Week 3 (Finally)

I've had some issues with blogger recently, however they are now resolved and I can post from home again :D enjoy my rather late blog.

So, first off we had to do some research on our major topic essay. Now I decided from the start to do something internet related, after all it is the largest form of world wide communication in the present day. However, I wanted to look at something a little more abstract when it comes to internet communications and for this reason I have settled on a rather strange topic of the MMORPG, or MMOG (Massively Multi-player Online Role Playing Game, or Massively Multi-player Online Game). This may seem like a strange form of communication but with the largest of these games boasting upwards of six million subscribers it has certainly become a new communication technology.

When looking at this topic I have come across a number of online journals which I will briefly list and give summaries of.

First
Learning to fly in persistent digital worlds: the case of Massively Multiplayer Online Role Playing Games
Secondly
Defining grief play in MMORPGs: player and developer perceptions
Last
The social side of gaming: a study of interaction patterns in a massively multiplayer online game

Each of these papers looks at different aspects of MMORPG social interaction, this ranges from the negative interaction of "ganking" or "griefing" and the large amount of anger that can be generated from these activities to the positive social interaction between "allied" players, or those communicating within in game groups or teams known as "guilds". The overall structure of sociality within an interactive world is also discussed within these papers.

So heres the second part of our blog for this week, a scavenger hunt.

1) 1140 pounds
http://www.steeleoriginals.com/ls/lee/pumpkin.htm

2) Through the use of fan mail
http://www.geocities/collesseum/court/5449/from_Creator.htm


3) 18-21 feet
http://www.angelfire.com/ks3/merickson/Animalia.html
http://members.rediff.com/guneetsingh/animals.htm

4) An idea on the philisophical nature of beings, objects and the idea of existence.
Actual Meaning: specification of a conceptualisation of a knowledge domain. An ontology is a controlled vocabulary that describes objects and the relations between them in a formal way, and has a grammar for using the vocabulary terms to express something meaningful within a specified domain of interest. The vocabulary is used to make queries and assertions.
members.optusnet.com.au/~webindexing/Webbook2Ed/glossary.h4tm

5) Stereo
http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0000343/

6) January 8, 1986
http://www.technozen.com/manifesto.htm

7) Because the 555 exchange in the US is not a real exchange, and is reserved specifically or movie, tv and radio purposes. This partially came about due to people calling the number 867-5309 consistantly after it was featured in the song "867-5309 Jenny".

8) The ferry for 30 Euros
http://www.athensguide.com/ferries.html

9) The Seekers - I'll never find another you
http://www.onmc.iinet.net.au/topspot/1965.htm

10) The Black Assassins
http://www.griffith.edu.au/school/art/staff/stockwell.htm (It should be noted that I lol'd my heart out)

Well thats it, finally posted and done, and only 3 hours till dawn :)