Hi all, I'm beating the last-minute rush and trying to put together a panel to submit for aoir 5.0 in Sussex. The topic is related to gaming, and I'm interested in putting together a panel that examines how game players (and perhaps even game developers) use the internet in relation to offline games-- so possible (off the top of my head) topics would be something like: *Sims fans that have created virtual boutiques and shopping malls for their homegrown skins *Mod teams and clans that communicate (etc) via a web site, email, IM, ... *Developers that keep updates online, and even create areas for fans to contribute ideas or encouragement *Fan sites generally *Way more stuff than I can think of right now. If people could email me off-list at consalvo@ohio.edu we can talk about ideas more, and see what takes shape. On another note, I thought it would also be cool to have a pre-conference related to game studies (maybe methods challenges related to game studies online). Anyone interested in doing that (which would be either a half or whole day, depending on interest and scope) please email me too. Happy New Year! Mia -- Mia Consalvo, Ph.D. 213 RTVC School of Telecommunications 9 South College Street Ohio University Athens, OH 45701 (740) 597-1521 consalvo@ohio.edu