest. The first of the four corners to her framed theory is the degree of virtualization. As described by Blodgett as “attempts that are usually seen as enhancing offline protests or movements, adapting older ideas, civil disobedience, to modern technologies” (4). The second factor is legality. In short, this is “a measurement of how legal the actions of the protests were both in planning a protest and holding it” (5). The third measurement would fall under the name of cultural homogeneity that is “how similar individuals within the protest are to each other in regards to their cultural views and identity” (5). Last but not least, we have limitations on participation. This is the measurement “of if and how individuals are prevented from participating in the protest” (5).

An example of a protest that fills in Blodgett’s frame from corner to corner is that of Habbo Hotel. This raid has been going on ever since July 12, 2006 and is possibly the most controversial of all time. On this holiday, many players change their looks in order to flaunt an afro with a gray suit. Sexy. This tradition was born when the public heard rumors of the Habbo creators claiming racist by banning black-skinned avatars for no reason whatsoever. As if a wardrobe change was not enough to sock it to the creators, these dedicated gamers would stand in front of and block the entrances to swimming pools and simply say, “Pools Closed” to all who tried to enter. For all of those who simply wanted to take a virtual dip on the hottest afternoon of the summer, had to face the wrath of a legal, well-thought out protest that would make Bridget Blodgett feel like a proud mother and send the right thumb of every Habbo Hotel employee right back into their pie hole.

Ghost Entry: Jurisdiction

            In today’s world, video games are released via the Internet into cyberspace every week, thus attracting stampedes of parched gamers who thirst for newer ways of electronic recreational stimulation. Fortunately, with fun for gamers comes work for lawyers. In his book Virtual Justice, lawyer Greg Lastowka says, “the Internet could be its own jurisdiction, with its own laws and courts created by its own ‘consent of the governed,’” then states, “there would be no need for “outside” law (the law of territorial sovereigns) to intervene”(80). In other words, Lastowka feels that the government should have minimal governance in cyberspace, so “the ‘law of cyberspace’ could be a new law formed by the consent of those who ‘live’ in cyberspace” (80).

            Even if Lastowka’s opinion were to come into effect, past events can heavily persuade Internet users as to who should have the most power. Cybersell Inc. vs. Cybersell Inc. II was a supreme court case used to resolve copyright infringement case that took from 1994 to 1997 to conclude. Cybersell Inc. was an Arizona corporation that temporarily closed down their website for maintenance purposes. Cybersell Inc. was a different company in the making, found in Florida. While Cybersell AZ was hibernating, Cybersell FL used the Internet to retrieve Cybersell AZ’s logo as well as company name! Obviously, Arizona wanted their identity back so the issue was brought to court, but was not as quickly resolved as they had hoped.

            Since cyberspace is so vast, has never-ending dimensions, and limitless boundaries, it was a struggle to find out who would even partake in the court case because it was proven that the Internet was used for promotional purposes on AZ’s part, making it even more difficult for them to win back their losses. The Law of Arizona was applied to this case because there was an absence of federal governing personal jurisdiction. As if the complications were not filling the room up fast enough, certain jurisdictions in Florida do not even exist in Arizona, thus creating even more perpendiculars between real world laws and Internet regulations. 

            As long as the sun is shining, there will always be thieves wandering the streets, surfing the Internet, etc… As long as there is any compensation of money involved, the government will always count cards. Somewhat skeptical at first, but now Lastowka is heading in the right direction. If a court case’s difficulty is based solely off real-world boundaries, then new tactics should be used to resolve problems (that are not brain-busters by any means) to maintain a safe community. The parallel idea of separate jurisdictions between real world and virtual world could be worth a try so the current authority can stop wasting their time fighting boundaries with boundaries.