Practicum - Virtual Communities - Dean

Tomorrow, Jennifer and I will be presenting on virtual communities. Mine is LambdaMOO, the text-based world controlled by simple commands. While that will require some elaboration, here are some questions to ponder before 4:35.

1. Is there something fundamental about virtual communities that cause them to be seen as "nerdy, abnormal, for slightly off-kilter people" or is it due to a legacy of media representation of the internet/cyberspace as such?

2. Can virtual communities in the style of Second Life or LambdaMOO have purpose in the real world, or are they just escapes for users?

3. Do you think there is something unique or new driving the attempts to create Internet communities or is it part of the long history of humans experimenting with Utopian societies? At the very least, what differences do exist between the creation of a Second Life/LambdaMOO and say, a real village in Antebellum America based on Utopian ideals?