This Article talks about the community aspect of Second life and how people adapt to a specific society like you would see in Real Life.  The best way to describe it is that some people develope a tribalistic type of enviornment where men can be dominant over women or even an almost religious twist where men and women will only form relationships with people from their “tribe.”  

Second Life has been around since 2003 and is contantly growning.  Everyday more and more people are linked up to SL and creating avatars to navigate the cyber world.   The game-like space has more than 8 million active accounts.  In a world where just about every aspect of ”life” is created by the users,  civilizations spring up cut off by user made mountains or waterfalls or any other structure.  It is conceivable that a monk monistairy could creat its own temple and individual avatars and still maintain silence.  The possibilities are endless but just hwo far do people take these societies

The article specifically targets one community, the Gorean Communities. These are virtual simulations of fantasy novels from the 70s of Gor written by John Norman. This culture has a very complex social structure in which there are clear roles and actions of citizens which stem from men’s dominance  over women which has become erotic impulses over time.  Second Life has provided people with an oppurtunity to create themselves in a new way and become a part of a society in which they belong and can feel welcome.  in some cases these bonds are stronger than anything that user could be apart of in real life, forcing us once again to rethink the way we veiw relationships in todays world.

Two Questions:

What impact do you think online societies have on the individual in real life?

Is it possible, in your opinion, for nonpersonal interactions like ones online to create stronger bonds between people than actual life experiences?