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MUDs and "Virtual Communities" and Cities

(MUDS- Multi User Dungeons, patterned after the board games such as Dungeons and dragons, which simulated for the players battles with villains, lands to be explored, adventures to be had. MUDs are computer hosted and mediated "virtual adventure games" with "live" realtime opponents who are logged on with you. )

The excitement of the adventure game played in virtual landscapes and inside dungeons filled with "dangers" has spawned some variations which simulate cities and communities and provide real social interaction with others who may represent themselves as they wish to construct themselves. Emoticons play the role of nonverbal or physical cues. Can the church rightfully utilize some aspects of these electronic meeting places? "Paradigm for Cyberspace" was the name of an add in a popular computer magazine for a membership (citizenship) in a virtual city complete with library, town hall, job bank, newspaper, and shopping mall. At each of these places one can actually do what these places usually allow us to do, except via electronic connection.

The issue of access and exclusion

I was recently somewhat directly reminded of the need to be careful that we neglect the ones whose resources are fewer, that we not build yet another domain of the "haves" which exclude many less fortunate. I hope I have this in mind as we seek to help the church get online. It is a balance of needing to develop the most useful interface for the most people. With systems getting more memory and storage intensive, we must take care to remain vocal for access to all. Will better interfaces for "us" (the North) translate into standards which create pricing that make it better for "the others" (the South)? I say "us" and "the others" in quotes because I do not want to create more distinctions, but to move toward a "we" in our communication.