Online Virtual Community?

I’ve never been very active in any type of community.  I’m not a “joiner”.  I’m much more of a loner.  That said, I think that World of Warcraft is an extremely viable community. 

I don’t actually use it myself.  I know I wouldn’t devote enough time to it for me to spend money on it. Despite that, WoW is an amazing environment.  The people who use it join together to tell the story of the “World”.  Each individual is represented by an avatar that inhabits a virtual space (the geographical location of most community definitions).  People meet and make friends.  They discuss.  They join together to accomplish goals. 

WoW is centered around a fantasy world framework but other 3D virtual communities exist.  Second Life is similar but it is set in a virtual representation of real life (sort of).   People gather and discuss.  Even congress has met in Second Life. 

The point of these virtual worlds is that they make the online community experience more real by using the 3D avatars.  Yes, anyone can look like anything but most people use people shaped avatars.  As the technology becomes more realistic, it becomes increasingly possible for facial expression and body language to play a role in these virtual interactions.  The 3D virtual worlds allow people who are physically distant to interact on a personal level as though they were living in the same neighborhood.  It brings the world within an accessible distance and the community associations that form are just as dynamic and meaningful as those made offline.

For anyone who wants to see what a virtual world could be, I recommend Neal Stephenson’s Snow Crash.  His description of the Metaverse is a great look at what platforms like Second Life could become.