“No Drama!”: A Case Study of Social Governance in Second Life®

Methodology

This study is based on interviews and my own experience: as with all Elf Circle members interviewed, I have been a member of the group since its inception and sit on both its primary governance bodies, High Council and High Circle. The interview with the owner of the group, Forcythia Wishbringer, was recorded via Skype. Other members provided written responses to a questionnaire (Appendix A), as did leaders of two other SL social communities. Respondents provided no personal identifying information, but their real avatar names are used.

Elf Circle members who are not part of governance and current or former members who disagree with its application were not interviewed. This is not because their opinions and experiences are not of value, but because the focus of the chapter is to examine the reasons for developing existing structures. A more in-depth exploration of the efficacy of the structure and its implications would be of considerable interest but would require a much longer document.

About Second Life

Second Life (www.secondlife.com) is not a game, but a platform owned by Linden Lab (LL). In-world content created by users (Residents) using the program’s building and scripting tools provides amazingly diverse environments and activities. Basic user accounts are free, but the ability to display content created is tied to land ownership, i.e. rental of server space (Linden Lab, 2009a). Land is organized in 256 x 256 m blocks called regions (or “islands” or “sims”, for simulators); individuals can lease entire regions or smaller parcels. Copyright resides with content creators, and an in-world economy (convertible to U.S. dollars) facilitates buying and selling of goods created by Residents. The potential of emergent virtual worlds such as SL is uncertain, their use is being explored actively by businesses, non-profits, and educators.