Two years ago today I discovered MOOs. I was spending a lot of time writing to rec.arts.tv.mst3k, and some of the people there convinced me to visit Harvard's Digiverse for a virtual wedding. I showed up, got stuck inside a tutorial room for 20 minutes, missed the ceremony, and staggered into the reception. The verbs were flying fast and furious. The screen scrolled by so fast I could do little more than sit bemused, and read. I was enchanted.
I wish I'd discovered vr online much, much earlier. It might have prevented some of the distress and loneliness of leaving a large social group behind when I moved to Tennessee. Maybe, maybe not. When I did find it, I took it in with huge gulps of learning and enthusiasm. It did a lot for me. Not only did I find a large pool of people to interact with, I taught myself a skill I never expected to have: programming. Sure, I can't program for a living or anything. It's a lot more than I thought I was capable of, though. It gave me the confidence to tackle math and algebra after a 17 year hiatus from college. It was a Good Thing.
Of course, it was also an addiction. I say this frankly: it can suck your brains out and cause you to forget everything but the screen. Under different circumstances, it could have been a Bad Thing. I could barely tear myself away from the MOOs long enough to sleep or go to school at times. I became really irritable when the server was down or I couldn't get telnet to work. It sort of built into a huge emotional attachment until I realized I had to get out and meet some of the people I spent so much time with. So I organized a weekend party, and flew to Iowa City to meet my MOOpals.
That broke the spell, a bit. I got along really well with everyone. We had a splendid weekend watching videos, eating, talking, and shooting each other with flying plastic disks. I came home much more confident that I was dealing with genuine friendships. I could relax, knowing we'd established ourselves. I could walk away knowing they'd still be on my screen when I needed to talk. That continues to be a Good Thing.
The Digiverse is long gone. I haven't posted to r.a.t.m. in over a year; heck, it's mutated into two groups now in the way Usenet does. I do a lot more than MOO when I'm in front of the computer. I think I spend about half my time online in vr. The other half is devoted to teaching myself the various intricacies of Photoshop and wrestling with HTML limitations. I really enjoy keeping this journal, which itself is an outgrowth of doing fanzines, part of another important social group I belong to. My obsessions become passions, and find their own niche in my array of interests. I often forget how long I've been doing something or known someone. So when little anniversaries come up, I like to acknowledge them.
Two years wandering the aether. I only wish I'd found it sooner.