E-4: Virtual Worlds
Harvard Extension School
Mondays 7:35-9:35pm EST, Fall 2007
Berkman Center Conference Room and Live Webcast on Berkman Island
Instructor: Rebecca Nesson

Assignment 3 -- Identity, LambdaMOO and SL

Total Points: 100
Due Date: October 11 (first 3 parts) and October 15 (last part), 12:00 noon EST

Getting Started in LambdaMoo

0 points (but this part is necessary for the rest of your assignment)
Due Date: October 11, noon EST.

LambdaMoo is one of the pioneering and longest-lasting virtual worlds. Unlike Second Life, it operates entirely in text. For this week's assignment you will make a foray into LambdaMOO yourself and learn the basics of moving around and interacting. For many of you this type of virtual world will seem even more foreign than Second Life. Experimentation is OK here. So is asking questions, though you may find it challenging to find people to answer your questions. Follow these step-by-step instructions to get started.

  1. First read the information on this page and on the Wikipedia page about LambdaMOO.
  2. To enter LambdaMOO you will need a Telnet client. Telnet is a simply protocol for connecting to another computer over the Internet. On Mac OS X, you can use the Terminal application. Try simply clicking on the link or the button the LambdaMOO information page linked above. If that doesn't automatically open your Terminal application and connect you, you can do it manually. To do this, go to your Applications -> Utilities folder and double click Terminal.app. Once Terminal is open you will see a prompt. At the prompt type: "telnet -l Guest lambda.moo.mud.org 8888" (don't actually type the quotes) and press enter. On Windows you probably also have a built-in Telnet client, so also try clicking the link or button on the LambdaMOO information page. If it doesn't work, you may need to download a Telnet client. You can do that here. Once you have the client downloaded and installed, open it up and choose the command to connect via telnet. The hostname is lambda.moo.mud.org. The port is 8888. Your username is Guest. You don't need a password.
  3. Once you are connected by Telnet to the LambdaMOO server, you still have to log in to LambdaMOO. You can get some instructions on how to connect by typing help. To connect as a guest (which is what you have to do) type "connect Guest". You will be welcomed into LambdaMOO.
  4. Once in LambdaMOO it is yours to explore. I recommend beginning by doing the tutorial by typing @tutorial. That will teach you some basics to help you move and communicate. If you are confused at any time, you can type help to get some help.

A Few Things To Do in LambdaMOO

40 points
Due date: October 11, noon EST.

  • type "help manners" to get a list of the social rules of LambdaMOO. Read through these rules. What are two things you can do to another character who is harassing you? (8 points)
  • type help ltad. What is this document and what does it do? (8 points)
  • Find your way to the Living Room and set your birthday on the birthday machine. (Hint: examine the birthday machine for some pointers on how to interact with it.) Once you've set your birthday, look at the birthday machine and record what it tells you about your birthday. (8 points) [Skip this problem -- 8 free points!]
  • Pick up something that you think a bird might eat and find the joojee bird in the oak tree. Feed your offering to the bird and record how it responds. Take the offering back from the joojee bird and record how it responds. If you are feeling guilty, feed it the offering again. (Hint: help geography will give you a map that will help you locate the oak tree and perhaps a good place to get something to feed the bird.) (8 points)
  • Find and talk to at least one other character while you are there. Record your conversation. It may be challenging to find someone to talk to. You will find the @whereis command helpful for seeing where people are congregated. You can use the @move command to get there. You may have to log in again at another more popular time if you can't find someone to talk to on your first attempt. (8 points)

Once you have completed these tasks, please email your answers/recorded information to the course account with subject line E4 LambdaMOO Questions - <your name>. Due date: October 11, noon EST.

Do Some Thinking and Writing

40 points
Due date: October 11, noon EST.

Now that you've spent a little time in LambdaMOO and a little time in Second Life, it is time to do some preliminary thinking and comparison. Choose ONE of the following three topics and write no more than 500 words on it:

  • Identity -- Is any of this virtual world stuff real? When you are acting through an avatar or character, is it you? How does the use of avatars and characters affect the way you interact with others? What is the difference between a Second LIfe avatar and a LambdaMOO character? Your answer does not have to address these questions specifically -- they are guide for what you might think about. Your answer MUST directly address the issues raised in last week's readings "Who killed Miss Norway?" and "A Rape in Cyberspace"
  • Governance -- Based on the Second Life Terms of Service Agreement and what you read about governance in LambdaMOO, compare the two systems. What are the main differences between them? Would the LambdaMOO method of governance work in Second Life? Why or why not? Please give specific reasons. Your answer MUST directly address the Second Life Terms of Service agreement and what you read when you typed help ltad in LambdaMOO.
  • Social Norms -- Based on the Second Life Community Standards and what you learned in Lambda MOO when you typed help manners, how do the social norms of Second Life and LambdaMOO differ. Now consider your own personal experience. How did you feel the social environments to be different. In what way did the graphical vs. text-based mode of interaction affect your experience. Your answer MUST directly address the Second Life Community Standards and the results of typing help manners in LambdaMOO.

Once you have completed your writing assignment, email it to the course account and to the student to whom you are assigned on this list. The subject line of your email must be: E4 LambdaMOO Writing - <your name>. A username and password are required to access the list (because it contains email addresses). You should have received the password from me in class, but if you are unsure, please email the course staff. Due Date: October 11, noon EST.

Respond to a Fellow Student

20 points
Due date: October 15, noon EST.

In the previous section of the assignment you received an email from a fellow student with a discussion of one of the discussion topics. Write a short (no more than 250 words) analytical response to this student. A good response will focus on the points of substance raised in the other student's writing and perhaps provide additional evidence for that point of view or provide counterexamples that support a different point of view. If for some reason you did not receive an email from another student, simply write a short (no more than 250 words) discussion of one of the two topics you did not choose for your first email.

Once you are finished with your response, email it to the course account and to the student from whom you received a response. The subject line of your email should be E4 LambdaMOO Response - <your name>. Due date: October 15, noon EST.