John Gabriel is Proven Right. Again.
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by Rigour6
Our neighbour to the North continues to riven by the failure of a number of players to observe Wheaton's Law.
This phenomenon has exasperated so many of us for so long, it has led to a migration of some of eCanada's best and brightest here to eUSA. Let it be a cautionary tale here as well.
Throughout all the shenanigans, there has always been a group of absolutely mystified players, asking rather plaintively: why are these a-holes being such jerks?
The answer can be found in John Gabriel's Greater Internet ***wad theory, which I shall reproduce here:
(from wikipedia) Also known as the Online Disinhibition Effect, John Gabriel's "Greater Internet ****wad Theory" was posted in the Penny Arcade strip published March 19, 2004. It regards unsociable tendencies exhibited by gamers while playing online multiplayer games. Mike Krahulik suggests that, given both anonymity and an audience, an otherwise regular person can become a "total ***kwad," i.e., a very disagreeable person.
New York University adjunct professor Clay Shirky, who studies social and economic effects of Internet technologies, explains: "There’s a large crowd and you can act out in front of it without paying any personal price to your reputation,” which "creates conditions most likely to draw out the typical Internet user’s worst impulses."
So there you have it. The worst of this behaviour explained.
As always, you're welcome.
N by NE Volume 1, Number 5
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Comments
Yes, but this still doesn't explain why the douchebaggery seems more concentrated in eCanada than in other places.
@ah (perfect name for this discussion, btw): my guess is that eCanada's smaller population makes the few bad apples stand out more. But it's a guess.
I think the internet allows people without social skills to socialize.
I believe "niceness" is directory correlated to the outside temperature. If you live in the arctic you rely more on the community to survive than in a tropical paradise. In order to exist in a community, you need to have help from others.
"Niceness" is an evolutionary trait that is not required for survival in eRepublik. If it was a lot harder to survive, then I bet a lot of people would be nicer.
^this.
oh and good article.
I think is has more to do with the quote
Quitters never win, and winners never Quit...
there is an eCanadian quitters club located down south these days....
Thank you for providing a demonstration of the theory for everyone who may not have understood it Rolo.
Good article Rigour. I always sensed what you just explained, and now I can articulate it.
Hah, please, quit what Rolo?
Moving to an allied country with a better economy is somehow quitting? You should know of all people that in-game activities have nothing to do with real life character.
Please enlighten us to what there is to win in this game.
Nice equation, Rigour, but you should also factor in the multiplying effects of a hoarded treasury to pay the minions. Most internet platforms don't make it so easy to buy a participatory audience.
Had a buddy who used to insist that quitters never win. He never did quit. Died of cirrhosis. Many of us had quit going to his house years earlier. We fared better than he.
Had a ball player who kept going to the right every time a defender got too threatening. With a little practice - quit doing that, learned a great crossover and started breaking ankles. Became a winner.
Heard another dilly today: "it is at the lowest ebb that we find our greatest strength". Frankly, I thought that it was at your greatest strength that you find your greatest strength and it makes sense to practice, daily, those things that give you this power.
I'm old enough to remember women habitually being told they shouldn't quit on a relationship with a violent alcoholic abuser because quitters never win. They were promised great personal insight and strength of character if they stayed.
It is good to persevere in healthy habits, to strive toward healthy attainable goals. We all know this. The third corrollary to Wheaton's law is that the "audience" will accept anything as plausible.