Online Communities Stuck in the M.U.D.
“That he turned his attentions now to Starsinger, a rather pointedly nondescript female character, tall, stout, and brown-haired, forcing her into unwanted liaisons with other individuals present in the room, among them Legba, Bakunin (the well-known radical), and Juniper (the squirrel). That his actions grew progressively violent. That he made Legba eat his/her own pubic hair. That he caused Starsinger to violate herself with a piece of kitchen cutlery.”
— Julien Dibbell “A Rape in Cyberspace” (1993)
Multi user domains (M.U.D.’s), also known as multi user dungeons, are “imaginary worlds in computer databases where people use words and programming languages” to create alternate identities and interact with other people in the same world. The first thing a person creates when entering a M.U.D. is a new character, a.k.a. a new self or identity. The character created in this environment has a personal connection to their player and as a consequence anything which affects the character directly affects the player (Rheingold, Multi-user Dungeons and Alternate Identities, 1993). As some players become heavily invested in a M.U.D. it becomes harder to distinguish between an online world and the real world.
In 1993, Mr. Bungle used his voodoo doll to force Legba to eat her own pubic hair and Starsinger to insert a steak knife up her rectum. This development occurred online in a M.U.D. named LambdaMOO. The fact that Mr. Bungle broke no rules, as no rules had been established in this world, made determining Mr. Bungle’s punishment problematic. The player behind Legba showed her own confusion as to what Mr. Bungle’s punishment should be when she said, “I’m not sure what I’m calling for.” Some people declared his actions a rape crime, whereas others announced that what happens online does not affect people in real life. This divide illustrates how difficult it is to draw a line between an online community and a real-life community.
In the 21st Century people are more likely to take Mr. Bungles offence seriously. In an age of social media the gravity of cyberbullying has been made clear and people are careful about what they say or do. Mr. Bungle’s offence lies in a grey area where it is difficult to label what exactly he did. Cyberbullying focuses on youth and teenagers, but does not relate to sexual offences. Cyber harassment refers to distressing messages, impersonation, or any other actions which make an individual uncomfortable. Cyberstalking is “cyber harassment that includes a credible threat of harm” (Dimond et al., Interacting with Computers, 2011). There is no place on the spectrum of online misconduct where Mr. Bungles’ act can be definitively placed.
Much like in a real-life community, LambdaMOO called for rules and laws to be put in place to stop Mr. Bungle’s offence reoccurring. This created an uproar of commotion as some members wanted there to be online prisons, some wanted a dictatorship where wizards rule, whilst others said that rules would take away the freedom of the game.
M.U.D.’s and the players who engage in these worlds create an online community where people can interact in a social sphere. Within online communities there is a line which can be crossed from people simply playing a game, to people being so invested in a world that they consider it real. This all begs the question of whether M.U.D.’s should be considered a game with players, or a social community with members. Where is the line drawn?
