I’ve only been to one foreign country, and if you’re over
25, you’ll understand exactly what I mean.
I’m talking about the on-line video game world - that place filled with
the disembodied consciousness of minds ranging from age 7 to 87.
If you’re looking for a good anthropological study, immersing yourself in their world is the
perfect social experience. The ability
to unplug from the matrix at any point, mixed with the high degree of
anonymity, allows everybody the ability to become an entirely different
person. I know most of the gamers are
from the same physical country as I am, and more often than not speak the same
language, but their culture is as foreign to a newcomer as I imagine landing in
Russia would be.
That’s not to say that there isn’t order. There is certainly a social etiquette, as
well as things considered taboo, all of which vary depending on the type of
game you’re playing.
In general, I find you are judged by both your behavior and your skill; and when you are judged, it is to the extreme. There is very little middle ground. Every time you sign in, you are with new people, and they will judge you. Every few games, the player base rotates, and you are again with new people, and they will judged all over again.
