In 2004, our second iteration of the TSO simulated field study included the students in anadvanced course--Sociology of Deviance. The course, which defined deviance as behaviorthat a social group regards as unacceptable and attempts to prohibit with negative sanctions,required students to enter at least three TSO properties and to observe to what degree andin what situations a controlling group defines and sanctions deviant behavior. The juniorsand seniors in the course performed, as one would expect, on a much higher level than thestudents in Soc 101 and earned a higher percentage of A's (7/15) on their papers. They receivedthese grades for several reasons. (1) They were able to distinguish between the rulesof the game (i.e., "terms of service") and the deviance constructed by various actors in localcircumstances within the game. (2) They described deviant behaviors and sanctions invokedat specific properties where they visited and observed. (3) They generalized appropriately(using the course definitions) about social control and transgressions.In performing these sorts of observation and analysis, the students were acting within thelong-standing tradition of social science and empirical research. What follows is an aggregatedescription of the more interesting instances of deviance observed and documented bythe members of Soc 310.Most students found it easy to distinguish between the TSO instituted regulations and thosemaintained and enforced at specific properties developed by gamers themselves. The TSOinstitutional regulations (known as the "terms of service") are formally published on theWeb site and must be agreed to as part of the enrollment process. The terms of service arediverse and include such matters as the illegal publication online of copyrighted material,the improper use of complaint submission buttons, and unwelcome harassment of otherplayers. None of the students directly witnessed or produced violations so flagrant as towarrant the major means of enforcement available to TSO--banishment from the game.TSO is, after all, a virtual world. Since its virtual inhabitants are not subject to the kinds ofphysical damage or deprivations encountered in the real world, it is hard to imagine a form ofdeviant behavior that would count as more than a slight and passing emotional disturbance.Accordingly, there is no police force visible in the game and the monitoring and reportingof perceived infractions is generally up to the players themselves.A case in point is the scamming, which often victimizes newly arrived players, who aresometimes referred to as "newbies." One such newbie reported being flattered and pleasedwhen another Sim asked him to be his roommate, with the provision that the newbie buysome expensive appliances for the household--at a cost of 5,000 Simoleans, the amount of"money" with which each newbie starts the game. The next time the newbie logged on, helearned that the property was up for sale and that all the profits (including his 5,000 Simoleaninvestment) would go to the owner.This sort of random and individualized predation, which is more of a caveat emptor than apunishable transgression, depends on a discrepancy between the knowledge of the scammerand the victim. A group that refers to itself as the "F.U. Mafia" exploits such discrepancieson a much larger scale through their "scam houses." Scam houses are rather like a smallLas Vegas casino where Sim visitors can play the "games of chance" permitted by TSO'sterms of services. In one such game, a Sim pays 1,000 Simoleans to pick a card describingan activity he must perform in order to increase his stake. The problem is, the Sim does notknow that the activity (in this case, eating 10 virtual snacks in 20 TSO minutes) cannot beperformed successfully because of speed limitations built into the system. When the victimSim predictably fails the challenge, the scam house owner pockets the 1,000 Simolean stakeplus the cost incurred for the snacks. And the victim Sim often leaves without even realizinghe or she has been scammed.
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