Reflection Overview
This week, class primarily focused on the discussion of the Metaverse and virtual communities, of digital preservation for future dissection and reflection. Those communities specifically discussed were LambdaMOO and Geocities, both relics or oddities in and of themselves.
Bearings with LambdaMOO
Upon initial inspection, I appreciated the shear scale of Lambda given its release in the 90’s, but I failed to see the appeal of wanting to explore every nook and cranny of this text-based MOO beyond for the sake of preparing for class.
After better getting my bearings with the controls, I found myself exploring different rooms, slowly but surely. To my surprise, I ended up stumbling upon another player, “Mars,” a UNIX programmer getting re-acquainted with Lambda after initially playing back in the mid-90s. We conversed in “Underground Cowsino,” where he played his own iterations of blackjack, poker, keno, among other casino-esque games.
My conversation with Mars inspired me to submit for account creation to embed myself into Lambda and discover the history of this small corner of the web, spanning over 30 years of user created content, and the people that reside there.
Tales from Geocities
Through exploring both Oocities and Cameronsworld, both sites archiving Geocities websites prior to its closure in 2009. From Cyber Clinic’s to the ALF Awards (a still from the website pictured below), the web-hosting service truly had it all.
I find the scale of diversity between each page to be especially astounding, you never truly know what you’re going to find. Some sites feature personally pictures that, although I feel as if I am not supposed to see them, really place you into the 90’s and early 2000’s. Other sites promoted the public eye by featuring a visitor counter, or by having individuals interact with site others through email or other means.
These sites contain a sense of personality that I feel that much of the modern web lacks. Take this domain as an example, its appearance is rather simple and modern, it lacks any elements that represent my personality. Compare this to SouthBeach’s “All About Me” page, full of color, clip-art, and information within an eye-catching aesthetic. This style of presentation makes me wish as if I was active on the web during its prime.
Imagine a place…
If I were to imagine a Metaverse style virtual world, I’d likely think of something akin to Johnny Mnemonic, requiring effort to progress toward the area of your choosing as a direct contrast to the modern web. The world itself would have a variety of aesthetics, depending on the area entered. To enter from the real world, the user would place goggles on their head, similar to those found in Psychonauts (pictured in the GIF below), transitioning the user into the virtual character that represents them in whatever way that speaks to them.
