Eros Deus is an active virtual world resident who also shares his trials and tribulations online. one such post, my ishihara test results, showed an interesting intersection of the real world with the virtual
Eros discusses being a mutant, okay well not a mutant like a zombie, the challenge of having a mutated green pigment which is something more prevalent than most realise (an eye colour deficiency in 6% of boys and 0.4% of girls)
his story is well worth the read – he tells it with humour and also humanises it
we all have our challenges in life (and if you don’t think you do, then you simply are overlooking it) and in Eros’ case, he shows how it affects his virtual world endeavors
my first projects inSL were for Deaf groups and that was before voice was supported inSL. when voice came around, it was a divisive thing for my Deaf friends. they suddenly became a sub-group within Second Life and no longer were equal peers. before SL voice, everybody was Deaf in effect and you had to text chat (as an aside, there used to be a pretty good group for the sight-impaired who enjoyed the social aspect of SL that would pair up with sighted avatars to attend SL events which benefited from voice)
as i continued to hang out with Deaf friends in-world, i started to understand a tiny bit of their real world. it was clear when people were doing voice because we’d be left out. as a result of an early friendship with someone Deaf, i have never used audio in the virtual world and still don’t today. i have never listened to any of the sounds in them and doubt i ever will
the lack of audio in my VW experience is one that actually adds to my enjoyment - for me, virtual worlds offer an escape and part of that is the “veil” they offer – both in sight (i don’t have visible wings in real life) and in sound, or lack thereof. i cherish my chosen silence in VWs and it helps me escape the incessant sounds of the real world
virtual worlds suit many people, their challenges, and allow for the freedom to be almost anything you want =)
That’s fascinating, Ener. It’s interesting how we each have different individual preferences. When I first came into SL and there was no voice, I mostly visited Danish sims, and even though I’ve never been a fast typewriter, communication worked ok for me. However, as I started to explore non-Danish places, I had problems though – I often felt like the chat window exploaded and I often felt left out in large conversations – simply because typing – especially in a different language – was difficult for me. So for me voice became the including modality. Since then, I’ve learned to really appreciate the text-chat very much, and especially the mixed-mode we often meet in large events. Parallell to being in-world, I started using twitter and I think that has taught me how to make sense of short and fast messages…
Whenever I bring students into SL, most of them clearly struggle with the parallell text-chat, and some never learn to appreciate it. So I guess it’s just important to be aware of the advantages/disadvantages of any mode, and try to accomodate for most people possible :-)
Mariis Mills
22 May 12 at 12:12 am
Interesting, this days I wrote a post about someone in Dummies says that “SL is a social network like facebook or anyother”. Totally wrong not only speaking about SL but virtualworlds aren’t social networks. The big diferent it says like your title, you can create “your own world – your own way” and that’s one of the nicesthings!.
Xpontaneus
22 May 12 at 2:51 am
you know Mariis, there is a beauty to short texting and i forgot about it until you recounted your view, thanks! it gets to the point quickly but also powerfully because the words chosen are often carefully thought out. it is crazy to keep up sometimes and i’ve had a few times where i’m texting in both french and english to several people via IM and chatting with someone face-to-face all at the same time =)
great perspective Xpontaneus – they can be social networks, like a smaller grid like 3Rd Rock Grid, or a solo endeavor like sim-on-a-stick, or shaped into anything at all like just music or art or whatever =)
Ener Hax
22 May 12 at 6:50 am
When i discovered SL, i found it was the place where i could live my fantasies and desires as i would never be able to do on RL!
Voice was not an option for Me, so i avoid it, even if on some places i need it enabled to listen!
So i tend to have it enabled even if without micro and really tend to ignore and avoid voice sims enabled!
But if one think i learned all over this time on Sl and on OSG as well is that ones desires are not All and so i understand why some need to use voice (Blinds for sure rely on voice as much as deaf on text!).
ZZ Bottom
22 May 12 at 10:28 am
I usually find people use text, even when voice is available. I find it awkward myself. It definitely has some valid applications, e.g. in education and social work in virtual worlds, but not so useful for a conference or an In World TV show!
For me, sound effects are a valuable part of a VW, and that leads to people with visual impairment getting value from SL as well.
I don’t know how it’s going now, but there was a move to get a virtual guide dog going, so blind people could find their way around and not keep bumping into objects or avatars, and thus experience the audible virtual world.
Starts here http://www.virtualguidedog.com/training.htm
Keith Selmes
22 May 12 at 11:40 am
ah ZZ, you and i may have something in common there!
cool project Keith and i wonder where they are at because their twitter feed has been inactive since June 2010 =/
Ener Hax
22 May 12 at 12:30 pm
Its not until I read this post I really thought about it – I do not use sound in Opensim(or Second Life back in the day). Headphones not on.
Perhaps I put them on if there is some music event or video.
@Keith. Thanks for the perspective.
Breen Whitman
22 May 12 at 1:41 pm
Many years ago the virtual standard was VRML. The plug-in I and many others used was Blaxxun Contact. Contact was unique in that when you were 3D, you texted, but your typewritten words became a variation of spoken communications, either male or female, besides being able to read what the others wrote. In a group of avatars, I could listen and not have to worry about what I sounded like.
When I was first asked in SL to use voice, because everyone was using voice, I felt awkward talking at my pc. I’ve gotten accustomed to a flow of text and voice since then. They voice, I text. I never once considered that Deaf only get half the conversation in SL. And of course no one is going to openly advertise having an impediment. Another chunk of thought to chew on. Thanks for sharing it!
Joey1058
22 May 12 at 2:09 pm
I don’t use voice. Got fed up with all the background crap that comes through, like kids squabbling. It really detracted from the environment. Text also has the advantage that you can scroll back and catch up on anything missed, or to double check what was actually said.
Sarge Misfit
22 May 12 at 2:33 pm
I wonder how easy it would be to add in a speech to text and a text to speech module into opensim (or SL). That way blind or deaf people would be able to participate equally with other people and each other.
Paul
23 May 12 at 3:12 am
Paul, i wish some will start developing that, it will make virtual worlds much more open to All!
But not using voice does not mean not listen to In world sounds!
I cant even think of being on My OSGrid regions without listen to the wind, wave, animals and all the nature sounds we use there:)
In fact i use a lot of sound scripts as they can add so much!
ZZ Bottom
23 May 12 at 9:11 am
It’s all about understanding someone’s virtual world abilities governed by their physical RL way of life.
I blogged about my eye colour deficiency issues so that there is a better understanding and realisation that those who are slightly different to the norm are human and have feelings that can be hurt through ignorance and lack of understanding.
Eros Deus
23 May 12 at 10:28 am