Comments on: CBC Article Reports on Flawed Research http://fpsl.wordpress.com/2007/02/24/cbc-article-reports-on-flawed-research/ Thu, 10 Sep 2009 13:04:04 +0000 http://wordpress.com/ hourly 1 By: Nick Yee http://fpsl.wordpress.com/2007/02/24/cbc-article-reports-on-flawed-research/#comment-166 Nick Yee Sun, 25 Feb 2007 23:41:02 +0000 http://fpsl.wordpress.com/2007/02/24/cbc-article-reports-on-flawed-research/#comment-166 Hi all - Fiend also made this post over at the SL Herald. I've addressed some of his concerns there: http://www.secondlifeherald.com/slh/2007/02/eavesdropping_i.html#comment-61475436 Hi all – Fiend also made this post over at the SL Herald. I’ve addressed some of his concerns there: http://www.secondlifeherald.com/slh/2007/02/eavesdropping_i.html#comment-61475436

]]> By: Rik Riel http://fpsl.wordpress.com/2007/02/24/cbc-article-reports-on-flawed-research/#comment-164 Rik Riel Sun, 25 Feb 2007 05:14:33 +0000 http://fpsl.wordpress.com/2007/02/24/cbc-article-reports-on-flawed-research/#comment-164 You raise some interesting points. However I think your not getting what's most interesting about the gender issue. Whether or not the gender of the person matches the gender of the avatar, that Yee's research finds that the female-female dyads stand closer to each other than male-male dyads (matching the findings of real world research) is still potentially an important finding. That is, a male operating a female-appearing avatar still seems to follow gender roles even in a simulated environment. I find that fascinating. Also measuring gaze and distance is interesting in the sense that avatars seem to try and face the person they are talking to, even when not really required for the conduct of a text chat. You can't control the face direction (easily) but you can control which way your avatar is facing, whether they are on the same level of the other avatar, and how close or far they are. True, I could have a chat with someone 30 meters away, but I don't. I move in closer and face the other avatar, and so do you. Why is that? Because it's a social norm that we learned from real life. More of my take on Yee's study here: http://www.rikomatic.com/blog/2007/02/dont_stand_so_c.html . You raise some interesting points. However I think your not getting what’s most interesting about the gender issue.

Whether or not the gender of the person matches the gender of the avatar, that Yee’s research finds that the female-female dyads stand closer to each other than male-male dyads (matching the findings of real world research) is still potentially an important finding. That is, a male operating a female-appearing avatar still seems to follow gender roles even in a simulated environment. I find that fascinating.

Also measuring gaze and distance is interesting in the sense that avatars seem to try and face the person they are talking to, even when not really required for the conduct of a text chat. You can’t control the face direction (easily) but you can control which way your avatar is facing, whether they are on the same level of the other avatar, and how close or far they are.

True, I could have a chat with someone 30 meters away, but I don’t. I move in closer and face the other avatar, and so do you. Why is that? Because it’s a social norm that we learned from real life.

More of my take on Yee’s study here: http://www.rikomatic.com/blog/2007/02/dont_stand_so_c.html .

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