As people fling blame in many directions for the Arizona shootings, gaming has finally come under attack... but not well.
Loughner, the alleged shooter, turns out to have been active on some gaming boards, most notably one for Earth Empires. His writings don't seem to engage directly with gaming, in that WSJ account:
his postings were often nonsensical... "weird poems coupled with 'logic' statements"...
They show an obsession with language, a hatred of the educational system and aggression...
Usefully, this:
In the forum posts, Mr. Loughner never mentions any political views explicitly, nor does he name any political figures.
Ted Castranova notes that the gaming platform is really a MUD. In which case the thing is too old, too obscure to get media traction. If the game had been WOW, or Farmville, things would be different.
Castranova notes as well:
it appears that Mr. Loughner's MUD community was more supportive and helpful to him than the world at large. He got kicked out of jobs and school, but one gets the impression from WSJ's report that EE forum readers never stopped trying to engage with him or give him advice. Certainly - and this is critical - none of the gamers encouraged him in his ravings.
Let's see if blame-gaming screeds wrestle with that bit.
(via Ed Webb, )
a) The odds are good that we'll get a Farmville-playing violent offender one of these days. Can't wait.
b) I noted in some other article I read recently that the author mentioned the AZ shooter's MySpace page and updates. Quite the graveyard of misfits there still, if MSM is to be believed.
c) Geeky forum participants, unable to stop watching and commenting on a train wreck of an individual, with or without misguided (or not) attempts at help? Say it ain't so.
Posted by: Ladi | January 31, 2011 at 13:31
This is exactly what Bonnie Nardi talks about in her recent book about WoW. She devotes a chapter to addiction, and in it she sees that the vast majority of people who are having problems in RL (real life) are supported by their online peers and guild mates, encouraged to take care of things at home, and in some cases even offered RL support. Those stories just don't make for good front page news.
Posted by: Rolin Moe | February 01, 2011 at 11:33
Good points, Ladi. I'll keep an eye out for Farmville rage.
True, Rolin. Can't wait to get to her book.
Posted by: Bryan Alexander | February 05, 2011 at 00:44