[Buddha-l] Linden dollars for Buddha?

[Michael J. Wilson]

I registered in the Second Life virtual reality community yesterday.  Using my Visa card I was automatically assigned 250 linden dollars to buy or trade virtual objects.  The free linden dollars were optional, otherwise no need to use the Visa card.

http://secondlife.com/whatis/

At first, entering the virtual reality space and seeing other virtual reality people, who I could stop to chat with, or fly above the landscapes and land on properties designed like shopping malls or theatres, was very exciting.  I thought this was the future of online communities.  I thought this is how Buddha-l will look in the future.  Eventually I "teleported" to a community I found that had a buddhist theme, temples, snow gently falling, ambient sounds... and I sat inside a small temple - a sanctuary from the hussle and bussle of this busy online space - there are over 2 million virtual people.  Someone made over a million dollars (real U.S. dollars) in this virtual space last year!

Could this be a future for academic online meeting spaces? Not this Second Life community and it's "linden dollars" but a community using similiar software. Academics prefer paper texts, at least that is how most establish their learning base and academic credentials.  Publishing and networking is another thing.  But what would the Buddha-l community look like in virtual space?  What clothes would they design for their virtual bodies, etc.?   I sometimes think Buddha-l might be better organized as a blog, let alone something more advanced like a 3D virtual space. I have been on and off buddha-l since 1993 and not much has changed to the interface as it could still be read by a DOS user with a 1200 baud modem. 

After only a few hours of exploration I became jaded by what looked like an endless fantasmagora of designer clothing stores.  Lacking illustration and designer skills - though tools for these exist there - I cancelled my linden dollars, my 3D virtual self (named Jungpo Whitman) and my account.  If I was single and thirty years younger I'd be ready for this. I now suspect we will all have virtual reality selves in the not too distant future, and it might not be optional.

Michael J. Wilson

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