• Communicative Implications of a Text Only Virtual Environment

    Author(s): Eva-Lise Carlstrom
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    May, 1992

    Abstract: LambdaMOO is not only a new sociolinguistic environment, it is a new kind of sociolinguistic environment. To illustrate: on entering a new MUD for the first time, it is reasonable to ask about what commands can be used, how objects are defined, what one can change about one's character, etc. This is roughly equivalent to arriving in a new country and inquiring about the laws of physics. It is commonly said that speakers of a language construct reality by doing so. In a MUD it is literally true that "reality" is created through language, both by the actions of the players and through the code used used by the programmers.

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