Critical Hit.

I couldn't disagree with the Turkle reading any more than I do right now... It seems that the author is simply taking the easy way out and saying that MUDs and MOOs are horrible way to interact within a society. None of the examples provided by the author show the entertainment invokedparticipants of these various activities. I remember spending hours with some of my best friends in high school doing what most people would consider nerdy. We played countless numbers of Pen and Paper RPGs based on the D20 system but the one I remember most was simply titled D20 modern. This involved rolling dice for stats, movement and most everything else. The D20 modern was, obviously, in a modern setting in an almost seemingly "real" environment. During one of our sessions one of our party-members notices some street racers participating in various competitions. Matt simply responds with "God Damn Street Racers!" and kills them all. Would Matt kill street racers in real life?...No This is where various authors fall short in my opinion.
Nakamura, however, has her head on straight. It seems that she understands how the Internet is slowly decaying to an entertainment only environment. This is a call for action in which I believe we need to realize. This author makes a comment about using the Internet for public response to various issues (such as a racist T-Shirt). Although this aspect of the Internet isn't entirely absent, we need to realize that there are other purposes than pr0n and fragging noobs. I envision the Internet being a way to transmit culture from one area to another. True, it may not be "real" culture...it could provide a digital replica for those who cannot travel to various art exibhits or concerts.