Second Life and Other Virtual Realities
Posted by Kristina on 30 Sep 2007 at 12:38 pm | Tagged as: Future of Technology, Games & Simulations
I was introduced to Second Life last year and found it very intriguing but, I never really felt like it was something I’d spend a lot of time doing. To me it was just a neat tool; however, for some it is a money-making business. I’ve read two articles in the last few weeks on Second Life and other virtual realities. Security in Virtual Worlds: Blurring the Borders and Griefer Madness: Terrorizing Virtual Worlds Both talk about the idea of making money in a virtual reality such as Second Life. This really made me stop and think about this phenomenon in a new light. Someone can make real money in a world that doesn’t exist. How completely bizarre!! And yet, this is where the future of these technologies is heading.
But, like any new technology, problems have arisen. Both articles also discuss the security issues that have come to light in these worlds. First of all, there’s the small problem of those “people” that don’t play well with others. In Second Life, those are called griefers. Basically, they go around wreaking havoc on the virtual world. Just like in the real world, the virtual world has to deal with vandalism and petty crime. However, unlike the real world there is no virtual police…at the moment. Could this be where these virtual worlds have to turn in the future…actually having a legal body to deal with these types of issues? If the problems get much worse, they may have to.
In addition, there are bigger issue that have come up in these worlds. There is always a security risk when you type personal information into a website. These virtual worlds are no different. The potential for identity theft is real. People steal this information to use for crime in the real world. Since real money is exchanged, many users have credit card information in their Second Life accounts which could end up in the wrong hands and cause serious financial problems.
Finally, there is the problem of fraud. As the articles point out, there is no regulatory body in these virtual worlds. There is no good way to track the money changing hands, nor to know who is receiving that money; therefore, transactions could be happening in Second Life that no one knows about. This could also present serious problems in the real world.
So, what does this mean for the future? Well, security may become tighter in these worlds; regulations may need to be established for money exchanges; and for all intents and purposes the reason for using a system such as Second Life may change. This may become more than just a game for many people and those that just want to play, may find that these security measures are too much to deal with. The whole dynamic of this other reality may change into a marketplace for corporations to do business, rather than a place to just get away from the real world for a few hours.
It’s interesting that the owners of these sites did not take security into consideration when they were asking for credit card numbers. ID theft is not a new phenomenon, nor is stealing information online. Consumers also need to be more careful where they put their information. Our lawmakers certainly need to get on the ball to create laws that protect consumers and prosecute online criminals. Beyond that though, they need to hire more staff to search, arrest, and prosecute the guilty. a huge problem in our society is lack of resources for crime in general, much less crime in cyberspace. Until we have the law on our side though, it will be a wild west in cyberspace. Consumers need to look after themselves and find a way to eradicate the griefers. This can happen by people banding together to fix the problems the griefers create. Without doing that, second life will fail simply because those in the game for the fun of it will get tired of dealing with the damage the griefers cause. The enjoyment of the virtual world only comes from getting away from real responsibilities. That is hardly the case if one has to worry about vandalism and theft.
I can see a need for a podcast on how to play safely online and how to effectively deal with griefers. There will also likely be an increase in the number of people paying for credit monitoring services such as myfico.com that will let you know immediately if there is any unusual activity with your credit.