For those interested, I found a really decent article on the economics of Second Life and MMORPGs in general. Thinking about what it is examining more closely, I begin to think that IP and capitalism are more emergent properties in society, and not arbitrary legal frameworks . . .
Western civilization is dealing with a crisis over intellectual property. The fact that any digital medium can be easily copied with perfect fidelity ties our legal system into knots, leading some, like Cory Doctorow to call for the outright abolition of Copyright law. However, DMCA et al is a harbinger Read more…
Anyone who’s reading this will probably be interested in other SF writers who blog. Very cool list from the SF Signal blog.
One of the more difficult things a writer can do is write about a culture that is truly alien. A lot of bad SF— especially in TV and movies— has shown alien beings that are significantly less alien to someone from a western culture than many human cultures. My own Read more…