Filed under: Analysis / Opinion, Virtual selves, News items, Account Security

This clip, from PBS’ Bill Moyers Journal, is notable for a number of reasons. First of all, I’m fairly certain that is the most balanced, objective look at MMORPGs I’ve ever seen in mass media — they talk about both Second Life and World of Warcraft, but there isn’t a singled-out mention of addiction or cluelessness or any of the other stuff mass media throws at us.

And it’s additionally a good look at what was behind all the hubbub about the government searching for terrorists in WoW — in truth, the fact that the government is interested in online communities isn’t that huge a deal (who isn’t interested in MMOs?), but the fact that they’re doing it with the justification of terrorism is a much more disturbing discovery. And that piece thereupon goes into the larger problems with that lately — that the government is dipping into all kinds of supposedly private communications outlets with that lame justification of searching for terrorists.

Nice piece, but particularly so considering of that very even look at our favorite past day. whether only all reporters were so objective.

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Original post by Mike Schramm