Do avatars really "want," Radhika? Actually this is a very important discussion...the layers that must be sorted through ethically. So many social utility sites now have ToS' that preclude much or all research...individuals in the site may tag themselves as not wishing to be researched...and participants may refuse to be research subjects if asked. How do we sort out what is in and what is out of the research we do...gotta love complexity to be an internet researcher because heaven knows we are surrounded by complexity. Lois Ann Scheidt Doctoral Student - School of Library and Information Science, Indiana University, Bloomington IN USA Adjunct Instructor - School of Informatics, IUPUI, Indianapolis IN USA and IUPUC, Columbus IN USA Webpage: http://www.loisscheidt.com Blog: http://www.professional-lurker.com Quoting Radhika Gajjala <radhika@cyberdiva.org>:
another can of worms Sj since in SL you have the additional reality of in-world avatars not wanting to be named in outside contexts there are layers of confidentiality issues here. r
This connects to an interesting discussion I've had in another context, which has to do with whether, when one is doing research in Second Life, observations of, or interactions with, avatars are observations of or interactions with human subjects. I'm curious to know what others think.
Thanks, Sj
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